East Fork Stones River in Tennessee

by  guest-paddler

A self-supported trip created by guest-paddler

Trip Overview

So Randy and I went up to the upper East Fork for a run from Hoover's Mill Rd bridge to Readyville Mill dam. A little over 6 miles took us a little over 4 hrs, with about 45 min-1 hr goof off time as we came down. The water gauge at Lascassas Hwy was showing 5.5 ft depth gauge, and 500CFM flow. The river was at an almost perfect level, and the weather was damn fine too!! We scraped several times but never had to get out tight line the boats. Two inches lower and we would have been pulling a lot. This section of the river is definitely a late fall, winter, early spring run.

We paddled through Class 1 & 2 rapids about every 5 minutes today. White caps and several standing waves that we played in.The current was flowing quickly, so fast in fact that we had few opportunities to take photos or fish. As for wildlife today, we saw kingfishers (lots), woodpeckers, hawks, crows, tweety-birds, and a turkey. Lots of fox squirrels, a raccoon and a possum with a corn cob he had picked up somewhere.

All in all, it was a great day to paddle in Middle TN. Hope you had the good fortune to paddle somewhere today too.

Fees:

No fees. We accessed on private property, but there is public access a little ways upstream at the the Woodbury Arts Center.

We pulled out at the Readyville Mill dam. You can speak with Tom Brady at the Readyville Mill for permission. By the way, the mill is over 200 yrs. old and Tom has it fully operational. You should definitely check it out.

Directions:

Maps of the river, driving directions, and info from water gauges can be found at stoneswatershed.org

Trip Details

  • Sport/Activity: Kayaking
  • Skill Level: Intermediate
  • Water Type: River/Creek (Up to Class II)

Trip Location