Hwy 58 bridge to Decatur-Watts Bar Rd

This is a great class I for anyone that is interested in seeing a change of scenery on East Tennessee Rivers. Shortly after the put-in there is a nice little limestone gorge for a few miles. Suprisingly, you won't find all that much true flatwater in the first stretch. There is usually current and enough small shoals to have at least a little fun. One of them is named "Coral Reef". You'll notice a large hunk of limestone in the middle of the creek where most of the current and small waves go. This is the one that might be class II at higher water levels. There will be about 6 or 7 small shoals until the Iron Bridge (Sewee or Herd Rd). After Herd Road there will be a few more shoals if you run it late fall through early spring, i.e., if Chickamauga Lake is low. If during the summer, you might want to take out at the Iron Bridge, but the parking could be an issue. There is the occasional tree down but the creek is so big that they usually are avoidable. The best parking spot for the put-in is the Baptist church just north of the Hwy 58 bridge. The winter take out, and this is with 1.5 miles of flatwater, is at the parking lot just below Decatur Rd. Bridge. The greenery is wonderful in the first section. You'll actually find Mountain Laurels along the small cliffs, a plant that usually reserves itself for more acidic sites in the mountains. The water quality could be an issue, so I would suggest waiting until the floodwaters calm down before running it. Basically, this creek creek drains all of Meigs County.