The Nantahala River is located in western North Carolina and travels through national forest before entering Nantahala Lake and offers multiple sections of runnable river for paddlers of all skill levels. This section of the Nantahala River is a consistent, thrilling run of class I-III rapids. The roadway follows the river closely through this section so scouting the river before is easy to do and is strongly advised. Some of the rapids are upgraded in difficulty depending on water flow so it is important to know what the river is doing before running it. Nantahala Falls, as well as a few other rapids, can be easily portaged giving paddlers that are not as skilled the opportunity to run the river. The river can only be run when the power plant is operating so verify this information and current water gauges before attempting the run.