Georgia Wilderness Society
French Broad River
French Broad River Jaunt
by trip leader Curt Cole
Having driven and hiked along the French Broad River of North Carolina, but never paddled it, I decided it was time to do just that. So Irene & I, and Ben Thompson camped at Lake Powhatan, a Forest Service campground just a stone's throw from Asheville. Trace and Denise Butler couldn't get a site there, so they camped at Mt. Pisgah, on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Deborah and Jerry Fordham stayed in a B & B in Hendersonville.
We all arrived Wednesday, 16 June, 2021. We got together at the Sierra Nevada brewery, where some of us sampled the beers, while others went with the non-alcoholic drinks. We hung out in the beer garden while awaiting our dinner table at The Taproom. Food was delicious in this open-air dining area. This brewery is beside the river, and, at least in non-COVID times, you may land there and walk up for refreshments.
Thursday, six of us put-in at Bent Creek access. Jerry, a non-paddler, found other entertainment. The river is generally about 200 feet wide on this section. We paddled just under 11 miles to Craven Street in downtown Asheville. A local organization, Mountaintrue, works to maintain this paddle trail. There are many public launch sites, some with steps, others with boat ramps, and there are some paddle-in-only campsites.
We shared the river with many other people. There are a number of outfitters that rent boats, tubes, and provide shuttles for private boaters. So the logistics of paddling here are simple. One thing in short supply are sandbars to take breaks on. The banks are mostly steep. We did manage to find a small, muddy bar for lunch. Along the way we got some good views of Biltmore House. A few miles of the right bank are owned by the Biltmore organization. The river was mostly flat, with occasional shoals and small waves. We never had any capsizes, but saw a lady flip at a bridge piling.
The New Belgium brewery was across from the take-out, so we slaked our thirst there while planning where to go for supper (Umi Japanese) and where to paddle the next day. This was the first place most of us had been to in which we were expected to view the menu, order, and pay with a phone (no cash or credit cards accepted). Some of us objected to or were unable to accomplish this feat, so Trace ordered and paid for us, and we paid him the old-fashioned way, with cash. Several of us won't be going back there.
While the wide expanse of the river near Asheville had its merits, many preferred a more intimate portion of the river. For day two, we put-in at Pisgah Forest access, near Brevard, and paddled about 5.6 miles to Penrose access. Jerry ran shuttle for us. This part of the river was more like 60'-80' wide, with many downed trees lining the shore, but apparently kept clear by volunteers, as we never had to portage around strainers. We had some good views of the nearby hills, but again, few good places to take a break. Our lunch break, at one of the campsites for paddlers, Little River, was not far from the take-out. After the trip, some of us explored the touristy town of Brevard before heading back to camp and supper on our own.
Saturday found only Irene, myself and Ben paddling. The Coles were the only ones interested in rafting, so we dropped that idea and paddled with Ben. No more than a mile after leaving camp, a very large bear, probably near 400 pounds, ambled across the road in front of us. We had heard of bears in camp, including a mother and cubs sniffing our campsite, but this was the first and only one we saw on this trip.
We put-in at Penrose, and paddled about 9.7 miles to Horse Shoe Bend access. Lunch was at another paddle-in-only campsite, Rhodes Ranch. The tricky exit was up a steep bank over broken concrete slabs, but once we got out, we found three sites, two shady ones and one in a sunny field. There was an elevated privy and three picnic tables. A very nice place to camp. There were only a few people seen on these last two days of the trip, but the take-out parking lot was full, so many people were probably putting-in at Horse Shoe and going further down river. One motorboat passed as we were at lunch, but otherwise it was canoes and kayaks.
Afterward, Ben headed off on his own, and we explored Biltmore Village, before heading back to camp, then home on Sunday. Irene & I had a great time, and enjoyed the company a lot. The French Broad has a lot to offer, so I encourage you to try this river. Davidson River and North Mills River are two nearby Forest Service campgrounds you might also try.
Participants were: Trace & Denise Butler, Curt & Irene Cole, Deborah & Jerry Fordham, and Ben Thompson.
