Kayaking the Etowah River - East Cherokee to Boling Park
May 25th, 2011 by Admin 1
This year Spring has been a bit different for us and we’ve been doing a bit more kayaking than usual after getting the new Remix XP9. We have done several trips I still need to post on and one of the recent ones was down the Etowah River from East Cherokee Rd. to Boling Park.
Kayaking Etowah River from East Cherokee to Boling Park
This calm15-mile section of the Etowah is perfect for those of you who may consider themselves beginners but aren’t afraid to get a good arm workout! The put in up in the Ball Ground area is very accessible and is along East Cherokee river right and just up river from the bridge. There is a dirt road that leads down to a clearing where you can unload and then a sandy bank with plenty of room to put-in.
The entire section is very flat with an easy grade and only a few small class I shoals and shouldn’t be a problem for even the most inexperienced paddler. I ran it in 3 hours on my own but would plan to take about 5 and go slower with a group.
It will certainly give you a unique perspective of the County as you wind down the river through the old Cherokee Indian haunts and eventually the City of Canton.
Bridge at Riverstone Exit/575
The take-out can be done just about anywhere at Boling Park I guess but I took out just before the park under the Highway 140 bridge and it was very easy. To access it just take a right at the bowling alley - go just past the car wash and take a right - when the dirt road slits take a right and follow the dirt road until you reach the bridge. Its not the safest looking spot but I think its probably relatively harmless and provided easy access.
Put in:
On I-575 drive North Airport Rd. and turn right. This will dead end into Canton Highway. Turn left. Drive 1.1 miles and turn right on East Cherokee Drive.
Take out:
Take Canton Hwy. (Hwy 140) near Cherokee High School to Boiling Park or under the 140 bridge.
- Distance: 15 miles
- River Difficulty: Beginner (Class I)
- Avg Gradient: 5.0 fpm
Hi, I’m trying to find a buddy to do this trip on a regular basis.
Anyone interested? Let me know,
Thanks
Kevin
My husband and I put in our canoe at this E. Cherokee spot and it worked beautifully. It was an easy paddle and we actually saw two deer get spooked by us and swim across the river which was cool to observe, along with the bird life along the shore. An even easier paddle is from Boling Park down to Fields Landing Park just past the Knox Bridge/ Rt. 20 bridge on the left. You can also pull out at the Knox Bridge ramp and there is a parking lot there. We tried to canoe in July but too buggy, so we will wait until it cools, right about now…. Thanks for sharing your info. Peace.
Beth,
Thanks for adding your insight to this post and glad you guys enjoyed your trip! I did get the chance to kayak the section from Boling to the lake. It had been raining a lot at that time so the storms washed a lot of garbage into the river which was a shame but other than that it was a pretty good trip all in all.
http://www.campnpost.com/paddling/north-georgia-kayaking-etowah-river/
Thanks again for contributing!
paddle the etowah a few weeks back, put in with about 15 other boats is was a awesome day, would love to do the part of the river your talking about, we put in cartersville at ladds and ended at euharlee bridge