Paddling on the Chattahoochee River

The number of river miles that can be covered on the Chattahoochee River in any given time will vary based on the type of watercraft you use (canoe/kayak/raft), water level, and your paddling ability. I will present a number of scenarios based on my experience, and from the following descriptions you should be able to figure out how far you can get down the river in a given time.

Rafting

For those simply floating down the river in a raft of inner tube, you are not going to be moving very fast. Under normal circumstances, the flow of the river runs from around 2 miles an hour, tops, to barely moving, maybe a half mile an hour. I wouldn’t plan on covering much more than 1 mile per hour. If it has been raining heavily during the proceeding days, the river level will most likely be high and the river will flow much faster, perhaps double the normal speed.

Nearly all people floating down the river are doing so in rented inner tubes and rafts from local concessionaires…and none are in any big hurry. You’ll see groups of family and friends enjoying conversation, food, and spirits. Rental companies offer trips starting at the Abbotts Bridge Unit of the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area due to the proximity to Atlanta, and most trips range from 2-3 miles and average a mile per hour.

Canoeing and Kayaking

Everyone else will be traveling down the Chattahoochee River in either a canoe or a kayak. Miles traveled should be no less than 2 miles per hour, and up to 4 miles per hour, maybe 5-6 if you are in great shape, have a slick boat, and are hell-bent on hauling ass. I’m an average Joe, traveled in an inflatable “kayak,” which has more drag than a fiberglass boat, and stopped to take photos, and I averaged a little over 3 miles per hour.

From the Bowmans Island Unit to the Abbotts Bridge Unit (13 miles), I traveled with my wife and 7-year old daughter—200 pounds of dead weight (they did not paddle)—and I made the trip in a little under six hours (2 miles per hour). This included a half hours’ worth of breaks along the river. I can’t see anyone paddling this distance in less time. The National Park Service website suggests 6-8 hours for the Bowmans Island-Abbotts Bridge trip. The only way for this to take 8 hours would be if you pulled over and took a two-hour nap.

At Abbotts Bridge my family departed and I continued on to the Holcomb Bridge/Gerrard’s Landing Unit, a ten-mile stretch that I did in 3 hours (3.33 miles per hour). Overall, I paddled 23 miles, from 9 AM to 6 PM (2.55 MPH). I was tired at Abbotts Bridge and would have been happy calling it a day, but my goal was to paddle the entire river in as few days as possible.

As I mentioned in the Paddling the River Overview, I believe that it is possible to paddle the entire 48 miles in a day. However, you would have to leave at sunrise and travel to sunset on a long summer day (7 AM to 9 PM) and have it in your ability to paddle for 14 hours with very few breaks, which few of us are able to do. I am the poster child for out-of-shape, but I am very determined to accomplish a task. I went 23 miles and could have gone farther if somebody had put a gun to my head, but I don’t see me doing 48 miles in my wildest imagination. In fact, for the average Joe, 23 miles is beyond the tolerance for fun and falls into the realm of endurance exercise. For most people, 10-15 miles in a day would make for a long but still enjoyable trip down the river.  If you research paddling expeditions offered by outdoor companies, what they consider a “Full Day” trip is usually no more than 10 miles.

It is now up to you to determine how many miles you want to cover in a day. If your goal is to travel the entire river, certainly 23 miles in one day is doable. But if your goal is to have fun with the family, this would be out of the question. Be sure to read the River Trips by Section for information about which sections of the river will best suit your trip goals.

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