Whitewater Rafting in South Carolina

Do you enjoy nature and the great outdoors?

In this article, I’ll be sharing the fantastic new whitewater that opened recently here in South Carolina!

So, let’s dive into it right now!

South Carolina offers many great natural amenities for outdoor recreation, and just recently, a new opportunity was added. A new whitewater was recently restored and opened to the public on South Carolina’s Catawba River.

A 2-mile section of the Catawba River near the town of Great Falls was brought back to life after having been dried up for 117 years! It dried up due to the creation of the dams at Great Falls.

But now after so many years, the public can access the river for whitewater rafting, paddling, and other recreation.

Now it’s finally flowing with whitewater, and just last Saturday, Duke Energy officially opened one of two bypass channels for the public to use.

This 2.25-mile bypass is for leisurely kayaking and canoeing, so it’s great for families and individuals.

An additional short bypass set to open in August will have faster-flowing water for over three-quarters of a mile and is for professional kayakers and experienced rapids enthusiasts as we will have class II+ and Class III rapids with eddies, surf waves, and holes.

This is all thanks to a restoration project that has been 17 years in the making, since 2006 when interest groups came together with a plan to restore the Great Falls by altering the dam and restoring water flow to the river’s dry stretch.

Now that it’s restored, it’s bringing more wildlife to the river, and more life to the town of Great Falls.

The town of Great Falls is conveniently located between Charlotte and Columbia, along US Hwy. 21, with Charlotte about 55 miles to the north, and Columbia just 46 miles to the south.

Director for American Whitewater, Kevin Colburn, described the bypasses as “otherworldly” and a unique, beautiful place complete with reptiles, giant birds and large fish. He said the river is going to “roar back to life.”

But there’s more to this project than just the river. It’s all a part of the Great Falls-Dearborn project, a large-scale design that includes hiking trails, a state park, a historic visitor’s center, a pedestrian bridge, canoe and kayak launch sites, parking, and restrooms, all of which will span nearly three miles along the river. As part of the restoration project are plans for many outdoor amenities including walking trails, kayaking, bird watching, camping, cycling, and plans to revive the town’s Main Street soon. Also, Developers are interested in reviving some of the town’s abandoned mills and bringing in coffee shops and restaurants.

South Carolina Senator Mike Fanning cut the ribbon for the restored whitewater and described the project as a “game changer.” He said they are “anticipating larger numbers of people coming to the Great Falls regularly to get an experience they can get nowhere else.”

That’s South Carolina for you–a beautiful state where you can have experiences you cannot find anywhere else. The town of Great Falls is just one of many examples of great places to visit in the Palmetto State. I really can’t wait to visit this whitewater!

Thank you for reading!

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Graphic Designer: Merryl Moore