I am looking for slow moving rivers (class one or less) in the Bryson/Asheville, NC area and close to the Blue Ridge Parkway (north) where we will continue our trip.
Thanks,
Tom
That just isn’t the area to look for
such rivers. I recommend that you consider certain of the area lakes instead. Specifically the lakes I recommend are Calderwood, Santeetlah, and Cheoah. These are surrounded by forest and there are some camping opportunities.
I have run the Nantahala down to its mouth, almost the entire Tuckaseigee, the Hiwassee, the Little Tennessee, and the easier portion of the Pigeon. (There are harder runs I’ve done in this area that no one would class as “easy.”) All of these runs, often called “beginner” runs, have multiple ledges requiring either dumb luck or good water reading and boat control skills.
If you want some slow-moving water with no rapids over class 1, maybe you could try sections of the French Broad above Asheville. For longer sections of such water, look at the Conasauga WEST of hwy 411 and downstream, or portions of the French Broad or Nolichucky AFTER these streams have exited the mountains.