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French Broad River, NC
Barnard to Hot Springs
(Section 9)
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Class
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Flow
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Â
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Gauge
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III (IV-)
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700 cfs (minimum to TO @ Stackhouse)Â
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Â
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The gauge closest to the put-in is the French Broad at
Marshall. This gauge is not available on the TVA's flow
line (800-238-2264) or flow page (TVA Streamflows), though
the French Broad at Asheville and the French Broad at Newport
are.  The level on the Marshall gauge is usually
about half way between the levels on the Asheville and Newport gauges,
unless there has been a big rain upstream whose waters have only just begun
to move down the river.
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III (IV-)
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1,200 cfs (minimum to TO @ Hot Springs)Â
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III+ (2@IV)
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3,500+ cfs
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Character:
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Cruising, with good play and surfing at higher levels
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Scenery:
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Pretty, in a wide, forested canyon with only occasional obvious signs of
developmentÂ
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Distance from Downtown Asheville (to take-out):
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43 minutes
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Length:
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8.1 miles (4.1 to alternate take-out at Stackhouse)
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Season:
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Year round (best levels in Spring)
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Other sections:
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French Broad, Biltmore Run
(I-II), French Broad, Section 6
(I-II+), French Broad, Section 8
(I-II), many more
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Put-in:
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Barnard, NC
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Take-out:
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Hot Springs, NC
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Directions from Asheville (to take-out):
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43 minutes. Head north out of Asheville on US
19/23. Take the US 25/70 (Marshall) exit. Follow
US 25/70 all the way to the outskirts of Hot Springs (this will require
making a left turn to cross the Big Laurel -- if you are a typical paddler
you will park after making the turn and check the gauge painted on river
left beneath the bridge). Just before crossing the bridge into
town, turn right, then left to go under the bridge and upstream to the
rafting outpost parking area.
Directions to the alternate take-out at Stackhouse:Â Head
north out of Asheville on US 19/23. Take the US 25/70
(Marshall) exit. Follow US 25/70 19 miles to State Road
1139/1319 (Stackhouse Road). Look for it on your left
shortly after you pass USA Raft. Turn left and follow
Stackhouse Road downhill all the way to the river.
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Shuttle:
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20 minutes each way. Retrace your steps back to the
"T" intersection after the bridge over the Big
Laurel. Turn right with US 25/70 to continue retracing your
steps all the way to the State Road 1151 (Barnard Road). Turn
right onto Barnard Road and follow it downhill all the way to the river (be
alert, there are some twists and turns). The put-in is on
river right just upstream of the bridge.
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Other access points:
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Stackhouse, hike into Frank Bell's Rapid, others
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Camping:
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There are camping and lodging opportunities aplenty in Hot
Springs. My family and I like the Rocky
Bluff USFS Campground (828-622-3202;Â open the Rocky
Bluff file with the free adobe acrobat
reader). Open May 1 to October 31, this campground has a
short nature trail running alongside Spring Creek. To get
there, take NC 209 South three miles out of town, heading toward the put-in
for Spring Creek. Campsites cost $8 a night. To
learn more, check out Gorp's Rocky
Bluff page. Other campgrounds include the Hot
Springs Campground, conveniently located on the river and the USFS's
Silvermine Group Campground (828-622-3202).
There are many, many rustic bed and breakfasts in Hot
Springs. I know several paddlers who have been married at
The
Duckett House, for example, and another couple who were married on
Max Patch but had
their reception at the Rock House. The most unique bed and
breakfast, however, has to be Elmer Hall's Sunnybank Inn
(828-622-7206). Extremely popular with AT through hikers, a
stay at Elmer's includes a family-style vegetarian dinner and breakfast
and a chance to converse with an extremely eclectic assortment of
guests. In a former life Elmer was a Methodist minister at
Duke University; his library is extensive. Most
find the Sunnybank Inn through word of mouth. Here are some
of those words:Â
Google Search on Elmer and the Sunnybank Inn. And for
the two of you who are chomping at the bit for pricier accommodations,
here are a couple additional Hot Springs
lodging options.
