C-Forum

I am looking for a conoe camping river in the south to take my family down over Thanksgiving weekend. I am from Pennsylvania and am looking to head south to get into some warmer weather. I want to go far enough south that it is warmer, but not so far as to have gator invested waters, as I will have two small children with me. Basically I am looking for a river that has camping access that is calm(no class III or IV), where the weather should be fair and no gators will eat my kids. I have found a few rivers in South Carolina, but I can't find anything with primitive camping access. Any advice/help will be appreciated. Thanks!!

Hey,
dont bother askin that question in this forum sco, dont ya know everbody frum the sout on here jus does the hard stuff? BTW strange yer name's scobotin, since u never seem to sco. Har Har.
Easy bro. LB

Tocoa river Ga. Deep hole CG, Big south fork of the Cumberland Tn,(this one would be an overnighter),Hiawassee river Tn, Gee creek C.G. I'm sure there is more, That's just off the top of my head.

Also Longboat when you come down make sure to show off your fake Southern accent as there is nothing we love more. Especially large rednecks fishing on the bank.

I would add some of the reaches of the New River in Va upstream of the gorge in W Va.. Look in the Va. "Whitewater" guide book by Roger Whasshisname. Also, Paul Ferguson has written a guide book for numerous blackwater trips in the Carolinas. The French Broad Sec 9 and 10 can be done as overnights, either camping on the bank or staying in Hot Springs in the middle. I've never seen a gator in the Sewanee around Live Oak, Fl, but I wasn't really looking and that's a long way for you to drive.

I would think the Edisto in South Carolina has enough usable camping sites. There is an outfitter across from a state park who can help.

I don't think the gators are a real issue. Even in Okefenokee, where we saw them all the time, they were totally benign.

Some SC options :

The Edisto is wonderful, but you may be hard pressed to find primtive camping - you can work out some overnighters between state parks. A neat option I haven't tried yet but know folks who have is to stay in a tree house : http://www.canoesc.com/article_charleston.htm

The Congaree river - the Congaree flows south out of Columbia and when the river is at normal levels, there are many sand bars to camp on. You could make that a 1 or 2 night trip from Columbia to the US 601 bridge.

Congaree Swamp National Park - you can do a 1 - 2 night trip starting at the upper end of Cedar Creek, paddling through the swamp, and onto the Congaree. Expect portages- some challenging. This a real adventure. Not sure how old your kids are, but my 11 year old (at the time) daughter had a blast. Our trip : http://intheeddy.blogspot.com/2008/05/c ... nture.html

Broad, Enoree, Tyger Rivers see Bob Benners Carolina Whitewater - these are in his section on canoe/camping rivers. I did a section of the Broad years ago - really nice, but too high for the sandbars described and our overnighter turned into a day trip.

Barrier islands - not rivers, but still these can be great adventures :

Capers Island - beautiful - you'll need a permit : http://www.dnr.sc.gov/mlands/specregshp.html timing the tides is important - watch the tide and wind, you paddle mainly on the intracoastal, but going into wind and against tide can make for a long day

in NC : http://www.ncparks.gov/Visit/parks/habe/main.php - sheltered approach, suitable for a canoe

in GA : Okefenokee Swamp - might be hard to book a trail on short notice. We have done a 3 day/2 night loop twice. As EZ noted - you might see gators, but no problems

Chattooga Section II would be a good choice. It is very easy. They say it has one class III but it is really a class II. It is very pretty and you won't see anyone on that section that time of year.

Might be a tad cooler than what has been mentioned but the Buff (Buffalo) in NW Ark. is a nice float (with riffles) with good camping, access, outfitters, etc.
If its just tripp'n Wheeler Nat Wildlife in AL is nice around that time - lots of fowl starting to show up and has Huntsville with the NASA complex near by as a nice side trip for young kids. It will be hunting season pretty much anywhere you head that time of year so take that into account too. But shouldn't impact paddle tripp'n.
The problem we always had with young kids in tow is having an a good back up plan in case weather forces you to run away! You want to keep any water experience a good one for future reference. But usually if you have one you don't need it. Good luck and enjoy!

There have been some excellent suggestions. Wherever you go, keep your kids warm!
What ages? Which canoes?
I'll add the Amicalola in GA and the Big South Fork in TN or for younger kids, the New in NC/VA and Smokehole Canyon in WV.

Thanks for all of the great suggestions. To answer a few questions:

The ages of the children are 4-5. We will be paddling Old Town Kennebec's. The trip length should be three nights with a short paddle out the last day(lay-over days are acceptable).

Thanks again!!!

You might do Columbia to Charleston in that time frame, that starts on the section of the Congaree through the National Park. There are trails in the Okefenokee that long, but would mean quite a bit more driving for you.

The Roanoke below Weldon, NC is completely flat. There are camping platforms that can be reserved.
http://www.roanokeriverpartners.org/RiverCamping.htm

There are only two negatives for bringing young children here:
1 - Very limited road access. (Because stuff happens)
2 - Deer season will be in.

Thank you everybody for the great suggestions. We are leaning toward the Edisto or the the Congaree. CBroam has a nice trip layed out on the Congaree. Are the Water Levels okay for this trip this time of year? Would we have any problems camping? Thank you.

I'm sorry. That was sbroam,...not cbroam.

You should consider the Neuse river here in NC anywhere from Raleigh on down to New Bern. You can pick any type of trip from a remote section to relatively civilized.

We have at least a group of five folks down the section from Smithfield to Goldsboro area, 32 (or 40) miles in two or three overnites starting the Saturday before Thanksgiving running into the Monday (or Tuesday if we go the extra day) before Thanksgiving. This is a remote section . No worries on amount of water.Absolutely a great trip as there is 27 miles between bridges once you get below Hwy 301 in Smithfield.

Lots of wildlife, huge sandbars and great campsites...