Catawba River: Lake Wylie to River Park, Rock Hill, SC

Length of Trip: 6.4 miles  (3-4 hours)

Starting Point:  Ft. Mill Access Area just below the Lake Wylie Dam, New Gray Rock Road, Fort Mill, SC 29708

Short Ending Point:  Riverwalk access area, Herrons Ferry Road, Rock Hill, SC 29730 (just below Hwy 29 bridge) (3.5 miles from put-in)

Ending Point: River Park, 1782 Quality Circle, Rock Hill, SC 29730 (6.4 river miles from put-in)

Difficulty: Easy to Moderate (Class I and II if water levels are below 10,000 cfm)

Resources:

• Catawba River Canoe Trail Brochure
• Catawba River Blueway website
• Lake Wylie Dam release schedule
• USGS flow gage near Rock Hill, SC

Put-in just below the Lake Wylie Dam

Summary

The trip from the Lake Wylie Dam to Rock Hill is a great outing for a summer evening to escape the heat of Charlotte.  Both the put-in and take-out are about a 30 minute drive from downtown Charlotte, and yet the view from the river has relatively few signs of human activity.  Depending upon the amount of time available, you can either paddle from the dam to the Riverwalk access just below the Highway 29 bridge between Rock Hill and Ft. Mill (which is about 3.5 miles) or you can paddle to River Park in Rock Hill, which is about 6.4 miles.  

On this trip you will pass the site of Catawba villages, pass over ancient Catawba fish weirs (large V-shaped rock structures that were used to divert fish into nets), and pass through Nations Ford, which was the only major river crossing on the major north-south pre-colonial trading path.  There is also a great bar and restaurant (the Pumphouse) located in an old pumphouse just after you pass the Highway 29 bridge and just before you get to the Riverwalk access.

Tips

The key to this trip is paying attention to the water flow and the schedule for releases from the Lake Wylie Dam.  If the flow is below 80 cfm, you will be walking part of the trip.  If the flow is above 11,000 cfm some of the class II water will become class III water with large standing waves and dangerous hydraulics.  Most people consider 2000 cfm to 5,000 cfm to be an optimal flow. You can check on the current flow at https://waterdata.usgs.gov/sc/nwis/uv/?site_no=02146000&PARAmeter_cd=00065,00060,00062,72137,62614.

In addition to checking the current flow, it is also wise to check Duke Energy's generation schedule because they may be planning to turn-off the water at about the time you plan to begin paddling, or they may plan to increase the flow to generate more electricity.  During the summer, the water level sometimes is too low during the early afternoon when there is not much demand for hydro power, but increases quickly around 5 p.m. when people come home from work and turn on their electrical appliances.  Duke Energy posts information about scheduled releases on its website at https://lakes.duke-energy.com/index.html?_ga=2.231554975.1876693990.1532298194-2061326627.1531399640#/flow.  At the put-in, pay attention to the sirens and lights which warn that the flow is about to increase because the water level can rise quickly.

A final tip is to check the schedule for River Park.  It is not a happy situation to arrive at the River Park take-out and find that your car has been locked into the park by a closed gate.