Coastals

This post has been edited 3/30/26 to move the trip to Bryson City and away from he Tellico because of low water.

Please the post below.

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Paddling the Tellico River around Easter has been a favorite for me, and several years ago I started putting it on the Coastals calendar.

The Tellico is a creeky and fun river, and one of my favorites!


The plan for myself:

Thursday April 2: Drive to the Tellico, and paddle in the mid afternoon to evening. Meeting at 3 pm for the Middle section of the Tellico.
https://goo.gl/maps/yrtdC2xdD8ZBSVmUA
550 Rafter Rd, Tellico Plains, TN 37385
Just look for the boats!

Friday April 3 Paddle the Tellico - Ledges and the Middle sections depending on the river level and paddler interest.
Meet at 10:15 at the Cherohala Skyway Visitor's Center in Tellico Plains.
The visitor's center is here:
https://goo.gl/maps/MxL9QMkuFccRaLv68

Saturday April 4: Repeat of Friday.
Meet at 10:15 at the Cherohala Skyway Visitor's Center in Tellico Plains.

Sunday April 5: Abbreviated repeat of Saturday and drive home.
Meet at 10:15 at the Cherohala Skyway Visitor's Center in Tellico Plains.

I really enjoy both the Ledges and the Middle sections and want to paddle both. My Ledges comfort zone is around 1.5+' ish to 2.2+ ish on the gauge. The level is often in that range in the Spring, and usually is a good range for paddling. It's also easy to avoid certain parts of the Ledges if desired, such as Jaredd's Knee. The river is roadside.

The Ledges:
https://www.americanwhitewater.org/cont ... /1791/main

The Middle section:
https://www.americanwhitewater.org/cont ... /1792/main

Some videos from an earlier trip:
Ledges:
https://vimeo.com/94369849

Middle Section:
https://vimeo.com/92481159

Tellico Plains is here:
https://goo.gl/maps/ofZnFCmLz9wRwx2VA

Lodging for me is a cabin, but other options like camping are available.
http://www.tellicologcabins.com/

A camping option:
https://www.cmtrails.com/

The gauge:
https://waterdata.usgs.gov/monitoring-l ... ments=true


My email address is:
billh1970@yahoo.com

With the Tellico below paddling mins and not much rain in the forecast I've changed the base area to the Bryson City area instead of Tellico Plains. That gives access the Chattooga 3.5/4, low water Cheoah, French Broad 9, and the Nanty and others. I'll probably stop at the Nolichucky on the way down. The Tellico is still a possibility if the storms land in the right place with the right intensity.

I'm staying at an Airbnb downhill from the Smoky Mountain Meadows Campground.

-Bill