I have built this article as a reference guide to help plan and time canoe trips down the Cahaba River. If you can not swim, I do not recommend this. If you do not devote the time into studying the river and how rainfall affects the currents and also dangers associated with canoeing rivers with fast currents I do not recommend you go without first going with someone fairly experienced in these things. It's one thing losing a camp stove or a camera, but quite another to lose a life. Two or three inches of rainfall can turn a wonderful trip into a nightmare. Not trying to scare you, only to inform you. If camping on a shallow island, one inch of rain can raise the river more than 6 inches (enough to flood your tents). Soapstone cliffs in the curves of the river often have caves eroded out just under the water surface; something you don't want to dive off of and get pushed into by the current. A tree that has fallen across the river and blocked your canoe to pass can also be a killer if you get sideways and lean the canoe upstream allowing water to quickly enter in, flipping the canoe with you in and pinning you between the canoe and the tree under the water. Allowing your canoe to be sideways against a submerged (or not submerged) rock, stump or tree branch in fast current could cause you to flip the canoe also if you panic and lean the wrong way. If you are not paying attention and some low tree limbs are extending out and all of a sudden you turn around and one knocks you out of the canoe or punctures your eye out. Also, if you lose your canoe and can't go on, it can be a very long walk back to civilization. There's a small chance of alligators and a good chance of poisonous snakes. The Cahaba River isn't as wide as the Alabama River and Alligators like hanging out near the bank which could be close to where you are swimming. Flipping the canoe and getting soaking wet in the very cold of winter could cause hypothermia.
All I am saying is a little planning and thinking is all that is required to have a fun and fulfilling trip down the Cahaba River. Pay attention and even scout ahead. Read books and articles and talk with others that have floated it. This will definitely all be worth it and canoeing down the Cahaba River can and will be a very enjoyable trip to any outdoors orientated person, so read, plan ahead, prepare and do it!!
All I am saying is a little planning and thinking is all that is required to have a fun and fulfilling trip down the Cahaba River. Pay attention and even scout ahead. Read books and articles and talk with others that have floated it. This will definitely all be worth it and canoeing down the Cahaba River can and will be a very enjoyable trip to any outdoors orientated person, so read, plan ahead, prepare and do it!!
Centerville, Alabama (Cahaba Park) to Selma, Alabama (U.S. Highway 80) - 61 miles
According to John H. Foshee in his book "Alabama Canoe Rides", this trip is a total of 61 miles. This encompasses Section 13 through Section 18 in his book. Three others and myself are going to attempt this trip this month. Hopefully we can do it in two nights and three days without any problems.
Links
Cahaba River - Centerville to Suttle Charts - http://www.srh.noaa.gov/serfc/?n=cahab_csr
Cahaba River - Normal/Flood State - http://www.nws.noaa.gov/oh/hic/current/river_flooding/AL.shtml
Cahaba River - Flood Stage Predictions - http://water.weather.gov/ahps2/weekly.php?wfo=bmx&gage=chga1&toggles=&view=1,1,1,1,1,1
Cahaba River - http://water.weather.gov/ahps2/hydrograph.php?wfo=bmx&gage=ckla1&view=1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1
Cahaba Miscellaneous - http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/uv?referred_module=sw&huc2_cd=03150202&index_pmcode_00065=3&index_pmcode_00060=4&index_pmcode_00062=5&index_pmcode_72020=6&sort_key=site_no&group_key=county_cd&sitefile_output_format=html_table&index_pmcode_DATETIME=2
Cahaba River - USGS Mountainbrook - http://waterdata.usgs.gov/usa/nwis/uv?site_no=02423380
Cahaba River - USGS Trussville - http://waterdata.usgs.gov/usa/nwis/uv?site_no=02423130
Cahaba River - USGS Cahaba Heights - http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/uv/?referred_module=sw&site_no=02423425
Cahaba River - Hoover - http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/uv/?referred_module=sw&site_no=02423496
Cahaba River - USGS Acton - http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/uv/?referred_module=sw&site_no=02423500
Cahaba River - USGS Helena - http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/uv/?referred_module=sw&site_no=02423555
Cahaba River - USGS Centreville - http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/uv?02424000
Cahaba River - USGS Suttle - http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/uv/?referred_module=sw&site_no=02424590
Cahaba River - USGS Marion Junction - http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/uv/?referred_module=sw&site_no=02425000
State Wide Stream Flows - http://waterwatch.usgs.gov/?m=real&r=03&w=real,map
Alabama Lakes, Rivers and Water Sources - http://geology.com/lakes-rivers-water/alabama.shtml
