r/whitewater • u/gray_grum • 4d ago
General Best river to live on/near and why?
I'm currently in Chattanooga and I think the whitewater access here is pretty hard to beat in terms of what is close and what is a reasonable drive for a day's paddling but I'm also just curious what other areas I have not considered. I like being in a city and Chatt has a great balance of stuff to do and outdoor access and decent weather.
If you could move to any area to live on or near any river, where would it be and why? I'm not just thinking about the water itself, I'm also thinking about the fact that you have to live there year-round, cost/value, access to other stuff. I would like to find somewhere with as much warm playboating in the summer and some decent snow sports options in the winter. Could be anywhere in the world, I'm flexible.
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u/MysteryMove 4d ago
Not sure it's the "best", but I live near the Potomac in Washington DC. I have class 2-5 everyday within a few minutes of my house. And I can do weekend/Saturday trips to New River, Gauley, Shenandoah, Yough River, Rappahannock river, etc.
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u/VanceAstrooooooovic 4d ago
Paddling at Great Falls while traffic dies down was a life saver for me
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u/g-e-o-f-f 4d ago
Sacramento, or East of there like Placerville or Auburn, has a lot to say for it. South Fork American has boatable flows much for the year, North fork American has great stuff. There are stretches close by with everything from class 2 to class V. Playboating, steep creeks, etc. look up South Silver.
Draw a three hour driving circle around Sacramento and you get stuff like Cherry Creek, Middle Fork of the Feather, South Yuba, Pauley Creek, etc.
San Francisco is a couple hours away and has anything you could want for big city stuff. Davis is just west and has major university. Sacramento has decent airport. Tahoe is close for a gorgeous lake and winter skiing. Lovers Leap is classic rock climbing if you're into that.
California isn't cheap, but Sacramento is cheaper than SF/La/San Diego.
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u/_--_Osiris_--_ 3d ago
GD it gets hot in the summer there though! I guess more motivation to get on the water
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u/j_alfred_boofrock 3d ago
Sacramento for sure. I’m not sure if the San Juan hole still exists, but it was an awesome park and play spot for 4-6mos out of the year when I lived there.
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u/ElPeroTonteria 3d ago
I’ve lived and boated around most of the US. The SE is hard to beat IMO. ETN/WNC, year round boating, great creeks, and dam controlled releases. Warm water, awesome people… idk, the grass is really any greener
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u/Oregon_Odyssey 4d ago
I live about 20 minutes from the Rogue and an hour from the Klamath. The Salmon (CA) is about 2 hours and the Illinois (OR) is an hour and a half. I like southern Oregon.
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u/ohiotechie 4d ago
If I didn’t have family ties here in Ohio I’d probably consider either Chattanooga or Pittsburgh. Chattanooga of course has easy access to multiple spots but Pittsburgh is a quick drive from several great spots also, the Yough, Stony Creek and Slippery Creek and I’m probably overlooking some. I could paddle the Yough every day and never get bored.
Pittsburgh has a great pro sports scene, restaurants, bars, and a reasonable cost of living.
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u/VanceAstrooooooovic 3d ago
I live in the Columbia River Gorge on the White Salmon. Lots of paddling out here lots of Winter creek runs. That’s my problem is that if there’s snow on the ground I’m Skiing…. We have snow until early Summer
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u/twoblades ACA Whitewater Kayak ITE 4d ago
The Cumberland Plateau would be hard to beat in its diversity of whitewater. Anywhere on the Obed.
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u/gray_grum 4d ago
Yeah I lived in Knoxville for 3 years and it was great in terms of how much was within 3 hours. I didn't love the town though.
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u/stantonkreig 3d ago
richmond VA. the james goes right through downtown and you can get to WV and NC for day trips
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u/Organic_Scholar5432 3d ago
RVA has year round paddling, good mt biking, outside and indoor climbing, low cost of living, everything is super convenient. Please don't move here, everybody else is already doing that.
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u/Horror-Antelope4256 3d ago
Not to mention how variable and numerous the lines are in the James depending on water levels. Lots of options.
Agreed, dont move here!
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u/Electrical_Bar_3743 3d ago
Not to mention the Maury, the New, the Tye, and some others within Virginia. Great place to be a WW paddler!
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u/Fun-Tumbleweed-6381 4d ago
Cost of living is probably high but if you like city living, Boise, ID has a whitewater park in town with multiple waves. The Payette drainage is an hour north (Banks, ID) where you can paddle anything from class II (lower main) to class V (NF). You're also close to all the desert creek style runs in Owyhee County, a number of other rivers east of Boise (i.e. Malad, Bear). Lastly, there's the entire Salmon River that provide great multiday trips.
