Kentucky Whitewater

07/28/2022

UPDATE: The best advice i can give anyone who wants to help is pick a county and show up at the emergency services managers office (or the field command center if the office is out of commission due to the flooding) and show them what resources you can offer.

Thanks to those who offered me assistance but coordinating agencies need you more than we do. Again we wont be corresponding to any messages here.


Kentucky Whitewater has an offer of assistance with the Emergency Operations Center at Kentucky Emergency Management. The current flooding in East Ky is the worst seen in several generations and we hope to offer relief to the responders currently on the ground.

While we will not be checking messages here we may make a request for assistance from our community members who are trained and experienced in Swiftwater rescue. Please don't attempt to make rescues unless you have experienced the power of flood. This is a far different water scenario than a normal day of paddling any craft on high volume rivers.

Keep these folks in your prayers and dont forget them once the recovery from this event begins in the coming days, weeks, and months. Our home region is a collective proud group of Kentuckians that will need help as much as any group could after the water subsides.

Vision - A resilient commonwealth that is safe, secure, and prepared for emergencies and disasters, because of the programs and efforts of a superior emergency management team that is staffed and led by professional managers and administrators.Mission - Serving Our Commonwealth

10/07/2020

Some video of Ed and crew going through the Bartlick Splash Dam in Bartlick, VA built in 1905 by the Yellow Poplar Lumber Co. as a dam that can repeatedly allow pooling and log rafting by having temporary wood facings dynamited to create a massive raft of logs in a higher flow of water to navigate the narrow Russell Fork Gorge downstream with its many house sized boulders. It has since served as a railroad and highway bridge and many folks take this route to visit John Flannagan Dam and its multitude of land and water recreation areas.

10/07/2020

We love our guests and really enjoy hearing them laugh and yell in excitement! Here are some sights and sounds of the first fall weekend of annual Flannagan Dam fall drawdown that has been now happening for 30 straight years .

10/05/2020

Whitewater rafting season is upon us. We wanted to share a little history of whitewater rafting.

Dating back to the 19th century, 1811 to be exact, was the first recording of whitewater rafting on the Snake River in Wyoming. The Snake River can be extremely dangerous due to rapid movement of water and rocks in the way, the rafting mission didn’t go as planned. However, before 1811, Native Americans had used canoes and rafts to help navigate rivers throughout North America. Fast forward to the 20th century where commercial rafting trips become more readily available. During the 1960’s rafting was fully established and becoming a pastime favorite for people. As time has progressed whitewater rafting has become an extremely popular sport for high adrenaline chasers. Rivers are graded from a Class I to Class V. Class I are the easiest, and Class V are the most extreme.

Listed below are a few of the most sought after rivers in North America for Whitewater Rafting.
1: Colorado River (Grand Canyon, Arizona) - Class I – Class V
2. Salmon River (Idaho) – All three sections the main, middle and lower sections range from Class III to Class IV)
3. Chattooga River (South Carolina/ Georgia – Section III has Class III and Class IV and Section IV has Class V
4. Gauley River (West Virginia) – Upper Gauley is Class V and the Lower Section is Class IV
5. Arkansas River (Colorado) – Multiple sections ranging from Class II to Class V
6. Nahatlatch River (British Columbia) – Nahatlatch has Class IV and Nahatlatch Canyon is Class IV – Class V
7. Kennebec River and Dead River (Maine) – Kennebec River is Class IV and the Dead River is Class II-IV
8. Youghiogheny River (Maryland and Pennsylvania) – All three sections of the Yough ranges from Class I to Class V
9. Tuolumne River (California) – Cherry Creek Section is Class V and the Main Tuolumne is Class IV
10. Rio Santa Maria (Mexico) – Tampaon Section ranges from Class III to IV

As friendly reminder to everyone please Be Safe and Have Fun!

10/05/2020

Loosey is hangin with the awesome John W. Flannagan Lake, US Army Corps of Engineers folks passing out swag to all us animals. Bandanas say "Have fun, Be safe" We couldn't have said it better ourselves.

10/01/2020

Registration is now open for the 2021 Big Turtle 50 Miler, 50K, and 10 Miler. Sign up soon because prices can go up anytime!
Register at www.bigturtle50miler.com.

10/01/2020

Rafting Guests and paddling friends please take note of the detour on the Bert T. Combs Mt Parkway and please recognize you are traveling through someone's community on the backroads. ITs actually a beautiful drive so enjoy the scenery and be safe.

Traffic Update - Both lanes of the Mountain Parkway will be closed between Slade (Exit 33) and Pine Ridge (Exit 40) starting Friday, Oct 2.

Westbound traffic will continue to detour onto KY15 at Pine Ridge. Eastbound traffic will detour onto KY11 from Slade, join KY715 in Zachariah and let out at Pine Ridge. Uphill access to Koomer Ridge Campground from Slade is currently blocked so take KY15 from Pine Ridge to access the campground.

Plan for longer travel times as we see increased traffic on these winding, narrow roads.

For more details => https://bit.ly/33hsQUE

09/24/2020

Our fall whitewater rafting has just a few spots left on selected days and we can’t be more excited to get back out on our beloved Russell Fork River in 8 days.

I can’t be more proud of my team and our experience with KET - Kentucky Educational Television Kentucky Life - KET crew profiling us and our river life. Hazel, Jeremy, Ed, and Loosey are the best!

October is the most wonderful time of the year! LETS GO RAFTING!

A culture of respect for the Russell Fork River keeps adventure seekers and families coming back. Learn more about KET's programs and educational services at...

08/04/2020

A very special episode of KET's Kentucky Life is coming up this Saturday Night at 8PM. A lot of our media/filming experiences have looked past our river culture and only at the extreme nature of the sport.
Kentucky Life's crew and production team has put it into focus for the world to see. I am proud of my team Jeremy David Waters Ed Halcomb and my two personal treasures Hazel and Loosey.

05/11/2020

Flash Sale 20% off our top 5 selling items. Russell Fork River Map T-Shirts in all sizes so you won’t get lost on the river for under $10 (Black for $12). Limited supply of ropes and hats, get yours before they are gone.

Free shipping on t-shirts and hats! Credit Cards and PayPal accepted.

https://kentuckywhitewater.com/kentucky-whitewater-store.html

04/21/2020

While we aren't able to get back out on the water just yet here are some coloring pages for your babies to color on. Our favorite is the jet powered action figure one!

Photo your kids work and share back with us and well randomly select a few kids to send some whitewater state stickers to! Parents like stickers too so maybe well have an adult coloring page division of this not-in-any-way-official contest.

03/31/2020

We had a blast showling Chef Adam Glick & Outside TV crew around Cumberland Falls State Resort Park and go moonbow hunting! It is easy to see that Loosey & Tex had as much fun as the humans did and YES they got some of the great food that Chef prepared. The dutch oven blackberry apple cake for breakfast was our favorite. We kept the to ourselves though.
Kentucky Tourism is awesome at bringing awareness to the iconic things people should visit in our state and we are honored they knew we were the right fit for this episode.