Paddle SC
Camping Fee Required Handicap Accesible Parking- Dedicated Lot Roadside Parking Restrooms / Toilets

Upper Saluda River: Cooley Bridge Road

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Upper Saluda River: Cooley Bridge Road

Skill Level: Easy
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Rapids: Class I
Length: 0.00 miles
Duration: .5 - 5 hours
Portaging: No
What to Expect

Paddlers can use this river access as a start and end point, paddling upstream or downstream as desired. Water may be swift following rain events, making upstream travel more difficult. Portage is not available around the Holliday Dam, so re-enter the river below the dam at the Holliday Dam Road river access.

Access
Put in:
Cooley Bridge Road River Access and Roadside Parking
 2250 Belton Highway, Belton, SC 29627
Access Details

This access is river-right, south of the Cooley Bridge Road/Belton Highway bridge. The Holliday dam creates lake-like paddling conditions here, which offers the opportunity to use Cooley Bridge Road as the put-in and take-out. Portage around the Holliday Dam is not currently available.

Trip Details

The Cooley Bridge Road River Access is river right, south of the Cooley Bridge Road/Belton Highway bridge. Paddlers can use this river access as a start and end point, paddling upstream or downstream as desired. Water may be swift following rain events, making upstream travel more difficult. Portage is not available around the Holliday Dam, so re-enter the river below the dam at the Holliday Dam Road river access. 

Waterway: 

Comments (1)

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Timothy Parrish
Sep 21, 2024 6:35 pm EDT
This trip is runnable below 800 CFS. We paddled when around 286 CFS, and the lower section all the way to the dam is navigable. This section is wide open in most areas and has the feel of paddling on a lake. Boats are permitted on this section, so be aware of that, but the boat traffic is often minimal to non-existent. Down and back can be around 10 miles. There are several offshoots and lagoons to discover. Highly recommend. In addition, as of September 2024, there is a self-service kayak and paddle board rental kiosk.
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Saluda River at Cooley Bridge Road (Credit: Upstate Forever)
Kayak rental kiosk at Cooley Bridge landing. (Credit: Timothy G Parrish)
Saluda River (Credit: Timothy G Parrish)
Holiday Dam (Credit: Timothy G Parrish)
Lagoon on Saluda River (Credit: Timothy G Parrish)
Abandoned sand dredger. (Credit: Timothy G Parrish)
Trip Resources
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River Flow (CFS)
Discharge flow information
CURRENT CFS
Flows for safe padding (cfs)
MINIMUM
800
MAXIMUM
4000
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Skill Level
Easy
Moderate
Difficult
Advanced
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Flow Level
Runnable
Above Runnable
Below Runnable
No Information
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Skill & Flow Level
Easy
Moderate
Difficult
Advanced
Runnable
Above Runnable
Below Runnable
No Information
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Access Amenities
Parking - Dedicated Lot
Parking - Roadside
Restroom / Toilets
Fee Required
Handicap Accessible
Camping
Paddle SC is presented by
Upstate Forever
South Carolina Department of Natural Resources
South Carolina National Heritage Corridor
Rainey Foundation