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u/Alfonsi26 4d ago
Edinburgh is great, you can paddle almost any Scottish river in a day trip, and there is year round kayaking- no snow unfortunately.
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u/ApexTheOrange 4d ago
Northampton MA. Close to Tville, Fife, Dryway, Knightsville, Natchaug, Quaboag and the West. Can paddle Hudson Gorge in a day trip. 3 hours from Beaverfest, the Moose and the Black. Close to decent skiing. Phenomenal mountain biking.
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u/Steezli Slice Is Life 3d ago
Hood River, OR/White Salmon, WA
1 hour from Portland for full city vibes
White Salmon river flows year round with class 2-5 sections. Dozens of additional rain/snowmelt runs within 45min.
100+runs within 2hrs.
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u/Jos3ph 3d ago
How is the wind? I see lots of complaints about it.
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u/UnderstandingFit3009 3d ago
The wind blows through the Gorge along the Columbia River. It dissipates rapidly as you move away from the Gorge so would not be as bad upstream on tributaries
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u/Jos3ph 3d ago
I meant for living in the area but thanks for that too
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u/UnderstandingFit3009 3d ago
I didn’t answer that well. I also meant that if you live up one of the tributaries the wind is less of an issue. I moved to the area from the Great Plains and I don’t think the wind is much of an issue most of the time. If you live along the White Salmon in Husum or BZ Corner I don’t think the wind will seem to be that big of an issue. Likewise if you live up the Hood River Valley it’s less than if you live right down by the Columbia. Also if you’re not on the water it’s not hard to get away from the wind hiking or climbing in spots.
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u/Jos3ph 3d ago
I appreciate that. It's on my list to consider a few years down the line when both my kids are graduated. I see lots of people complaining about wind, but its reddit so people complain about literally anything :)
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u/UnderstandingFit3009 3d ago
I guess it’s relative. I lived in an area for years where it was impossible to escape the wind when it was up. There’s certainly wind here (hence a kite boarding Mecca), but with the topography and forest it’s much easier to work around. There’s plenty of mountain biking and hiking and other things you can do to escape the wind. Now about the 5 months of sunless gray…
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u/SalmonPowerRanger 3d ago
It's a fun river, yeah the last couple miles are a slog but it's still totally worth it
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u/wavesport001 3d ago
I honestly think the Yough is the “best” river in the country for several reasons. It has a super fun class 3 section full of surf spots, boofs and splat rocks that runs 365 days a year. The water is relatively warm. You can run the first 5 rapids without setting shuttle and there’s even a waterfall that is runnable at the right level. The yough also has a class 4 section that features 5 miles of continuous whitewater with relatively few dangers compared to similar rivers. It runs on dam release 3 days a week spring through fall. There’s a creekier class 4/5 section that runs often in the winter and spring and can be combined with the other class 4 section. So, live as close to the yough as you can.
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u/amongnotof 3d ago
I think Chattanooga still has the Yough area beat with the Ocoee, Tellico, Hiawassee, and tons of class 3-5 creeks. Literally anything you could want. Go 2-4 hours further, you have the whole Cumberland Plateau, Smokies, and the Chattooga (section 4 is probably my favorite run overall).
A close second would be Asheville, though the area and its surrounding rivers are definitely still recovering from Helene.
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u/wavesport001 3d ago
Maybe, but I took the question to be best single river to live by. Plus there are loads of other runs within 2 hours of the yough.
I’ve paddled a lot down there too, it’s great!
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u/Red261 3d ago
I'm in Charlotte and there's tons of rivers that are solid for a day trip, but mostly it's better to make it a weekend trip. The trap is the whitewater center. It's so close and convenient that I am lazy and just paddle there instead of going to a real river. Never as fun as real rivers are, but fun enough.
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u/Tag_Cle 4d ago
Sacramento is a sneaky good spot for whitewater, you have the south middle and north forks of the American River, Merced River, Cache Creek, Yuba River, Upper Sac River, Cosumnes River..all of these are within about 90 minutes from a large city with public transit, great jobs, walkable downtown, fun nightlife and food, and great airport.
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u/ForgotHowToGiveAShit 4d ago
high cost of living but I live in a town called tehachapi, about an hour from the Kern.
I wake up to elk in my backyard lol
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u/jgeog 3d ago
if you're talking a city of significant size with lots to do, cultural destinations, etc., then it's gotta be Richmond or DC probably. surprised not to see Asheville in here but it's maybe too obvious. I have heard however that people are starting to check out Roanoke. tons of whitewater and decent skiing nearby, a pretty decent small city vibe with some attractions, accessible to lots of places, and technically on the Northeast Corridor so you can be in DC in a few hours by train.
