Tallulah River

The Tallulah River drains the Blue Ridge of north Georgia and drops through Tallulah Gorge — a 1,000-foot-deep granite canyon dewatered for over a century by Georgia Power’s 1913 hydroelectric project. The gorge is largely empty water most of the year, but Georgia Power releases the river two weekends each November (and occasionally April) at 700 cfs, transforming the dewatered slot into one of the most dramatic Class IV–V whitewater runs in the Southeast. Whitewater paddlers wait all year for the Tallulah Gorge release weekends — only 4 release days per year on average. Tallulah Gorge State Park manages the access and permit system.