Elk, North Carolina, US
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A) Route 1326 to Route 1305 (above Big Falls) (Roadside Elk (along Hwy.194))
| Usual Difficulty |
IV-V (for normal flows) |
| Length |
8.4 Miles |
| Avg. Gradient |
130 fpm |
| Max Gradient |
210 fpm |
Roadside Elk
Roadside ElkPhoto of Brad Roberts by Shayne Day taken April 2000
Gauge Information
River Description
Carolina Whitewater, B.Benner
This is a fun one. Lots of good boat scoutable boogie water. Some good slides. A couple of large
vertical drops. At one point in the first two miles the river completely disappears under a bunch
of large boulders. The easy portage is river left (river right is someone's backyard). There are
some undercuts and sieves to be avoided. This is a run that short creek boats were designed
for!
There is an option of doing a short run from SR 1326 to the NC Hwy 194 Bridge. This gives you the
top three miles of roadside water and a very easy shuttle.
Bradley - 2001
Don't miss the take-out. Just downstream lies Big Falls. Inadvertently running it could be way
ugly.
Directions
From Elk Park:
Take-Out: In downtown Elk Park look for the signs to Big Falls and follow them. Take Little Elk
Creek Road (SR 1305) to the river. First bridge over water you come to is the take-out.
Put-in: From Elk Park take Hwy 19 south to NC 194. Eventually you will cross the Elk. From there
continue on to SR 1326. It will be a small turnoff on the right. Its easy to miss.
StreamTeam Status: Not Verified
Last Updated: 2004-07-13 18:52:06
No rapids entered. If you know names, and locations of the rapids please contact and advise the StreamTeam member for this run. 
User Comments
parking lot at the convergence of elk river and elk creek(make sure you have an suv or something) Edit
the level was 32" below the put-in bridge beams. I would say this would pretty much be
minimum. Keep an eye out for strainers, and undercuts abound. Along the first steep stretch there
is a 3-4 foot pourover with a severly undercut rock on left-center and a log across the rest of the
drop. Portage on the right or at low enough water you can portage the rock shelf which has the
undercut. I call this one "Lost Lendal Falls" since my Lendal paddle slipped away from me
while I was getting out to portage. Tight slots, 6-8 foot drops, and undercuts abound so be careful
(did I say that already?). As the river begins a right turn you will see a house on the river right
and a bridge over the water. Make your way to river left to scout/portage. This drop contains a
class VI sieve on river right between two large boulders and a strainer at the bottom of the entire
drop. There is an eddy at the extreme river right by the strainer but it is difficult to catch. Not
catching it would bring ugly consequences. This section also contains an absolutely sweet long
slide which begins on river left takes a sharp turn to the right then throws you back to the left
and into a pool. Nice!<br>
<br>
After the bridge a second steep section begins with even better drops. At the sight of an old mill
the river drops about 12 feet into a sweet pool. Run left of center and boof a bit...no problem.
Further down the river continues through a maze of boulders and drops. There is a severe pinning
hazard on very river left where a screw-up can send you into the undercut rock wall which extends
out from left. If you run this section make of three things: first, don't pin in the left slot
which is made by the shore and a large, flat mushroom shaped rock; second, make sure you can make
the slot around the wall because it is severely undercut; third, get ready to immediately take out
on river left because a class VI drop is just ahead.<br>
<br>
Take your time and scout what you don't know. Boat scouting this one can be difficult as the
gradient exceeds 200fpm in a very narrow canyon.