North Carolina whitewater - Oconaluftee River, Great Smoky Mountains, Swain County
Swain
county,
Quiet Walkway to Smokemont section whitewater kayaking, rafting, and paddling information.
CLASS III 4 miles
The Quiet Walkway to Smokemont stretch of Oconaluftee River in Swain County is 4 miles long and is according to American Whitewater a class III section of whitewater. The starting location is a reasonable drive from Sevierville, please print out a copy of the road map further down the page so you won’t get lost. Whitewater rafting and kayaking in this state is often easier than elsewhere, so if you're not from around here don't forget that quite a few of the sections here are pretty easy. There are nice comfortable hotels here, but if you don’t have
reservations you might end up sleeping in your car. The scenic beauty of Swain County and the cool fresh water make the trip here worthwhile. Getting your paddling muscles activated and just hanging out with mother nature have people coming from far and near. This stretch has
has enough mileage, it's good length for a morning trip. If you're a camper you can camp at one of the great campgrounds nearby. This river system has a few good paddling sections and the Quiet Walkway to Smokemont section is one of them. Since you're on this site you are probably into whitewater rafting or kayaking, either way in this general area you'll find lots of paddling rivers. When you're paddling down a Great Smoky Mountains river like this one you always get great scenery along the way too.
Briefly about the general area: Oconaluftee
River typically gets a great deal of precipitation; most of the rain falls through March, and October on the other hand is the driest. The warmest time of the year at Oconaluftee River comes with high temperatures in the 80's with overnight lows in the 60's. For the period of the wintertime the highs are mostly in the 40's, and overnight lows during the wintertime for Oconaluftee River tend to be in the 20's.
3 miles away
This Microtel Inn and Suites is close to downtown Cherokee, 0.5 mile to Harrahs Cherokee Casino and less than 2 miles to the Blue Ridge Parkway and the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. Microtel Inn...
3 miles away
This Hawthorn Suites by Wyndham is great for a weekend getaway and is the perfect extended stay hotel in Louisvilles East End. We are located behind Mall St Matthews and Oxmoor Mall and a short drive ...
5 miles away
Discover this Cherokee, North Carolina hotel offering comfortable accommodations near Smoky Mountain National Park, Harrah's Casino and the Blue Ridge Parkway. Welcome to the Best Western Great Smok...
All North Carolina Whitewater Complete list of all the whitewater paddling spots in North Carolina.Books about whitewater paddling on Oconaluftee River, North Carolina List of books from Amazon.com that cover whitewater paddling on Oconaluftee River, North Carolina.Find a whitewater outfitter in North CarolinaWhitewater Basics If you're new to whitewater paddling please take a look at this basic whitewater info.Outdoors Recreation Near Sevierville, Tennessee Very comprehensive list of a variety of outdoors recreation in the vicinity of Sevierville, Tennessee, the metro area neareast to Oconaluftee River. Find info on campgrounds, hiking trails, ski resorts, lakes, beaches, parks, whitewater and more.
These outdoors activities are available near Oconaluftee River.
Oconaluftee River, Swain
County
, 3 miles away, Class II-III - 11.5 miles long (Smokemont Campground to Birdtown)
Raven Fork, Swain
County
, 5 miles away, Class II-III+(IV) - 8 miles long (Job Corps Bridge to Confluence with Oconalufftee)
Raven Fork, Swain
County
, 6 miles away, Class V+ - 4 miles long (Gorges to Confluence with Straight Fork)
Little Pigeon River - Middle Prong, Sevier
County
, 7 miles away, Class V - 1.4 miles long (Ramsey Prong/ Eagle Rocks Prong confluence to Bridge at Trailhead)
Straight Fork, Swain
County
, 8 miles away, Class III-IV - 4.6 miles long (Round Bottom to Raven Fork)
Little Pigeon River - Middle Prong, Sevier
County
, 8 miles away, Class IV+ - 1.5 miles long (Ramsey's Cascade trailhead to Porters Creek confluence)
Deep Creek, Swain
County
, 9 miles away, Class II - 3 miles long (Bryson City)
Upper Road Prong, Sevier
County
, 9 miles away, Class V+ - 1.09 miles long (Green Light Falls to Third Bridge)
Tuckasegee River, Jackson/Swain
County
, 9 miles away, Class I-III - 8 miles long (Whittier to Bryson City)
Little Pigeon River - Middle Prong, Sevier
County
, 10 miles away, Class III-IV - 2.7 miles long (Picnic Grounds at Greenbrier Ranger Station to Highway 73)