Â
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Gradient
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Â
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Average:
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24 fpm to Hot Springs;Â 27 to Stackhouse
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Â
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By mile:
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8.1 or 4.1 miles:
16, 21, 39, 32, 20, 20, 26, 19, 10 fpm over last 0.13 miles
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Â
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Maximum:
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41 fpm (over 0.97 miles)
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Â
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Maximum half Mile:
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41 fpm
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Â
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Maximum mile:
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41 fpm
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Guides
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Â
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Â
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Online:
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American Whitewater's
French Broad Section 9 Page
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Â
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Print:
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Bob and David Benner's
Carolina Whitewater:Â A Canoeist's Guide to the Western
Carolinas
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Maps:
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Hot Springs Spa's Map
to Hot Springs
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Photos:
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NC, SC and TN Rivers
& Creeks Gallery
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Other:
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Frank Bell's Rapid is named after one of the pioneers of southeastern
whitewater. I'm often asked if we're related, and while he's
someone I'd love to be able to claim, to my disappointment we're
not. Learn more about this fascinating character by reading
reading
Gordon Grant's 1993 Obituary for Frank Bell Senior.
Guess how Hot Springs got its name! Consider reserving
yourself a tub at the Hot Springs Spa
(828-622-7676 or 800-462-0933;Â see the price list in the
preceding link). The most private tubs are numbers 5 &
6. Most paddlers take out at the rafting outpost on river
right 1/3 mile upstream, but if you timed it right you could paddle
directly to the tubs on river left. Retrieve the bottle of
wine from the truck, change out of your river clothes in a changing room,
shower, and relax in a hot tub. What could be
finer? You can even reserve a massage!
Do a
Google Search on Hot Springs and you'll get a lot of interesting
hits. I've found the
Sherpa Guide to Hot Springs useful, and Hot Spring's
history interesting reading. Consider timing a trip to
the French Broad to coincide with the annual French Broad River
Festival.
Â
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Â
This is a great run for intermediate paddlers. Its greatest
challenge for those beginning to build their skills is its
width. It is only slightly harder than the Nantahala if one
sneaks the two most difficult drops, Kayaker's Ledge (III at all but high
levels) and Frank Bell's (IV- at all but high levels). Both
are easily sneaked:Â they occur in the channels on the river
right sides of large islands. Run the left sides of the
islands and you'll miss them entirely.
Kayaker's Ledge comes at the end of the long, flat, relatively shallow
section of the river called Windy Flats. Windy Flats begins
below Stackhouse, about the point the railroad tracks cross Big Laurel
Creek. The island on whose right side Kayaker's Ledge forms
is about 130 steep feet high and occurs at a sharp right hand bend in the
river. Scout Kayaker's Ledge before running it -- it creates
an obvious horizon line.
The pair of small islands on whose right sides Frank Bell's Rapid forms
are located about a half mile below Kayaker's Ledge and about a quarter
mile below the last of the series of small islands below the main island
at Kayaker's Ledge. There is a great ender spot at the
bottom of Frank Bell's, a good enough spot that in the days when enders
were king we'd sometimes walk our boats the 2/3rds of a mile up the
railroad tracks from the end of the road on the river left side of the
river just to do them. If memory serves, 1,000 cfs was the
optimum ender level.
Section 9 varies significantly with changes in water
level. Many consider levels between 2,000-4,000 cfs on the
Marshall gauge the most fun because higher water begins to wash out some of
the drops and lower water can lead to a very long paddle through Windy
Flats. Although this stretch of river does not have an upper
limit, with the increase in power and speed that comes with very high water
levels it ceases to be a good intermediate run. Craig
Stickney, who has paddled it about as often as anyone the past couple years
-- both in a hardboat and as a raft guide -- characterizes the different
levels as follows:
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Flow
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Level
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Craig's Comments
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300-700 cfs
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Super low
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Lots of rocks, and even the plants growing on the rocks are
visible. Interesting to see once or twice, but not a
lot of fun. At 300 cfs some rapids are very
interesting just to get through
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700-1,300
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Low
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At this level, there are plenty of rocks and the rapids are
shallow. Don't bother going below Stackhouse from 1200
cfs down, super scrapy (and even at 1200 cfs everything below there
isn't worth the paddle). Sandy Bottoms wave (next to
FBRC lunch spot) is nice and wide around 1000-1200 cfs, although
rather short in height.
