Trip Report: Catawba River Trip from Bridgewater Access to Watermill Road Access

We paddled from the Bridgewater Access just below the dam to the Watermill Road Access on the Catawba River. The flow was two units from the dam. Duke Energy publishes daily flow arrival and recession times at all of the access points here and a three day flow schedule here. Two units is rare and so we jumped on the chance to paddle two units on a beautiful fall day. Phil went in a Pyranha 9R kayak and I used my stand up paddle board. There is one class II rapid in the beginning and one in the end but the rest of the 7 mile trip is moving water and riffles. Due to the extra flow we finished in 2 hours. If you are unsure about your craft or the skill of your crew, you can put in at the West Bend River Access and skip the more technical flow. You can find a map of the entire Upper Catawba River Trail here.