Chattooga, Georgia and South Carolina

Difficulty: Class I to IV

Season: All year

Trip Length: One to three days

Some contend that this is the finest whitewater river along the East coast. The river divides nicely into sections of staunch rapids and stretches that are gently playful. Hotdoggers head for Section 4, which runs between Route 76 Bridge to the Tugalo Reservoir. This is the stretch featured in the 70s movie Deliverance, and it''s every bit as wild as the film cracks it up to be. Mostly it''s a hard-hitting Class IV, but after a good rain it gets to be a dead-intense Class V.

Section 3 from Earl''s Ford to the Route 76 Bridge takes you through a magnificent wilderness canyon. Whitewater here is a little more manageable—Class III to IV. If you''re looking for an uncomplicated float, it''s hard to beat Section 2 from Route 28 to Earl''s Ford. Here you can relax and really enjoy the life of the river.

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