Clinch, Virginia, US

Pucketts Hole to Nash Ford (Clinch River Gorge)

Usual Difficulty	I-III (for normal flows)
Length	8 Miles

Gauge Information

Name	Range	Difficulty	Updated	Level
CLINCH RIVER AT CLEVELAND, VA
usgs-03524000	600 - 5000 cfs	I-III	00h53m	897 cfs (rc= 0.1 )

River Description

This is a fairly mild section of river perfect for beginners at the appropriate levels. It also has some good play on it at various levels as well. Pucketts hole is good at all levels up to around 3000? which it starts to change. I do know of some holes downstream from the put in that were good enough to surf a raft in at low water levels, so they should be kickin for playboats. This run is commonly combined with the Big Cedar Creek run which in turn provides the only "exciting" whitewater in the gorge. After the Big Cedar confluence the river has a couple of surprises in store for the unwary. A series of nice ledges downstream of the confluence will form some big holes at higher levels but shouldn't be a problem at levels up to 3000 cfs. After this the river pretty much runs out of steam and makes way to the takeout near Nash Chapel Church on RL. When the river starts splitting around the islands, go left and stay there to make the take out.