River Depth.com - Centerville http://river-depth.com/graphs/02424000?period=10
Cahaba River - Centerville to Suttle Charts - http://www.srh.noaa.gov/serfc/?n=cahab_csr
Cahaba River - Normal/Flood State - http://www.nws.noaa.gov/oh/hic/current/river_flooding/AL.shtml
Cahaba River - Flood Stage Predictions - http://water.weather.gov/ahps2/weekly.php?wfo=bmx&gage=chga1&toggles=&view=1,1,1,1,1,1
Cahaba River - http://water.weather.gov/ahps2/hydrograph.php?wfo=bmx&gage=ckla1&view=1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1
Cahaba Miscellaneous - http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/uv?referred_module=sw&huc2_cd=03150202&index_pmcode_00065=3&index_pmcode_00060=4&index_pmcode_00062=5&index_pmcode_72020=6&sort_key=site_no&group_key=county_cd&sitefile_output_format=html_table&index_pmcode_DATETIME=2
Cahaba River - USGS Mountainbrook - http://waterdata.usgs.gov/usa/nwis/uv?site_no=02423380
Cahaba River - USGS Trussville - http://waterdata.usgs.gov/usa/nwis/uv?site_no=02423130
Cahaba River - USGS Cahaba Heights - http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/uv/?referred_module=sw&site_no=02423425
Cahaba River - Hoover - http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/uv/?referred_module=sw&site_no=02423496
Cahaba River - USGS Acton - http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/uv/?referred_module=sw&site_no=02423500
Cahaba River - USGS Helena - http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/uv/?referred_module=sw&site_no=02423555
Cahaba River - USGS Centreville - http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/uv?02424000
Cahaba River - USGS Suttle - http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/uv/?referred_module=sw&site_no=02424590
Cahaba River - USGS Marion Junction - http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/uv/?referred_module=sw&site_no=02425000
State Wide Stream Flows - http://waterwatch.usgs.gov/?m=real&r=03&w=real,map
Alabama Lakes, Rivers and Water Sources - http://geology.com/lakes-rivers-water/alabama.shtml
River Depth.com - Centerville http://river-depth.com/graphs/02424000?period=10
Section 13 - U.S. 82 (Centerville) to Harrisburg Bridge - 11.7 miles (our put in is actually the park)
13 hour trip over 36 miles = approximately 2 1/2 miles per hour
Put in at Centreville, AL - Friday, November 12th, 2010 @ 9:30am
Suttle flow - approximately 400 cfs, depth 5.60 feet
Centerville flow - approximately 290 cfs, depth 1.10 feet
Marion Junction flow - 520 cfs, depth 2.10 feet
We put in at Centerville, AL. There is a public park there, and a concrete ramp going down to the river, so it made it very easy. Edit: April, 22nd, 2012 as of spring, 2012, the family that owns this boat ramp and park has closed it. The story I heard is the son wanted to live in a house on the property. Another ramp location needs to be found in this area if you want to put in here unless you work something out with the family. We took out in Sprott on U.S. Hwy 83 Bridge on Sunday November 14th, 2010 at 1 pm
This trip encompassed Sections 13, 14, 15 and 16 (Sprott) in three days. Our goal was to make the Highway 80 Bridge in Selma Alabama, but the current was slow due to the width of the river in some of these sections and I'm pretty sure that John Foshee's calculations of the mileage for these sections was under calculated. Had the river been up about 6 more inches and the cfs up some (but still under safe levels) I feel like we would have made the trip if we had put in earlier and taken out later, but instead we fished, and put in around 9:30 am each morning and set up camp at 4pm both evenings. We also took about an hour for lunch both days so we actually only had about 5 hours of float time Friday and Saturday, and then another 3 hours on Sunday for a total of 13 hours of actual floating time. At about 36 miles over three days that's over 2 1/2 miles per hour float time.
We'll finish our group trip up this spring.
Section 14 - Harrisburg Bridge to County Road 47 (Jericho) Bridge - 11.3 miles
Section 15 - County Road 47 (Jericho) Bridge to Alabama Highway 14 (Sprott) - 11.5 miles
Section 16 - Alabama Highway 14 (Sprott) to County Road 30 (Radford) - 7.3 miles
Section 17 - County Road 30 (Radford) to County Road 6 (Suttle) - 9.1 miles
Section 18 - County Road 6 (Suttle) to U.S. Highway 80 (Selma) - 9.7 miles
5 hour trip over 9.7 miles = approximately 2 miles per hour
Saturday November 6th, 2010
Suttle flow - approximately 430 cfs, depth 5.70 feet
Centreville flow - approximately 310 cfs, depth 1.20 feet
Marion Junction flow - 600 cfs, depth 2.40 feet
I floated this section with my son Saturday, November 6th, 2010. We put in at the bridge on County Road 6. There is a dirt road that drops down below the bridge from the pavement. The slope to the river is pretty steep here (about 35 degrees) but it's not hard to get the canoe down the bank into the water. Bringing it up you'd definitely need an extra hand (or two). We arrived at 12 noon and took out at the U.S. Highway 80 bridge at 5 pm, so this basically was a 5 hour trip. We made one 30 minute stop.