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1,300-1,900
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Medium Low
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Good level for folks just learning. The rapids are all
there. Eddy lines and surf waves start to get fun,
although the Sandy bottoms wave is pretty poor at most of these
levels.
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1,900-2,500
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Medium
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The rapids start to get fun. Many more surf waves form
above 1900 cfs. Big Pillow is a cartwheel spot around
2000 cfs as well.
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2,500-3,500
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Medium High
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The river turns much more into wave trains than Rock
Gardens. Surf waves abound, although there isn't any
eddy service for most. The bright orange/brown water
is freakish.
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3,500-5,000
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High
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Even whitewater snobs will enjoy the river from here
up. Some rapids start to get largish holes, but
nothing to really worry about.
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5,000+
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Yahoo!
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I've only done it a few times between 5000 cfs and 8000
cfs. Really, Really fun. More like the
New in West Virginia. Waves of 6-8 feet.Â
Zero technicality, just miss a couple of holes.
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For descriptions of the many runs in the Asheville area less challenging
than Section 9 -- including seven on the French Broad -- see Betsy
Mayers' Paddling Asheville:Â 28
Gently Exciting Regional River Trips. This very well
done guide for those interested in paddling class I-II in Western North
Carolina and East Tennessee includes put-ins, take-outs, directions from
Asheville, landmarks by river mile, excellent maps and general comments.
For less detailed descriptions of every run on the French Broad from its
headwaters near Rosman, NC into Tennessee, see Bob and David Benner's
Carolina Whitewater:Â A Canoeist's Guide to the Western
Carolinas.
Â
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700 is the minimum for the Barnard to Stackhouse run. I'd recommend 1200 to continue to Hot Springs. It can be run above 7000 but it is no longer an intermedia 
No rapids entered. If you know names, and locations of the rapids please contact and advise the StreamTeam member for this run. 
User Comments
Hot Springs.
http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c268/philipaschliman/256648_10150203113534020_586224019_6890069_3357247_o.jpg
http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c268/philipaschliman/243230_10150203116629020_586224019_6890095_7280492_o.jpg Edit
side rafting line. Rain from 5/23/2011 MAY dislodge the boat. My fear is that it washes over the
horizon line and gets stuck again, this would make it extremely dangerous. If you don't see the
boat up top, be very careful with the middle of Frank Bells until someone can confirm that it has
finished washing through (presumably into the deep pool at the end where I suspect it will remain
until a massive flood has a chance to stir the deep stuff up.)
we've seen no sign of it all the way to Hot Springs.
in the center of the drop a little bit to RR. It formed a dangerous hazard to swimmers, and we
watched as one woman swam out of her boat and right around this Nasty aluminium strainer. It is
upside down. and could pose a horrific pin for an unwary boater. On Saturday at 4,000 cfs, it could
not be seen from above. Only from looking up at the drop. As river levels drop, it could be
removed. Not sure if it will float free on it's own accord. Use caution when dropping into Kayakers
Ledge. While it is in the center, and can be avoided, swimmers could really get screwed if sucked
that way. Freddie Carter 5/2/11
Kayaker's Ledge develops a terminal hole above 10k but it had a good seam in the middle at 14k that
we had no problem with. It felt like Iron Ring on the Gauley, complete with a huge hole/wave combo
below. Can anybody verify the terminal hole at 10k, or is this urban legend? Thanks
not positive on the name being walnut, but you should be able to find it. Just remember that 1151
isn't right off of the main road and you need to turn right onto another road first.
there is a very long, flat recovery pool afterwords), but it is an easy rapid.
other holes are not bad too. I also like the sandy bottoms wave at the bottom of the rapid.
