Families Paddle Too

River:Tuckaseegee
Skill:All
Trip Date:05/22/2026
Written by: , Posted: June 7, 2026

This is the first year I have been a coordinator for the Families Paddle Too Event. It is held every year on Memorial Day Weekend. It was formed to give kids an opportunity to paddle with other children on the river.

We had five families with 8 children participating in this event. The ages of the children ranged from 5yrs to 16yrs old; the skill level was just as wide. While there were opportunities for multiple trips we chose to stay together and paddle all the same rivers.

We held the event at Smokey Mountain Meadows Campground near Bryson City, NC.  On Friday (5/22/26) we held a Meet & Greet to get to know each other.  We sang the “Going on a River Run” song and had “giveaways” for the kids. We discussed a plan for the weekend and determined that Town Tuck would be our run for Saturday (5/23/26), Tuck Gorge would be our run for Sunday (5/24/26). Monday (5/25/26) group was small; we had 1st time paddlers, so we chose The Little Tennessee.

Saturday, May 23, 2026:   Town Tuck was ~1300cfs. We had 17 people put on the river at 1:00pm. Rain was a little heavy when we first launched but tapered off to light drizzle to no rain the rest of the trip. The kids had fun surfing waves and playing with each other.  After the river we went to Darnell Farms for Dream Whip and let the kids play at the playground.  Once back at camp we had a campfire, courtesy of Ian Bower and Joey Geiger.  Thank you for the Smores too! Music was provided by Marcos Harkness on guitar/ vocals, Sarah and Tyler on vocals.

Sunday, May 24, 2026:   Tuck Gorge was ~830cfs. We had 19 people put on at 11:30am. We had no rain with intermittent clouds. Two families started at the new put-in and ran the dam while the others put on at the old put-in. There is a cave like rock feature that family and friends posed for photo opportunity. The photo in the report is of the entire group and our lunch spot below Tuck Shot.

Monday, May 25, 2026:  Little Tennessee (Rattlesnake to Panther Branch) was ~1200cfs. We had 11 people put on at 11:30am. The weather was sunny and high 70’s. Everyone was in kayaks. Our youngest kayaker paddled half of the river and took out before the big rapids. Plenty of surf waves on the section. We played Kayak Beachball and the Kayak Weave Game.

I would call the weekend a success! I look forward to doing it again next year! I would like to thank all participants and support boaters for coming to this event.

Attendees:

  • Michele Belknap (Trip Coordinator)- Grandma to Rayne and Sarah
  • Lee Belknap – Grandpa to Rayne and Sarah
  • Liz Bergen – Rayne’s Mom
  • Rayne
  • Sarah
  • Tyler – Family Friend
  • Marcos Harkness- Charlotte’s Dad
  • Charlotte
  • Ian Bower – Hensley’s Grandpa
  • Hensley
  • Joey Geiger- Cooley and Truet’s Dad
  • Cooley
  • Truet
  • Mac Miller- Rebecca’s Mom
  • Rebecca

Support Boaters:

  • Mark and Dana Hoffman
  • Lisa Haskell
  • Joy Moses