Caney Fork River below Center Hill Dam

Trip Overview

For those interested in the canoeing / floating the length of the Caney Fork River below Center Hill dam here are details of my trip taken on 19 August 2017. My youngest son and I paddled the length of the Caney Fork below Center Hill Dam all the way to the Cumberland River. Our total trip time was 9 hours 18 minutes to travel 27 miles. We are experienced canoeists but neither of us had been in a canoe for over a year before this trip. Our combined ages (I am north of 55 and he is south of 35) at the time of the trip was 88 years. We used a 16.5 foot polyethylene Coleman canoe. Our combined weight including food, water and safety gear was about 525 pounds and the canoe weighed an additional 91 pounds. We started the trip just below Center Hill dam at 7:12AM and we were out of the Cumberland River just west of the state highway 25 bridge that crosses the Cumberland at 4:30PM. We used the boat ramp on the north side of the Cumberland as our exit point. We used the Buffalo Valley Recreation area boat ramp just downstream of the dam on the north side of the Caney Fork River as our entry point. The river miles from Center Hill dam to the Cumberland River is 26.6 miles. The total distance we travelled is estimated to be 27 miles. We stopped for lunch and 4 other short breaks totaling about 50 minutes of time that we were not paddling. We paddled steadily when in the canoe but not at a rapid pace. Our initial speed based on the timings below was 3.73 miles per hour. Our final speed also based on the timings below was 2.13 miles per hour. Our overall speed including breaks averaged 2.9 miles per hour. Overall speed excluding breaks averaged 3.19 miles per hour. The following are various points and the time we reached them along the trip. 7:12AM started at the Center Hill Dam, 8:49AM first I-40 bridge over the river, 9:22AM second I-40 bridge over the river, 9:37AM third I-40 bridge over the river, 10:11AM fourth I-40 bridge over the river, 10:36AM fifth I-40 bridge over the river, 12:03PM Stonewall Jackson railroad trestle, 1:35pm Smith County Agriculture boat ramp, 2:55PM US Highway 70N bridge over the river, 4:26PM Entered the Cumberland River. The map of the river we carried with us came from this web site http://southernbrookies.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/Caney_Fork.pdf . It shows the different public launching places along the river. About 10.7 miles below Center Hill Dam is where Smith Fork Creek empties into the Caney Fork River. The Caney Fork had very clear water until we reached that point and then it was murky the rest of the trip. We saw many fishermen wading and fishing from the shore. Those who had the best luck catching fish all were within about the first half mile below Center Hill Dam. The number of people fishing diminished greatly after we went under Interstate 40 the last time. We saw several blue herons, only 2 kingfishers, a few ducks but never close enough to identify them and several Canadian geese. Before the water became murky it was easy to spot minnows all the way to large (12”+) fish in the river. I chose recommended skill level of intermediate as you need to navigate around various downed trees and through some shoals. Beginner skill level would enjoy the trip but find it more challenging in parts of the river. Photos will not upload to this site so I have included this link https://www.flickr.com/gp/154083303@N07/Xp2rZ1 where you will find 7 photos from the trip.