Rafting on the Ocoee begin of April
 

Hello,

I would like to go rafting on the Ocoee river (Tennessee) in April (Both
the upper and lower part). Is it required to make a reservation or is
it possible (since it is early in the season) just to go along and pick
an outfitter on the day of the rafting ?

Also I've read that the Ocoee is not flowing continuously since water is
used for the making of electrical energy. At scheduled time water is
released for recreational purposes. After the moment they start
releasing the water into the river, is it recommended to wait an hour or
so before starting to raft because the flow of the river has to settle ?

Thanks,

Tom

Rafting on the Ocoee begin of April
 

The 2004 schedule : http://www.tva.gov/river/recreation/ocoeesched.htm







On Sat, 07 Feb 2004 17:20:27 +0100, ABC wrote:

Hello,

I would like to go rafting on the Ocoee river (Tennessee) in April (Both
the upper and lower part). Is it required to make a reservation or is
it possible (since it is early in the season) just to go along and pick
an outfitter on the day of the rafting ?

Also I've read that the Ocoee is not flowing continuously since water is
used for the making of electrical energy. At scheduled time water is
released for recreational purposes. After the moment they start
releasing the water into the river, is it recommended to wait an hour or
so before starting to raft because the flow of the river has to settle ?

Thanks,

Tom

Rafting on the Ocoee begin of April
 

Used to work on the Ocoee so here's my 2 cents - answers included below...

ABC wrote:
Hello,

I would like to go rafting on the Ocoee river (Tennessee) in April (Both
the upper and lower part). Is it required to make a reservation or is
it possible (since it is early in the season) just to go along and pick
an outfitter on the day of the rafting ?


Since it's early in the season, it probably wouldn't be difficult to do
a walk-up registration. However, you may want to make a reservation
ahead of time to save yourself the trouble of driving from one outfitter
to another in the event they aren't open, running trips, etc. I would
recommend Wildwater Ltd (my old employer) - they are on the Ducktown end
of the river. However, I would also suggest Southeastern or NOC as
well. There are about 25 companies or so to choose from but I don't
think you can go wrong with one of these three.

Also I've read that the Ocoee is not flowing continuously since water is
used for the making of electrical energy. At scheduled time water is
released for recreational purposes. After the moment they start
releasing the water into the river, is it recommended to wait an hour or
so before starting to raft because the flow of the river has to settle ?

Most companies don't put on right as the water comes up on the river.
However. if you get on the first trip of the day you can sometimes catch
up with the 'surge' or the initial wave of water. My experience has
been that rafting the surge is a very difference experience than rafting
at regular water levels. I really enjoyed guiding trips on the surge.

Enjoy the trip. Wear warm clothes.

Eric

Rafting on the Ocoee begin of April
 

In article ,
ABC wrote:

Hello,

Also I've read that the Ocoee is not flowing continuously since water is
used for the making of electrical energy. At scheduled time water is
released for recreational purposes. After the moment they start
releasing the water into the river, is it recommended to wait an hour or
so before starting to raft because the flow of the river has to settle ?

Thanks,

Tom


The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) controls the release of impounded
reservoir water for the Ocoee (and other TVA dams) --- you can check the
current TVA Release Schedule at the following URL:

http://lakeinfo.tva.gov/htbin/lakein...l&SUBMIT=View+
data

The web page will post the current release information in a table with
the following header information:

"...Ocoee No. 1 Dam
Warning!
The water release schedule is subject to change without notice.
Times are given in local time (Eastern Standard Time).
Please use caution near dams. Hazardous conditions may develop without
warning..."

Likewise, there are tables for Ocoee #2 and #3 release schedules.

I worked for several years as a raft guide in Northeast Tennessee and I
do recall that the TVA Recreation Department also has a specific summer
release schedule that you will probably want to search for if you should
be planning for an Ocoee float at the time of year.


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