Nolichucky Trips in Detail

Nolichucky River Raft Trip Facts

Planning Your Nolichucky Adventure

Click here to visit our Pre-Trip Planning page for details about what to bring and what to expect on your rafting trip. You can also click here for directions to NOC's Nolichucky Outpost.

Rapid Descriptions

The Nolichucky provides rafters with an authentic river experience, far-removed in a gorgeous wilderness, floating on a free-flowing river. Because this watershed depends upon seasonal rains instead of dam releases, the Noli takes on different characteristics at different water levels. Your NOC guide knows how to maximize the fun at each level, while maintaining our industry-setting standards of safety.

Last Chance: Class III
This is the first rapid of the day, just downstream from the put in. After maneuvering through some 150 yeards of Class II "boogie water", Last Chance gives you a peak at what lies in store downstream in the gorge. With fun splashy waves and tight maneuvering, this is the perfect introduction to a great day spent on the remote Nolichucky River.

On the Rocks: Class IV
After paddling through a recovery pool following Last Chance, rafters are now faced with the intimidating On the Rocks. This rapid drops over a four-foot ledge and then presents rafters with some technical maneuvering around large, named rocks.

Jaws: Class III
Jaws is a large hydraulic covering the entire right side of the river. At lower levels, it provides an exciting surf spot. At higher levels Jaws becomes an obstacle that requires precise maneuvering to avoid.

Snappy's Class III
This is a lage curling wave that will give you quite a ride. Make sure you smile because this is one of our photo rapids.

Canyon Entrance: Class III
This is a Class III rapid featuring a three-foot ledge drop followed by a series of waves exiting out the river left channel.

Quarter Mile: Class IV
Quarter Mile is the longest, most challening rapid on the river. It's also the most fun. Quarter Mile consists of a series of seven (count them, seven) different drops interspersed with large boulders and stiff hydraulics. Be prepared to see some drops, some ferries—where we paddle the raft across the river against the current to avoid being moved downstream—and some long wave trains in between. It all wraps up at Murphy's Ledge, which is a three-foot river-wide ledge.

Note: At high water (4,000+ cfs) Canyon Entrance through Quarter Mile is one continuous rapid requiring technical maneuvering through large waves and around hydraulics. At this level, this stretch rivals anything run commercially on the East Coast and should be considered Class V rafting.

Rooster Tail: Class IV
While Rooster Tail is not quite as technical as On the Rocks or as long as Quarter Mile, it is probably the steepest and most pushy rapid on the river, with large waves, hydraulics and a slide.

The above rapids constitute the first three miles of the nine-mile Nolichucky River trip. After this point, the Nolichucky settles into a gentler pace as it winds through a series of fun and splashy Class II and III rapids that will keep you entertained while traveling through this magnificent and remote wilderness setting.

Roly Poly: Class II

Upper Rollercoaster: Class III

Lower Rollercoaster: Class III

Cliffside: Class III

Bottle Neck: Class II+

No Name: Class II

Surprise Ledge / Mission Impossible: Class III

Sycamore Shoals: Class II

Rock Garden: Class II

Hole in the Wall: Class III

Maggie's Rock: Class III

Stateline Shoals: Class II

Zig Zag: Class II

Twin Eddies: Class III+

Shoo fly Shaols: Class II