upper cumberland

[nwest]

Anyone ever fished/camped this? We are talking about taking a trip towards the end of may to do teh 2 day 17 mile trip. Anyone have any experience wit h that end of the river? We took a trip from munfurdavill to Mammoth cave last year but the water was too low to fish we had to paddle the whole time

[Louhunter]

When are you thinking of going, and where are you looking to put in and take out?

[nwest]

We are going to take out at the falls, my buddie is putting the trip together he dais it was 17 miles and mostly class 2 water We intend on doing alot of fishing since 17 miles will not take very long at all if the water is moving like they say it does.

[Nathan A. Nantz]

We are going to take out at the falls, my buddie is putting the trip together he dais it was 17 miles and mostly class 2 water We intend on doing alot of fishing since 17 miles will not take very long at all if the water is moving like they say it does.

I fish in the headwaters of cumberland on a regular basis. Its a good trip if the water is right. Right now, its really bad flooded and muddy. I wouldn't even attempt to put a canoe down it until it settles back down. When the river is in banks, there are some fish to be caught.

[kyfanatic]

Better become very familiar with the bridge upstream from the falls,I've seen two boats bypass it and ended up going over the falls that I can remember.Not a nice scene.

As far as the Poor Fork,Clover Fork,or Martins Fork of the Cumberland some real pretty country,decent fishing in places,but you'd be hard pressed for enough water to canoe except on a "High Tide".

[rick243]

I was a rafting guide on the Cumberland back in summer of 81'. We put in at the Falls and took out at Noes dock. I've also floated from Williamsburg to the falls in a jonboat a time or 2. The last time the river was up 9 feet and it was a pretty quick trip. Funny thing you should mention the bridge. We came around the bend with 3 boats tied together, didn't know exactly where we were until we saw that bridge. Wiped out big time trying to get over to the bank. We saved the boats but all our camping gear went over the falls. I had just taken my Ruger single six out of my holster and placed it in a cooler thinking the Park rangers might not appreciate someone packing a pistol. We got the boats drug up the bank and ran hell bent for leather down by the gift shop and down below the Falls to try to catch our gear. The cooler went over the Falls and came up with the lid popped open. I have a nice Ruger SS .22 pistol directly under Cumberland Falls to this day. :(
Watch out for Thunderstruck shoals we nearly wiped out there too!

[HappyHunter]

Floated it on Memorial weekend several years ago. It was a nice trip except for the constant drone of 4 wheelers in the forest. I don't know if they still allow them in that part of the forest or not.

Caught a few Ky's and a couple of smallies.....water was up, fishing was tough.

[nwest]

As of now we are planning to go the weekend before memorial day. Thanks for all the info I heard to make sure you are on the right hand side whne getting raedy to get out to avoid the falls.... I just hope that water is back down by then. Thanks again fro the info guys

[kytrapper]

Don't panic when you see the bridge. If you are on the right hand side there is plenty of time to get to the bank after you go under the bridge. I have seen people panic above the bridge thinking they're going over the falls. The fast water above the bridge adds to that thought. A nice leisurely trip ( overnight) is from Red Bird Bridge ( KY 904) down to the falls. DBNF on both sides most of the trip. Have fun. Watch for copperheads.

[ocbowhunter]

Our men's group at church is taking a trip that weekend as well. The 28 mile trip from Williamsburg to the falls. Should be 18 of us.

[nwest]

What is the water like now? We are still planning on going next weekend athough it may be a little cool at night

[GSP]

I was a rafting guide on the Cumberland back in summer of 81'. We put in at the Falls and took out at Noes dock.

How far is that trip?

[kyfanatic]

How far is that trip?

I don't remember the mileage,but took the kids on that same trip one summer.We spent the better part of the day and did more paddling on flat water than the few exciting spots scattered about,of course we stopped to jump off a big rock a few times too.This was on the guided raft trip with a big group of people that had to stick together the whole trip,it would have been more fun self guided after checking out the few rapid spots (class III or less).

I know one thing,you cannot paddle into the falls nomatter how hard you try,my family are all excellent paddlers and we couldn't do more than get spray on us.
Other than being too long and tiresome ordeal in the guided group deal for a family it was still fun to do.

[rick243]

How far is that trip?

Been a long time. I can't remember the miles either and I don't have my topo maps handy but I think it was something like 13 miles. About 5 miles of that is on a pontoon after you reach the headwaters of Lake Cumberland.

Ky fanatic: The ride you experience all depends on the amount of rainfall in East Ky in the week before you go. The river changes for the worse (or better) dramatically as it raises. There are hundreds of smashed-up canoes at the bottom of the Cumberland because people thought it would be a piece of cake. It sounds like you took one of those July trips if you had to paddle your azz off. The best time to go is in the spring (like now). I know what you mean tho. It got to be boring going weekend after weekend at low water levels. When we had a few days of rain we were chomping at the bit to get on the river.
If you really want to have some fun go on over to the Big South Fork for a ride. We took customers down the Big South Fork who had rafted rivers all over the world including the Grand Canyon and their comments were it was the most beautiful river they had been down. There are lots of class 5 rapids and not much paddling if you catch the water right. The gorge section is a mile long stretch of continuous rapids. Rick

[kyfanatic]

Been a long time. I can't remember the miles either and I don't have my topo maps handy but I think it was something like 13 miles. About 5 miles of that is on a pontoon after you reach the headwaters of Lake Cumberland.

Ky fanatic: The ride you experience all depends on the amount of rainfall in East Ky in the week before you go. The river changes for the worse (or better) dramatically as it raises. There are hundreds of smashed-up canoes at the bottom of the Cumberland because people thought it would be a piece of cake. It sounds like you took one of those July trips if you had to paddle your azz off. The best time to go is in the spring (like now). I know what you mean tho. It got to be boring going weekend after weekend at low water levels. When we had a few days of rain we were chomping at the bit to get on the river.
If you really want to have some fun go on over to the Big South Fork for a ride. We took customers down the Big South Fork who had rafted rivers all over the world including the Grand Canyon and their comments were it was the most beautiful river they had been down. There are lots of class 5 rapids and not much paddling if you catch the water right. The gorge section is a mile long stretch of continuous rapids. Rick


Been down Russel Fork of the Big Sandy when the water was running,that's a pretty good ride too.I've been on several rivers around the country,I've hiked parts of the Big South Fork before but never paddled it. I hear the Lower Rockcastle can be tough too?

[cobbhunts]

About 5 miles of that is on a pontoon after you reach the headwaters of Lake Cumberland.

Rick, must have been nice to have the boat pick ya up. When we did it with the Guard, they made us paddle the rest of the way to the dock. Not to mention we carried the "Ranger Rafts" from the parking lot to below the falls. They got heavy after about 50 yards with 6 of us carrting above head! We had great rapids when we went, but the water was right.

[rick243]

Rick, must have been nice to have the boat pick ya up. When we did it with the Guard, they made us paddle the rest of the way to the dock.

The objective of our trip was to show our paying customers a good time.

The objective of your trip was to work azzes off to prepare you for War.:D

[cobbhunts]

The objective of our trip was to show our paying customers a good time.

The objective of your trip was to work azzes off to prepare you for War.:D

True that!:D