French Broad River- Section 10

Trip Overview

We used the map found on frenchbroadpaddle.com to plan our trip.

Launched from Murray Branch River Access (MM 113) at 11am

Stopped for lunch near Paint Rock (MM 115.5)

Camped near French Broad Fields Dispersed (129.7)

Took out at Bobarosa Saloon and Tent Camping USA (MM 131)

River Rd turns into gravel road for the last mile before arriving at Murray Branch. You’ll find a paved parking area with several picnic benches and information about water safety and local emergency numbers. The launch spot could be missed if you’re not looking but can be found just before the parking spots begin. Easy enough to haul our kayaks over and get them loaded. Be prepared for immediate Class ll rapids for the first 100 yards of this paddle. Throughout this trip you’ll come across small sections of Class l and Class ll rapids but none as long as the first set near the launch spot. This float is gorgeous. We passed through stunning mountains with incredible rock outcroppings, saw plenty of wildlife including river otters, birds of prey, and fish and enjoyed the cool but refreshing water.

We planned to camp at French Broad Fields Dispersed campsite about 2 miles past the Del Rio bridge, but mistakenly took a clearing on the right side of the river as our site. At no point on the paddle did we have service so we had to rely on screenshots of maps and directions I had taken prior to the trip. Highly recommend getting accurate map photos and detailed directions before your trip. We actually ended up staying at Stone Mountain Recreation Park. From the river you can see a covered wooden platform that appears to have once had electrical and a ceiling fan. The structure still provided a great place to set up our tent with plenty of room for chairs and cook set. We enjoyed some evening fishing off the bank where we caught several small mouth bass and enjoyed the sun set behind the mountains. Behind the structure is a set of old stairs that leads to an open field (I assume this was the Recreation Park). Slab Cafe, a gas station and other building can be seen across the field. While I presume camping in this area would be fine, we preferred the seclusion of the river bank. A layer of fog ushered in the morning while we enjoyed more fishing and took our time packing up.

We chose to end our trip at Bobarosa Saloon and Tent Camping USA. This was only a mile from our campsite so we chose to let the river carry us and enjoy the morning float. About .5 mile down, we could hear some rapids that sounded a bit more rowdy than the previous day. Some rocks to the right provided a safe place to tuck away and scope out the area. Here we found a waterfall dropping about 5 feet and spanning the entirety of the river. Staying to the right we chose to portage the falls by walking our kayaks through knee deep water and continuing the last stretch of our trip. The current is strong here so use caution! We arrived at Bobarosa Saloon and banked on a small sandy beach before a serious of shoals. We enjoyed a welcomed lunch and enjoyed the view of river from here while we waited for our ride. We decided the original area where we beached wasn’t going to be accessible for a vehicle so we chose to navigate the shoals and pull out in the campgrounds area. We were able to unload our gear and get packed up easily here. I would highly recommend this area to camp at if you’re looking for a single day long paddle and a more comfortable camping spot to end your trip.