River Description

Really two different ways to look at...one you can hike in here like this goober did notice the sign it's the trailhead to the falls

                 

                                    This this sign to the Stinging Fork trail head.

 

Or you can drive just up the road, look for a gravel road on the right, it might have a gate, but would be an easier walk to the creek using the trail head NOT, and you can put-on there, and take off at the Piney River takeout. Most of the time we sneak across the gate, sometimes it's locked. If so don't sneak across the gate.
The river features a 60ft that has broken back, back in the day...ie LOOOOOONG BOATS. Today's shorter boats help take care of all of that. The trick to the big one is two go slower or just as fast as the water but not faster.

The approach can be tricky at higher water, and below the falls a slide is around the corner with a beat-n-bang rock that is hell on open boats. Then around the next bend is boggie water until you hit Soak Creek which is more of the same.
 

 Directions to put-in
Drive up Shut in Gap Road for 5-7 miles, looking for the sign on the right for Stinging Fork Falls Pocket Wilderness. You have the choice of either hiking in from this trail, which is about a mile long, or continuing to the next little logging road on the right and driving down to the creek for another mile of fun little drops, though there is some wood to negotiate. The creek will be crossed 0.4 miles after turning onto the unmarked gravel road. The takeout is the same for Piney River.

Water Level Beta:
Here is an old school way of telling if Stinging Fork was running between Nov-March. I would check the following gauges to see if they were running, the following is for a 4.0 ft min. on the bridge gauge at the takeout on the Piney River. It also helps to first have a big rain to prime the creek first for the first fall run.

 

Here are the readings you will need.
Tellico 4.2

Town Creek 475

Emory 8500

A new school way is to go to Mark D' website alabamawhitewater.com He has the T.V.A rain gauges tied in, look for the Watts Bar rain gauge, and Pikeville rain gauge. A good example for this is, happened in December this year. The Watts Bar gauge got 1.85" of rain, and Pikeville 1.75 that night. That morning at 9:00 am the Piney was running 3.9". I hope this paints a picture


The newest way to know if it is running is to click here