The Chattooga River has a family atmosphere and an ability to allow people to forget about themselves and appreciate who they are with.
The Chattooga River was declared a Wild and Scenic River on May 10th, 1974. Since then it has been governed by the US Forest Service, which regulates the number of commercial passengers on the river.
Two different rafting sections of the river:
- Section III starts with class 2 rapids, goes through class 4+ Bull Sluice before terminating at Woodall Shoals
- Section IV starts with class III, goes through Woodall Shoals and then goes through the wilderness stretch, dropping about 100 feet per mile, before ending with a quiet float through Lake Tugalo
Wildwater
Wildwater rafting company was founded in 1971 by Jim and Jeanette Greiner. Today it is a family operated company. The Greiners are still involved with it, as are their children: in total there are 13 family members running the operations.
Wildwater has operations on the Ocoee and Pigeon Rivers in Tennessee, and the Nantahala River in North Carolina, but the Chattooga location is the flagship.
Every rafting location also offers zipline canopy tours – the Chattooga location boasts a 1200 foot stretch on its 3-hour tour.
Chattooga Outpost Lodging
Wildwater has a range of lodging options at their Chattooga Outpost in Long Creek. Basic cabins, upscale cabins, to interesting group yurts that accommodate large groups.
Wildwater also offers overnight raft trips on the Chattooga River, and canoe, kayak and stand up paddleboard clinics.
To find out more about Wildwater, go to wildwaterrafting.com.