Ocoee gets OK for rafting

OCOEE, Tenn. — The water is safe, gasoline prices are down and rafting outfitters expect a banner year in 2009 for the upper and lower Ocoee River.

Water flows started this weekend on the Middle Ocoee and will continue each weekend until May 1. After that, water runs five days a week for rafting until September.

The Upper Ocoee runs on weekends from mid-May to mid-September.

The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation recently issued an all clear after the Tennessee Valley Authority inadvertently dumped tons of silt from Ocoee Dam No. 3 into the upper Ocoee.

The release killed fish and lined the river with silt until heavy rains washed it into Parksville Lake.

Now the Ocoee is back to its normal rocks, rapids and rafting.

Dick Urban, field office manager for the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, wrote in a letter to outfitters that there are no residual effects for rafters or the free-flowing section of the river.

That was good news to rafters, said High Country Outfitters owner Gerald Marshall.

“With the water quality good, and if the gas levels stays down, we will be fine this year,” Mr. Marshall said of the season’s commercial rafting time.

Jennifer Perdew of Ocoee Adventure Center said rafters are already getting calls for reservations.

Ocoee Outfitters president Carlo Smith, owner of Adventures Unlimited, said outfitters have aggressively marketed the Ocoee region this year. He said having plenty of camping and RV sites available means many people can turn a one-day stay into a vacation.

He said the rafting agreements with TVA run through 2018 but outfitters already are thinking about a new contract.

“Without a specific path to follow, it makes it difficult for us to expand,” Mr. Smith said. “We need that long term commitment.”

Ocoee Adventure Center owner Larry Mashburn said outfitters must plan for ongoing expenses.

“Rafts last about 10 to 12 years, and we buy about 10 a year,” he said. Rafts cost $3,000 apiece and his three companies have a total of 140 rafts on hand at any time.

“That is a great expense if you don’t know you will be in business,” Mr. Mashburn said.

This was also the first weekend for scenic train trips on the Blue Ridge to McCaysville/Copperhill excursion trains that are based in Blue Ridge, Ga.

The Hiwassee River Rail Adventure, operated by Tennessee Valley Railroad, will begin with one trip on Saturdays in April. Periodic trips also are planned up the Hiwassee Gorge to Copperhill.