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Lake Chatuge Cruise

Nantahala River in North Carolina

River45.4 mi

Around here

Around Nantahala River

Standing Indian Campground8.1 miHidden Waters RV Park, Campground &…11 mi5 mi

Before you go

  • Timed entryGreat Smoky Mountains National Park Vehicle Reservations

Data Source: Recreation.gov · Public land: USGS PAD-US

About this river

Nantahala River is a 45.4 mile river near Lake Chatuge Cruise in Georgia. Streamflow is measured at the USGS gauge Nantahala River near Rainbow Springs, NC (site 03504000). The National Hydrography Dataset places it at stream order 5. Reach geometry comes from the USGS National Hydrography Dataset.

Typical flow by month

1941 to 2026

Nantahala River typically runs highest in March, at a median 262 cfs, and lowest in September, at 86 cfs. The highest flow on record for any single day is 3,620 cfs, in 2004.

Show the numbers
Typical flow by month at Nantahala River near Rainbow Springs, NC, in cfs
MonthTypical (cfs)Usual range (cfs)
January236170 to 331
February256192 to 369
March262204 to 348
April243186 to 314
May188152 to 247
June143109 to 200
July11283 to 162
August9970 to 147
September8660 to 129
October8861 to 138
November11582 to 189
December181122 to 277

Typical is the median of each month’s daily median values, and the usual range runs from the median 25th to the median 75th percentile, across about 86 years of record. Statistics published by the US Geological Survey for Nantahala River near Rainbow Springs, NC (site 03504000). Conditions on any given day can fall well outside the usual range. Check the current reading before you go.

Boat access nearby

3 mapped launches sit in the mapped area of Nantahala River, all of them public access. Ramp data comes from the USGS national boat-ramp inventory.

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