Staying Home Sucks, home
Main Street, Franklin, NC - 54038698188
Franklin, the nearest town, 10 km away. Photo: w_lemay, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

Riverside Access

Kayak spot · United States

Flat water: a lake, canal or slow river

Is it worth the trip?

95Good out of 100 for your dates

Home sucks

Best on Fri 6: Wind 4 kn gusting 12, Air 21 °C

Each day of your trip, out of 100

Tue 3 · 93 out of 100

Wind
4 kn
Gusts
12kn
Air
20°C
Rain
0 mm

Wed 4 · 93 out of 100

Wind
6 kn
Gusts
16kn
Air
16°C
Rain
3.6 mm

Thu 5 · 97 out of 100

Wind
5 kn
Gusts
13kn
Air
19°C
Rain
2.3 mm

Fri 6 · 99 out of 100

Wind
4 kn
Gusts
12kn
Air
21°C
Rain
0 mm

Sat 7 · 95 out of 100

Wind
3 kn
Gusts
11kn
Air
17°C
Rain
0 mm

Sun 8 · 94 out of 100

Wind
5 kn
Gusts
16kn
Air
17°C
Rain
0 mm

Mon 9 · 82 out of 100

Wind
6 kn
Gusts
25kn
Air
13°C
Rain
5.7 mm

Tap a day for wind, gusts, air and rain. Full forecast

Forecast: next 10 days

Full forecast
  1. Mon 292, good
  2. Tue 393, good
  3. Wed 493, good
  4. Thu 597, good
  5. Fri 699, good
  6. Sat 795, good
  7. Sun 894, good
  8. Mon 982, good
  9. Tue 1076, good
  10. Wed 1170, good

The spot in two facts

  • Flat waterthe water
  • 5.2 kmthe section

Full forecast

every day, every number

The score doesn't know the river level, weirs or your skill.

Wind and weather forecast and score for each day at Riverside Access
DayScoreWindGustsAirRain
Mon 2Nov92, good6 kn15kn17°C0 mm
Tue 3Nov93, good4 kn12kn20°C0 mm
Wed 4Nov93, good6 kn16kn16°C3.6 mm
Thu 5Nov97, good5 kn13kn19°C2.3 mm
Fri 6Nov99, good4 kn12kn21°C0 mm
Sat 7Nov95, good3 kn11kn17°C0 mm
Sun 8Nov94, good5 kn16kn17°C0 mm
Mon 9Nov82, good6 kn25kn13°C5.7 mm
Tue 10Nov76, good6 kn26kn8°C0 mm
Wed 11Nov70, good6 kn20kntoo gusty7°C1.5 mm

Wind and gusts are in knots, rain in mm. The river's level is under In the water. More

Forecast updated . It refreshes every three hours. Forecast data: ECMWF, DWD, Météo-France and NOAA, served by Open-Meteo.com (CC BY 4.0). Changed by us. Generated using E.U. Copernicus Marine Service Information.

Best time to go

No month stands out

Good kayaking days in a typical week, each month, for grade III paddlers, from 2016 on (ERA5 history scored the same way).

  1. Jan6of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Jan
  2. Feb7of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Feb
  3. Mar7of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Mar
  4. Apr7of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Apr
  5. May7of 7: a trip from Sat 1 May
  6. Jun7of 7: a trip from Sat 5 Jun
  7. Jul7of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Jul
  8. Aug7of 7: a trip from Sat 7 Aug
  9. Sep7of 7: a trip from Sat 4 Sept
  10. Oct7of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Oct
  11. Nov7of 7: a trip from Tue 3 Nov
  12. Dec7of 7: a trip from Sat 5 Dec

Tap a month to see this spot for a trip then.

Typical weather, not a forecast, and not the river's level: a month that is often good to be outside may still be low water.

Map

put-in, take-out, its town

Each place wears its best day on these dates: green good, amber fair, pale red poor, as the key says.

The map needs JavaScript. Every place on it is listed on this page, and each place's page links to Google Maps.

One finger scrolls the page; two fingers move the map. Pins are our own positions. Map OpenFreeMap, © OpenMapTiles, data © OpenStreetMap contributors.

About

the place in full, sources, credits

About Riverside Access

A river section on the Little Tennessee River, from a put-in down to a take-out. It runs 5.2 km along the river. No grade stated: ask locally before you paddle. None within 10 km, the nearest 35 km away. The town to stay in is Franklin.

  • River Little Tennessee River
  • Grade No grade is stated.
  • Length 5.2 km along the river.
  • Who it suits No grade stated: ask locally before you paddle.
  • Access No source states the access rules: check locally.
  • Schools, hire None within 10 km, the nearest 35 km away.

Spots and rivers: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). Whitewater sections © Rivermap (rivermap.org), Riverzone and Jonathan Riddell, ODbL.

The score is the conditions only: the journey, the price and the partners never change it (how we score, how we earn).

Rough cost (estimate): about US$1,190–US$2,140 each

about US$1,190–US$2,140 each · 6 nights, 2 sharing: flights, hire car, stay, food, kayak hire.

Our estimate from typical public prices, not a quote: check the real prices before you book (where they come from). Prices are about, in US Dollar (USD): our pound figures at the European Central Bank's rate of 30 October 2026.

How we worked it out 
Rough cost per person for this trip
WhatHow we worked it outEach
Flightsreturn MDW to AVL, estimated from distance and season, 1 airline on the route, with a hold bagabout US$141–US$288
Hire car6 days, sharedabout US$154–US$255
Stay6 nights, a mid-range double, sharedabout US$348–US$583
Food7 days eating outabout US$342–US$636
Kayak hire5 days, or about US$114 to fly your ownabout US$201–US$375
Totalabout US$1,190–US$2,140

Prices from public sources, checked in 2026.

Where to stay: Franklin

Closest

Franklin

about 20 min by car · 14 places to stay

about US$134/nightcountry average

See 14 places to stay in Franklin · Booking.com

About Franklin its beds, food and every spot near it

About US$134 a night is our estimate of the country's average 2-star double room that month: not each town's price, and not a quote. Drives are estimates. Prices are about, in US Dollar (USD): our pound figures at the European Central Bank's rate of 30 October 2026.

Getting there: about 5h 20m

About 5h 20m door to door from Chicago

Fly MDW → AVL, direct, then 1h 50m by road

An estimate, one way; the journey never changes the score.

On the water

River level

Gauge at LITTLE TENNESSEE RIVER NEAR PRENTISS, NC, 5 km downstream: 2.77 m³/s, low for November (updated 3 h ago). Low.

Bands are this gauge's own record: under its usual low, running, high, and in flood on its few highest days a year. Not a runnable range for the section: check before you go. River levels in the United States: U.S. Geological Survey (public domain). Credits

Paddling schools, clubs and hire nearby

No paddling school, club or hire mapped within 25 km.

Schools, clubs and hire: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). Credits