Broad River: Broad River Greenway to Big Bay River Access

Skill Level: Easy

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Rapids: Class I , II

Length: 9.70 miles

Duration: 4.5 - 5 hours

Portaging: No

What to Expect

An exciting section with Class I-II rapids. This trip begins in North Carolina, near the NC/SC border, and ends just above the Gaston Shoals Dam in SC.

Access

Put in:

Broad River Greenway River Access and Parking Area

126 Broad River Drive, Shelby, NC 28125

Access Details

Located downstream of the Highway 150 bridge in North Carolina, river-left, this trailhead to the Broad River Greenway includes a fishing pier, river access, a playground, educational displays, and picnic shelters. The fee for use is $5 per car, and it is open from dawn to dusk. More information. To view map, click HERE.

Take out:

Big Bay River Access and Parking Area

Sarratt Road, Gaffney, SC 29341

Access Details

This access includes a small parking area, boat ramp, and fishing pier. To view map, click HERE.

Trip Details

The take out is a 15 minute drive from the Broad River Greenway, so shuttling cars could take half an hour. After putting in, paddlers will cross the NC/SC border. There are no bridges from the put in to the take out, however paddlers should be able to easily see the boat ramp at the take out, which will be river right. If you get to the Gaston Shoals Dam, you've gone too far. Portage is available around the dam at the center island; the next river access downstream is the Bowens River Access.

Waterway:

Broad River

Downstream Trip (1)

Broad River: Bowens River Access to Cherokee Recreation Area

Comments (2)

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Kate Carter

Dec 28, 2020 8:53 pm EST

Paddled 12/27 from Broad River Greenway to Worth Mountain WMA. Floating dock at Gaston Shoals Dam portage was missing (we saw the posts). You will have to climb ~4 feet to the start of the portage. However, this trail was well-marked and easy to follow. Cherokee Falls portage was not well-marked and involved a difficult re-entry. Wildlife after the 99 Island dam was amazing- we saw a deer cross the river as well as otters and bald eagles.

Ken Boone

Jul 19, 2020 10:39 pm EDT

We kayak fished this stretch on July 17, 2020 with just over 4ft flows. The first part is a lot of fun with a lot of small rapids for about 2 miles. After that you have about 7 miles of a long slow wide river. So after the rapids prepare for a lot of paddling. In some areas we had winds against us and would lose ground if you stopped paddling. For 90% of this trip this is river going through the wilderness. A nice river but the last 7 miles was really hot in mid July! I posted a video on this trip which you can watch here: https://youtu.be/EaKYY1ach6g The launch is very nice and the take out is easy to find. If you decide to fish this section remember you will need both a NC and SC fishing license.

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