Charles D. Owen Park to Azalea Rd

The Swannanoa River is a surprisingly nice Class II run in the Asheville area. At normal flows, start your run at Charles D Owen Park where Bee Tree Creek kicks the volume up a notch. The first mile to the bridge at Warren Wilson has some shallow cobble bars, but shortly thereafter the river changes character, with deeper pools alternating small boulder and bedrock rapids set between wooded hills. Where the river nears Farm School Rd, it suddenly feels like a larger real river. There are lots of well defined eddies. For the final mile or so before 70 the river flows through a neighborhood. It is likely wise to be weary of the water quality at high flows given the developed nature of the watershed, but the water quality is pretty good a couple days after a rain or longer. There are several options for taking out in the vicinity of Highway 70 at various businesses, or continue on to the County Recreation Park. Be sure to get out before the dam at the Western North Carolina Nature Center. A decent spot that seems public is at the Anchor Steam Plant entrance on Azalea Rd. Hurricane Helene totally changed this run. All of the rapids are different and in different places. The river has a sunnier, open feel, and pretty much all of the houses that had been built in the floodplain are gone. The river is a bit wider and shallower, and the rapids are less smooth. Still, obvious and clear lines exist through all the small rapids, and the river is still enjoyable. A lot of rock walls have been exposed, and the river is going to be OK. The old rough Farm School Rd access area is now blocked with a guard rail so this run just keeps getting longer as we lose access.