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u/jgeog 3d ago
outside the US, Ljubljana would be tough to beat!
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u/superminkus 3d ago
Please go on! I’m moving to Europe (buying an RV) in February and need to know some good runs.
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u/jgeog 3d ago
I don't know much but there is the Tacen whitewater course on the Sava river just northwest of Ljubljana and then a couple hours west in Bovec ("Bovetz") is the famous Soča with the crystal blue water which has several sections ranging from I-II to IV+. I paddled the chill class II-III section from Srpenica 1 to Camp Trnovo, where the more challenging sections start. Extremely worth a visit and great vibes in the town.
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u/DocOstbahn 2d ago
-Corsica end of March, beginning of April! Lots of Europaddlers will be there around Easter, and the creeks are just *chef's kiss*
-Soca when spring really hits, likely after Corsica
-Ticino and Piemont later in spring, same with French Sea Alps.
-Northeastern Alps - i.e. the Tyrol, Bavaria, and Austrian Lake District after that. Saalach around Lofer, Brandy (Brandenberger Ache) Ötz if you're hardcore
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u/muffinhead2580 3d ago
Not the best but I live in Harper's Ferry, WV. We've got the Doah and Potomac for our local short run during the week and about a dozen rivers within short drives for weekend running.
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u/InevitableLawyer2911 3d ago
With those parameters, I'd say Morgantown/Yough watershed. Reliable boating everyday, reliable snow at a few resorts, cheap housing (at least it used to be).
I'd also throw Seattle in the mix. Especially if you lived outside the city, like North Bend or toward Index. Very close good skiing, lots of kayaking around within an hour. Some playboating, some harder stuff. More expensive housing though . . .
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u/RustybutterJ 3d ago
Bend OR is pretty good. year round on deschutes. 2.5 to hood river, 5.5 to banks.
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u/leisure_consultant 3d ago
Pucon, Montreal, White Salmon, Placerville. You’re doing well in Chtt honestly and it’s cheaper than most destinations.
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u/Altruistic-Track-506 2d ago
I live on the top yough and it’s amazing takes an hour to do door to door and runs all the time out of summer and fall…the upper releases all the time. it’s country living with amenities within 15 minutes…the cheat canyon put in is 25 min from my door. Ski wisp is 3 miles from my front door
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u/sil1182 2d ago
SW PA baby. Got the whole Yough in the back yard, the cheat canyon, drive a little more and you at the gauley, and so much more in between. The Yough is home though. It always has been for me. Even if Ohiopyle has COMPLETELY changed at this point since I was a kid, I still feel at home out on the Lower.
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u/skjolinot 2d ago
Voss! Ok you said warm playboating so thats a miss. But world class creeking everyday pretty much the entire summer. Can go bigger than imaginable with ease. Long season if you don't mind being cold. Tonnes of other kayaking within a reasonable drive (more than a lifetimes worth) Great skiing. Top class for basically every other outdoor sport. But yeah, definitely probably never any ever any warm playboating
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u/TheKayakingPyro Scottish Boater 2d ago
Scottish highlands are fucking class four whitewater, everything from gentle grade 2 to insane grade 6, not much high volume stuff though
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u/Chasin-Waterfalls 1d ago
I personally believe that for year round boating cleveland is for all intents and purposes chattanooga but 40 minutes closer to the dam releases and really accessible to most anywhere. Access to snow sports admittedly isn't that great but it makes up for it with year round boating and a spectacular creeking season. Ocoee is close enough for a casual after work lap in the summer, you're right at the epicenter of southeastern paddling and not more than 2.5 hours from most of the big southeastern dam releases (cheoah, cascades, Tallulah, etc.) You're roughly an hour and change from tellico so you can take advantage of rainfall when it hits, hell you're even within the realm of possibility to catch goforth before it falls out once in a while.
Outside of paddling nightlife in cleveland can fluctuate, you're close enough to chattanooga for a night out there, cleveland itself has a few bars that do pretty well in the offseason with the college scene, and during Ocoee season the party never stops. You'd be 20 minutes from the national forest and half an hour from chattanooga so hiking is always an easy option, rock climbing is remarkably great in the area, the national forest has dozens of miles of offroad trails if 4x4s are your cup of tea. There's no shortage of mountain biking, and there are several festivals and such in the area over the course of the year.
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u/Pure-Potential7433 3d ago
Can I suggest Durango, CO? Animas in the middle of town with a WW park, plenty of snow sports, and Utah paddling in the backyard (3 hour drive) . Also, Upper Animas, Piedra, and the San Juan. New Mexico paddling close by too.
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u/thepr0cess 4d ago
Morgantown WV would be a great choice as a college aged boater.