Ocoee Whitewater Center

A purpose-built whitewater course on the Ocoee River, site of the 1996 Olympic kayaking and canoeing events

About 50 km east of Cleveland, the Ocoee Whitewater Center sits on the banks of the Middle Ocoee River, where a stretch of natural rapids was reshaped to host the 1996 Olympic whitewater slalom. It is the only Olympic whitewater venue ever built on a natural river, and it is still used regularly by the US team for training.

For visitors, the venue is the easiest place in the southeastern United States to ride genuinely powerful whitewater. Several commercial rafting outfitters run trips on the Middle Ocoee (a thrilling Class III–IV run with named rapids — Hell Hole, Diamond Splitter, Tablesaw) on the days when the dam upstream releases water. There is also a respectable visitor centre, a network of mountain-biking and hiking trails, and a viewing platform above the main slalom drop.

Trips can be booked through several outfitters along Highway 64; allow most of a day for the round-trip from Cleveland.

things to do sight rafting day trip
A story
The Ocoee was the first natural river ever used for Olympic whitewater. Builders re-channelled and shaped the riverbed with rock and concrete to create a course tight enough for slalom gates, then released water from the Ocoee No. 3 dam only when racing required it. Today the same gates open on a published schedule for the rafting industry, which means the river is essentially turned on for tourists like a giant tap.

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