Kayaking the Upper Toccoa River

Second trip onto the Toccoa, this time in the Aska Adventure area where the Toccoa river runs into Lake Blue Ridge. Dam release times will have no affect on a trip on this portion of the river, only the natural precipitation that will change the river-scape.

Again, finding information on drop-ins and take-outs is difficult, especially if you do not have two cars and need to find a convenient trip possible with one car and biking between locations. After a bit of investigating and scouting, we found a great trip that we believe that we can still improve upon now that we have a better idea of the area.

Expect more info and map here soon of drop in and out locations.

In summary, we put in a Sandy Bottoms and took out near Tilly Bend. What this equates to is a 6 mile paddle with only an easy 2 mile distance between the put ins and take outs.

Sandy Bottoms is a Forestry Service maintained park that is actually the official end of the 13 mile Toccoa Canoe Trail. It has a $3 parking fee. We dropped the kayaks and gear at this location, and then drove back to Tilly Bend. Here, we parked on a pull-off on the road, then road our bikes back to Sandy Bottoms. There was some uphill sections at the start, all on dirt roads, but was a fairly easy 2 mile ride back. In this general area, we believe we might have used the wrong location to take out, so there might still be a better location that we hope to discover soon.

Immediately from Sandy Bottoms, you will hit class I rapids and shoals for the majority of the trip. The water flow is brisk and we passed many people simply floating down in tubes. We did scrape bottom a few times on the shoals and rapids, but the river level is generally deeper than the lower Toccoa when it is not running dam water. The 6 mile river as it winds through the hills with the blooming wild flowers is also beautiful. You pass few houses till you reach the end and closer to the lake.

There were three notable rapids. The first was a series of shallow water falls that look more intimidating than they really were. The second, which we later found out was a class II+ was a lot of fun, and probably the limit of what our kayaks could do. My first attempt and I was quickly thrown out into a deep washing machine (note - it would have been nice to have been wearing the PFD that was tied to the back of the kayak...). When I finally got to the surface I was lucky to be able to quickly grab the kayak as I was tossed over the second drop over some rocks. The water was moving pretty fast here so it took a while to paddle to the side and get back into the kayak.

Apart from losing my sunglasses, I was no worse for wear. Traci on the other hand looked like a pro and had no issues going down the rapid. We both climbed back up the rocks and did it again. This time we both tipped and I lost my water bottle and Traci lost her sunglasses and hat.

Found hat and water bottle down the river, but sunglasses forever gone.

The last rapid called BFH (you'll know why when you see it) was fun and fast and emptied into the lake. Here we had around a 1 hour lake paddle back to the take-in point. This was OK and afforded us some much needed exercise, but after the fun of the river, I would like a shorter lake paddle - will investigate a closer take out to shorten the lake paddle.

Kayaking the Lower Toccoa River

We finally scouted out out first paddle trip on the new kayaks. There are many resources on kayaking the Toccoa, unfortunately, its very difficult to find and usually only one part of the story. The Toccoa exists before and after Lake Blue Ridge Dam. The Upper Toccoa which releases into Lake Blue Ridge is not dam controlled waters, while the Lower Toccoa that releases from Blue Ridge Dam is dam controlled. There are a few things to consider before planning a trip:

1. Dam release times and how and where that will affect you.
2. Put in and take out locations.
3. Transportation from those locations.

First, dam release times are critical depending on the type of trip you wish to take. If the waters have not been released from the dam into the Toccoa, you will have a much slower trip, the river will be very shallow in parts meaning that you will scrap the bottom every now and again, plus you will need to paddle to reach your destination.

Our first trip down the river from Curtis Switch was without any flow waters. The first mile probably contained some of the most shallow sections, and we both found ourselves stuck on rocks several times. You really need to navigate around the shallows, but there is no avoiding hitting bottom. That said, we had heard it would be a terrible trip without the water flowing to its maximum, but minus a few frustrating moments, it was a very enjoyable trip and a nice learning experience. I would to it again.

To do a Dam Release trip you will need the release information from the TVA, an understanding when this flow will reach your put in, and when the flow will reach your take out.

The TVA published dam releases with around 24 hour notice. To find the release information for the Toccoa:

1. Visit www.tva.org
2. Select Reservoir Info on the left hand side of the page
3. On the Choose a Reservoir drop down, select Blue Ridge
4. Select View Info

Under Releases you'll see the release dates and times. It is only being released for a particular date and time if the generator is set to 1.

For a trip leaving Curtis Switch, you need to wait 3 hours after the release times before putting in. It takes 2 hours for the flow water to reach Curtis Switch, then you want to wait a little bit to ensure they get in front of your kayak, else you'll paddle faster than the release and hit bottom.

With release waters, it took us about one and half hours to reach Horseshoe Bend Park. This was a little bit more than half hour than without the flow waters. The trip is faster, and you wouldn't have to paddle if you didn't wish, but unfortunately, there were very little rapids or excitement. I would prefer to paddle the upper Toccoa in the Aska Adventure area, but still a pleasant trip with nice sights.