Gauley River

WV • US

The Gauley River drops 335 feet through the Gauley River National
Recreation Area in West Virginia, delivering some of the East Coast's
biggest whitewater. The 22-mile Upper and Lower Gauley combined feature
more than 100 named rapids and are run during the annual fall "Gauley
Season" — a 6-week window of scheduled dam releases from Summersville
Reservoir (late August through mid-October). The Upper Gauley is
continuous Class IV-V big-water; the Lower Gauley is continuous Class
III-IV.

105.0 mi total 3 sections 8 access points 0 camps 25 rapids

🗺 Explore map

Click any point for details. Sections without stored geometry are drawn as straight put-in → take-out lines — actual courses follow the river.

Sections (3)

Upper Gauley

● Summersville Dam Put-in → ● Mason Branch (Peters Creek)

12.0 mi 🌊 13 💧 1,470 cfs · low

Class IV-V

Lower Gauley

● Mason Branch (Peters Creek) → ● Gauley Bridge

10.0 mi 🌊 12 💧 1,470 cfs · medium

Class III-IV

Middle Gauley (Meadow River Confluence)

● Mason Branch (Peters Creek) → ● Swiss Take-out

5.0 mi 💧 1,470 cfs · medium

Class III