Upper Saluda River in South Carolina

Trip Overview

My brother and I, our first time ever on a canoeing trip, rented a 16ft canoe from Saluda River Resort in Saluda, SC. We drop back to the put in at the dam on Lake Greenwood, also known as Buzzards Roost. At the put in, it was a rough trek through tall grass from the parking lot to get down to the river. At the river there were a few people fishing and for the first fifteen min or so down the river, we saw a number of people in small boats trying to catch some early morning fish.

We didn't stop for lunch, we let the current carry us as we ate. There were a few spots where there was barely enough water to allow the canoe to pass and in one or two instances, we literally got stuck on the bottom. After these few places, the level of the river rises and there are generally no more problems with water level as long as you stay to the correct side. At one place, the current is still flowing nicely, but we stopped, guarded from the current by some rocks, to fish. I caught a palm sized brim which we took along with us to eat for supper.

This section of the Saluda has a class II rapid around a large (180 degrees) curve to the right. It's fairly easy to go down but there are large rocks. There wasn't a huge current, but we managed to make good time the first day, camping on a sandbar. There are plenty sandbars to choose from and we happened to pick a swampy one that was completely infested with mosquitoes. Near our campsite was the only time that we encountered any other people except for at the very beginning.

We woke up the next morning and paddled on down the river to the Saluda River Resort where we took out. The river past the sandbars is getting close to Lake Murray so it was difficult to paddle. We made it out of the river in enough time to drive home (30 min) both get showers and make it to church on time (11am).

Accommodations:

Saluda River Resort; at the bottom of the river before Lake Murray

Outfitting:

16 ft canoe, 4 person tent, fishing poles.

Fees:

The only fee we had to pay was the rental fee for the canoe.

Resources:

Google Earth (free to download on the internet)