Getting in was easy, but to hour surprise (not mentioned in Foshe's book) it was not far down stream was about a 40 feet stretch of white water including two drops, one about 1 foot and one at least 18 inches. I was on the front of the canoe and luckily we kept the canoe straight as we went through. Had we went across that sideways there is no doubt the canoe would have flipped. I got soaking wet in the front of the canoe, at least my waist down anyway, when we went off the second drop the front of the canoe almost went underwater and I got splashed several times. The canoe took on about 1/2 inch of water in this area.
This stretch of the Cahaba River was beautiful and there were some high banks, particularly in the first half of the trip, one bank had to be 100 feet tall. There were some cypress trees, and lots of Sycamore trees, willows and maples in this stretch.There were at least 5 sandbars and/or islands high enough to camp on without much worry of getting flooded out unless there were huge storms upstream. This trip was quite enjoyable and not tiring at all.
Interesting notes were the deer we canoed by and lots of mallards and wood ducks. There was one 9 foot alligator that made a horrific splash about 40 in front of us in one narrow stretch, going underwater right in front of us. I had a paddle ready just in case he surfaced under the canoe!! The only negative note I have is that there were about 15 floats stuck in the tree debris along the edge of the river, I am assuming leftover remnants from bad luck experiences people had trying to float down the river upstream, losing their float in the process. I had heard about a shuttle service of sorts but the only two people I spoke with that had experienced the trip got bruised and cut up (the legs), one having their ankle twisted. They both said they wouldn't be back. However, someone must be having fun because they keep doing it.
Obviously this trip would have moved a lot slower in the summer time, but the water level was decent on this trip and we made good time. I am going to try this again in a couple of weeks, so we'll see how it goes then.
Section 18A - H.S. Highway 80 (Selma) to Alabama Highway 22 -
This Section begins fast with hardly any paddling required but about 2/3 of the way south the water basically stops and if you want to get to the bridge before dark (considering you put in a little after daylight) you had better paddle fairly consistently. A good day trip estimated at around 9 hours without stops.
5 hour trip over 9.7 miles = approximately 2 miles per hour
Saturday November 6th, 2010
Suttle flow - approximately 430 cfs, depth 5.70 feet
Centreville flow - approximately 310 cfs, depth 1.20 feet
Marion Junction flow - 600 cfs, depth 2.40 feet
I floated this section with my son Saturday, November 6th, 2010. We put in at the bridge on County Road 6. There is a dirt road that drops down below the bridge from the pavement. The slope to the river is pretty steep here (about 35 degrees) but it's not hard to get the canoe down the bank into the water. Bringing it up you'd definitely need an extra hand (or two). We arrived at 12 noon and took out at the U.S. Highway 80 bridge at 5 pm, so this basically was a 5 hour trip. We made one 30 minute stop.
Getting in was easy, but to hour surprise (not mentioned in Foshe's book) it was not far down stream was about a 40 feet stretch of white water including two drops, one about 1 foot and one at least 18 inches. I was on the front of the canoe and luckily we kept the canoe straight as we went through. Had we went across that sideways there is no doubt the canoe would have flipped. I got soaking wet in the front of the canoe, at least my waist down anyway, when we went off the second drop the front of the canoe almost went underwater and I got splashed several times. The canoe took on about 1/2 inch of water in this area.
This stretch of the Cahaba River was beautiful and there were some high banks, particularly in the first half of the trip, one bank had to be 100 feet tall. There were some cypress trees, and lots of Sycamore trees, willows and maples in this stretch.There were at least 5 sandbars and/or islands high enough to camp on without much worry of getting flooded out unless there were huge storms upstream. This trip was quite enjoyable and not tiring at all.
Interesting notes were the deer we canoed by and lots of mallards and wood ducks. There was one 9 foot alligator that made a horrific splash about 40 in front of us in one narrow stretch, going underwater right in front of us. I had a paddle ready just in case he surfaced under the canoe!! The only negative note I have is that there were about 15 floats stuck in the tree debris along the edge of the river, I am assuming leftover remnants from bad luck experiences people had trying to float down the river upstream, losing their float in the process. I had heard about a shuttle service of sorts but the only two people I spoke with that had experienced the trip got bruised and cut up (the legs), one having their ankle twisted. They both said they wouldn't be back. However, someone must be having fun because they keep doing it.
Obviously this trip would have moved a lot slower in the summer time, but the water level was decent on this trip and we made good time. I am going to try this again in a couple of weeks, so we'll see how it goes then.
Section 18A - H.S. Highway 80 (Selma) to Alabama Highway 22 -
This Section begins fast with hardly any paddling required but about 2/3 of the way south the water basically stops and if you want to get to the bridge before dark (considering you put in a little after daylight) you had better paddle fairly consistently. A good day trip estimated at around 9 hours without stops.
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