Green River Narrows Competition

One of the the top paddling competitions in the country takes place tomorrow (Nov.  7th) on the Green River.  The race starts at 12:00 noon. 


If you'd like to watch the race here are the direction to the trailhead. There is about a two mile hike in from there. 

From Greenville, take Hwy 25 to I26 west.

Take Exit 53 and go right on Upward Road.
Go 1.5 miles and go right on Big Hungry Road (after brick church). (This is where it gets a bit confusing.)
Take first Left on Big Hungry Road.
Take first Right on Big Hungry Road (DON'T TAKE first Right on Gallimore Road.)
But continue 3.1 more miles
Park in unmarked pull-off on right.

From there Just follow the crowd. Bring food and water and be prepared to scale down the side of the mountain to get to the river. It's well worth the effort. Check out the image here:


Update: These images are from today's race. 11.7.09

Distance from downtown Greenville: 45 miles



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Lake Lure, NC

Lake Lure is a quiet mountain lake where the mountains drop down to the water. It's deceptively large due to it's shape. The lake contains a variety of coves so it appears small and quaint. Several movies have been filmed at Lake Lure including Dirty Dancing, My Fellow Americans and Firestarter.


The town of Lake Lure contains several nice restaurants and is located next to the tourist town of Chimney Rock.  Cabins, hotels, motels and campgrounds are all located nearby.

Distance from downtown Greenville: 64 miles.



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Headwaters Outfitters

Offering:
Tubing Trips
Canoeing & Kayaking
Fly-Fishing
Canoe Camping








Located in Rosman, NC between Sapphire and Brevard, Headwaters Outfitters offers several different paddling/float packages on the French Broad river. They also carry a nice supply of fly fishing and paddling gear.






Distance from downtown Greenville: 47 miles.


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The River Garden Bed and Breakfast

The River Garden is located on the banks of the beautiful and pristine Holston River. The innkeepers, Scott and Paula, have provided three rooms in their home so that guests can get a small taste of peaceful southwest Virgina countryside that they enjoy daily.

The Holston is a fisherman's dream. During a canoe trip down the river, we found no area where trout were not abundant. All of the rooms open to a large porch overlooking the river.

In addition, Great Blue Herons, Redwing Blackbirds, Canadian Geese, Wood Ducks, Humming birds and a variety of other birds are found in every direction.

Distance from downtown Greenville: 180 miles.


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Coastal Expeditions

Coastal Expeditions offers kayak rentals in Folly Beach, Mount Pleasant and Isle of Palms, SC. They also offer guided tours through the intercostal waterway and the Edisto River where you can stay in a treehouse overnight.

We had three dolphins swimming around our kayaks for about ten minutes on our most recent trip.

They also offer a ferry to Bull Island, home of the nation's highest concentration of alligators.


Distance from downtown Greenville: 222 miles

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Tallulah Gorge

Tallulah Gorge in N. Georgia was only established as a state park in 1993. There is a small campground located within walking distance of the gorge, unfortunately a four lane highway nearby makes sleeping a bit difficult. The gorge itself though is truly amazing. Getting to the bottom requires over 500 steps, which is no big deal on the way down but coming back up is a different story.





Distance from downtown Greenville: 89 miles


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Hot Springs, NC

Hot Springs is an odd little town reminiscent of something you might find in a David Lynch movie. The town was originally named after the natural mineral springs found here.

Unfortunately they've dried up, but there are man made "hots springs" that still draw visitors. (These hot springs are basically hot tubs sitting in a gazebo.)

While sipping an Oatmeal Porter in the Paddler's Pub on Main Street, a fellow patron noticing my hiking boots asked if I had hiked up from Greenville. This would be an odd question in any other pub, considering Hot Springs is a two drive from Greenville, but the town is a well known stopping point for through-hikers traveling via the Appalachian Trail, so it was certainly a reasonable question. The AT runs through the center of town. 

Being located on the French Broad River, the town is also a popular put-in and pullout for paddlers. In addition to the various spas, there are also campgrounds, cabins and B&B's available in the town.

And of course, no small town in the South would be complete without its share of religious proselytizing in the form of vandalism.

Distance from downtown Greenville: 96 miles


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Nantahala Outdoor Center

The Nantahala Outdoor Center is located where the Appalachian Trail crosses the Nantahala river. (There are also several branch locations.) They offer many adventure trips, most of them centered around paddling on the areas best rivers.

They also have an outfitters shop, a couple restaurants and a general store which not only sells the best local microbrew in the area but offers a decent wine selection as well. Lodging is also available.



Distance from downtown Greenville: 129 miles


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Table Rock State Park

Table Rock State Park is one of the nicest state parks around. It has two nice lakes with canoes, paddleboats and rowboats for rent. One of the lakes has a small beach and is open for swimming during the summer months.

It also has some great trails of varying degrees of difficulty.


It has two RV/tent campgrounds, as well as primitive walk-in campsites and some very nice (although rustic) cabins for rent. One of the great things about the cabins is that they have large stone fireplaces that (unlike many cabins) burn real wood.

Distance from downtown Greenville: 32 miles.


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U.S. National Whitewater Center

The new National Whitewater Center located in Charlotte, NC is an artificial river with class 1-5 rapids used for training kayakers and rafters. According to the current issue of Backpacker Magazine, kayakers are coming from all over the world to train here.











The park also contains 11 miles of hiking/mountain biking trails and a five story rock climbing wall.
















Location: N 35° 16.350 W 081° 00.358
Distance from downtown Greenville: 95 miles
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Santee State Park

Santee State Park is located on Lake Marion. It has great fishing, a few hiking and mountain biking trails, and canoe and kayak rentals.

There are both cabin rentals and camp sites available.



















Location: 33°32'14.21"N 80°29'58.07"W
Distance from downtown Greenville: 156 miles
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Congaree National Park

Congaree National Park, located below Columbia, SC is floodplain area with walking trails, camping and canoeing available. It's one of the tallest deciduous forests in the world.

We found this little guy atop a Cyprus knee. Cyprus trees, which are located throughout the park, have roots such as this one (called knees) that rise up like stalagmites helping the tress to breathe.




Location: 33°46'60.00"N 80°46'60.00"W
Distance from downtown Greenville: 132 miles
Local Geocaches