<br>
- Beginner's Rapid (Just below the put in railroad tressel) ~ class 2<br>
<br>
- the Slide (long rapid, ran on river left, ends in a short, broken ledge) ~ class 2<br>
<br>
- the Maze (an even longer rapid) ~ class 2+ or maybe 3-<br>
<br>
- Turtle Rock (just below Jump Rock and it's big pool, ran on river left). ~ class 2-2+<br>
<br>
- S-turn (Very short but a little tricky. A swim here can result in swimming Big Pillow rapid
which<br>
itself tends to give long swims. Stroke hard for the river left bank if you have an out-of-boat
experience :-) ) ~ class 3-<br>
<br>
- Big Pillow / Pillow Rock rapid (scout from the river left bank, shortest scout-trip you'll ever
do. Basically, stick your boat on the beach and stand up. Run the top hole ("Pillowcase")
if you like, or skirt on the right. Avoid the big rock w/ the pillow by going to it's left.) ~
class 3<br>
<br>
- fun eddyline / weak surfing spot below Big Pillow<br>
<br>
- Swimmer's Rapid (an excellent and Strong eddyline, raft co's have let their folks swim this in
the past but there are rocks in there and it can be a little shallow. A couple hundred years of
flat water is after this where rafters are known to swim) ~ class 1-2-<br>
<br>
- Sandy Bottom (Often a big, fun surfing wave! If you flip, roll fast or tuck hard and get ready to
be run thru some meat grinder action. Run on river left. Makes for a great lunch stop. ) ~ class
2+<br>
<br>
- the Ledges (about 3 significant ledges w/ what are normally mild holes. Look for good playspots
in here)<br>
<br>
- Pinball/Pitstop (Look for Bumper rock in the center of the river. Nice eddy line around both side
of it and usually a small, glassy wave 15 years above it. Run starting far river left for Pinball
rapid (fun!) or run far river right for a milder rapid with nasty undercut potential that looks
really neat.) ~ class 3- for Pinball, 2+ for Pitstop<br>
<br>
- Rebar Rapid (look for rebar in the center of the rapid from where a low head dam was years ago
(1920's?). Run left. Watch for big hole at medium/high flows (easily avoidable)) ~ class 2+<br>
<br>
- Stackhouse Rapid (plenty of lines here. Watch for rocks.) ~ class 2+-3-<br>
<br>
- Stackhouse takeout<br>
<br>
- Windy Flats (thousands of miles of shallow, flat water. Class 4.9 for technicality and sheer
endurance needed to get thru this.)<br>
<br>
- Kayaker's Ledge/Needle Falls (watch for the Needles on the mountain-island in the center of the
river. Go the right side of the island for Kayaker's Ledge. Scout from river left. I can easily
imagine this being one bad hole to be stuck in a higher levels. Run far right which works out well
if you clear the hole, or down the tongue which almost guarantees a quick run thru the hole, or
boof far left and land in that eddy. You can portage and even paddle back up to the
"sneak" on river left of the mountain-island. I often run this, then portage back up to
run the sneak b/c the sneak's so much fun! Big wave train!) - class 3<br>
<br>
- Frank Bell's (now called class 4, I've heard some guide books have it listed as class 5. It's a
big rapid w/ some big holes. Hard to scout too. Run river left for a fun boogie water sneak and
watch out for crazy water below the rapid.) ~ class 4
Ledge: This rapid becomes terminal<br>
at about 12,000 cfs and up. Also, for<br>
anyone thinking of running it right now,<br>
Kayaker's has what looks like a nasty<br>
strainer about thirty to forty yards below<br>
it in a section called "Lover's Lane".<br>
The strainer is two large, poison ivy<br>
covered trees that block the whole<br>
channel. Just something to keep in<br>
mind. Oh, and Frank's starts to wash<br>
out at higher flows, but if you catch it at<br>
about 10,000 cfs or higher, you'll see<br>
"Seldom Seen", which is a massive<br>
(I've heard as big as twenty feet)<br>
reactionary wave formed by the<br>
meeting of the two currents from either<br>
side of the island. It's about fifteen<br>
yards past the end of Frank's, if you get<br>
a chance to run it this high.
Both of these rapids can be avoided without portaging.