World class rafting on Blue Ridge’s Ocoee River

Each year, more than 300,000 people shoot the rapids on the Toccoa/Ocoee River in Blue Ridge. During the March through October season, locals and visitors alike take the trip down the river in rafts, canoes, and kayaks. The river has a constant flow rate and continuous waves and holes to ramp up the sense of adventure. Flowing out of Lake Blue Ridge as the Toccoa River, the name changes to Ocoee at the Tennessee border. The class III and IV rapids that highlight the river begin just west of Ducktown, TN. Rafting trips feature the Upper Ocoee, including the Olympic kayaking course created for the 1996 Olympic Games at the Ocoee Whitewater Center; the Middle Ocoee, a five-mile stretch of class III and IV whitewater; and a Full River Trip which includes both sections. Full River Trips are only available on designated days on summer weekends, so check on the dates before you make your plans. Because of the amount of

whitewater on the river, rafting trips are limited to adults and children over the age of 12.

For families with younger kids, or for those who prefer a more relaxing float, tubing trips on the Toccoa in Blue Ridge and McCaysville are available on both the upper and lower sections of the river. Rafting and tubing is also available on the nearby Nantahala River and offers a gentler trip than the Ocoee. New to Lake Blue Ridge is stand-up paddling, an active way to move around the water at your own pace.

Check out the water adventures page on our website for more information on local outfitters and other water adventures in the area.