French Broad Paddle Trail

So this one is on you, we don’t manage anything with the campsites.  This should also be the first step in your process before calling us to make a shuttle reservation.  Mountain True, a local river organization, are the ones that manage the reservations for most campsites.  Firefighter island is the last decent campsite before the Biltmore and Asheville stretch of river.  It is also the one that books up the fastest, and is 15 river miles from our store.

This one is actually quite easy.  FBO only services upstream from Asheville, and the location from which we shuttle overnight trips is our outfitters store at 704 Riverside Dr, mile 72 on the French Broad.  Please keep in mind that upstream is south of town, this is a north bound river.  The river moves at about 2mph by itself, keep this information in mind when you plan on how many miles you want to do in one day.  Firefighter Island is about 14 river miles from our store, located at around river mile 59.  Estimate how many miles and days you have to work backwards and select additional campsites and an access point for shuttling.

Awesome, you have your reservations for campsites and a rough itinerary of where you want to put in. You’ll have to call us to make a reservation for overnight shuttles. FBO has regularly scheduled shuttles and river trips that go out in season daily so we run overnight trips early in the morning, like 7 or 8. This gives us time to get our vehicle and drivers back to town by the time we open.  We understand that factors vary so we’ll check in with you a day prior about group numbers and river levels and adjust as necessary.  We will hold a CC number for your reservations but we don’t charge until you arrive, and of course we can split up the payment between group members however.  We have well lit, safe parking for overnighters at our store while you’re on your trip.

Canoes are usually the vessel of choice solely based on capacity.  Canoe camping is akin to car camping in the equipment you can bring but don’t go overboard..! Seriously, though, overpacked canoes can get tippy and no one wants to end up in the drink unexpectedly.  Additionally, if you have no experience in a canoe, maybe consider kayaks.  The fundamental difference is open vs. closed vessels, aka canoes can fill up with water and sink.  The sit on top kayaks that we use are virtually unsinkable self container units.  The trade off is how much you can bring, mobility, and how much your vessel will draft in the water.  All our vessel rentals include paddles and pfds.

We rent pretty much all the camping equipment you may need for a trip:

• Tents
• Sleeping bags/pads
• Camping stoves
• Dry bags – big ones!

Firstly, natural flow river.  If it’s been raining in the southeast, the river is up and won’t come down for a few days some times.  If there is a question, call us, we’ll be sure to call you if there’s an issue that we can see.  Reciprocally, if it’s been pretty dry for a while things can get a little boney the further south you go.

Blockages – they happen, and there’s no way for us to know about them.  Be prepared to maybe have to portage around trees in the river.

Planning your trip based on the Mtn True website can be tricky, it’s not the easiest to navigate.  They do, however, have a physical map that we sell in the store that is an excellent resource when planning trips.  It’s UV coated, waterproof, and is super easy to use.  We sell them in the store and online.

Heh heh, you’re going to try!

Outside magazine has done everyone a disservice by editorializing a super easy float to Oscar Blues then Sierra Nevada and finish at New Belgium on the French Broad.  Well, unsurprisingly, big breweries are less inclined to have folks get drunk at their place and stumble back down to the river for a departure.  The whole booze/watersports thing..

The honest truth is that, yes these three breweries are adjacent to the FB, however none of them have access points!  Also, consider where you’ll be leaving our $1000 canoes and your/our camping equipment while you’re away from the river.  It has been done, and it can be done, but it is not easy.  For those dedicated enough, here’s your beta for each place.

Oscar Blues – adjacent to the Pisgah Forest access.  About a 1/2 mile walk from the access to the brewery.

Sierra Nevada – 200 acre brewery.  The Biltmore of breweries!  Call them first, find out if their riverside access may be open.  It’s an event space they have but they don’t leave the gate open.  Closest access is Westfeldt, at least a mile or more walk from the brewery.  Busy access point for launching and fishermen.

New Belgium – darn near on the water in Asheville.  This one we usually just recommend floating on past and hitting after you get off the water.  We are about 1.5 miles downstream.  If you must, Craven st. is the closest access.  This is in town and super busy, please do not leave our canoes just sitting out!

We can shuttle all the way to the headwaters in Rosman.  Below is a list of access points that we use regularly and a price schedule.  Takeout at FBO is mile 72.  Prices are for up to four people.  Over four people add $20 per person.

• Glenn Bridge $50 (1 day – mile 55)
• Westfeldt $75 (1 day – mile 51)
• Horse Shoe $100 (2 days – mile 40)
• Penrose/Blantyre  $110 (2 days – mile 31/34)
• Pisgah Forest $135 (3 days – mile 25)
• Hap Simpson $150 (3 days – mile 20)
• Champion Park $175 (4+ days – mile 1)