I likely will be camping and hope to kayak on a river near camp and near Pigeon Forge next year. Know any spots like this?
Sea kayaker did an entire article
on a big ake in that area. Why in the world are you even talking about pigeon forge; kids demand it? Go way up in the mountains!
Hey Linda…
Didn’t you just have another similar post?
I will reply as I did on that one.
The Nantahala River is not to far from Pigeon Forge. There is camping places all the way along it.
You can paddle the river and get a good WW fix, or you can paddle in Fontana Lake.
You can shop till you drop in the Nantahala Outdoor center, or just lust for one of everything they have.
You can stand on the bridge that crosses the river and watch Olympic caliber slalom paddlers go through the gates or you can sit at Nantahala Falls and rate the paddlers, (novices and experts)as they come through sideways, upside down, swimming and perfect.
If you get to Pigeon Forge, then the Nantahala is a must for you .
Cheers,
JackL
JackL…
JackL & I are both in total agreement on the Nantahala river, and Nantahala Outdoor Center.
I go there for 3 or 4 days every year; have never had a bad time yet. Love it!
The French Broad, and the Ocoee Rivers are both about 4 or 5 hours away from the Nantahala.
Push it a little & you can get to the Chattooga.
Pigeon Forge; I hate even passing thru it!
BOB
Unfortunately
that’s where I’m going for a biker thing next year. I have shopped online at Nanty and I’m familiar with the store via their catalogue. I’ll likely want to paddle in thta Fontana Lake after biking that much-doing the dragon’s tail also maybe…
What are you riding linda?
I’m within an hour and a half of the Dragon, but I doubt I’ll ever ride it, at least on any warm weekend. We hear all the bad news about crashes being this close. We have our more local version here…hwy 9 from Black Mtn to Chimney Rock/Lake Lure…actually more curves per mile than the Dragon, but fewer daredevils.
I like all bikes, but I’ve been on a Harley kick for a few years now.
I have a mini Harley
– Last Updated: Nov-26-05 4:02 AM EST –
right now...a Honda Rebel with a windshield and saddlebags! HAHA!! My first year riding...next year I will have a Honda Shadow Aero-like the lowrider bikes! Keep in touch and maybe we can hook up for a paddle/ride.
Rebels are great!
My wife had one, just sold it recently though. They are great bikes to learn on, wish they still made the 450 version.
I’m a Sportster freak…best all around Harley in my opinion, I’m fortunate enough to afford an Electraglide too…she’s my 2 wheeled limo.
I’m not sure where you’re located, but we have a group of friends that get together quite often for riding, racing, and such. Friends range from Florida to Canada, but we gather several tmes a year. We have 2 Rebel riders. Our race group just did a 3 day river trip, which gave me the
fever for a kayak.
Check out our race team at www.snartracing.com
Our sportser Yahoo group is southernsportsterriders.
Doing The Dragon…
If you are “seriously” considering doing The Dragon; you should be prepared to deal with bikes(sometimes multiple bikes) coming at you from the front & rear at speeds in excess of twice what you’ll likely be traveling. You could end up as an ornament on the front fender of a Hayabusa, or something similiar.
BOB
ditto what Bob said!
I was riding in a group of 6 bikes, when we were passed in a blind curve by 4 “crotch rockets”. One of the passing bikes had a teenage girl hanging off the back. We stopped a few miles later for gas, as did the rocket bikes…turns out that the teenage girl was riding with her dad! I had 2 good reasons to beat the living **** out of him, but my friends held me back.
In all honesty, I feel safer on the track at over 170mph than I do at 55mph on the street.
The Dragon is a gathering point for idiots, there are some sane folks there, but you never know till it’s too late.
Douglas Dam campgrounds
One of these campgrounds operated by TVA may suit you. The upper one is on the lake east of the dam. The tailwater campground is just below the dam. Both are about 20-30? miles from Pigeon Forge. My family camped there 3 years ago in June.
http://www.tva.gov/river/recreation/camping.htm#douglas
The Tailwater campground is on the bank of the French Broad River. Not the well-known whitewater section located futher upstream, but in the valley. See French Broad River on Paddling.net.
http://www.paddling.net/places/showReport.html?208
Hope this helps,
Dan