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Day 7
Savannah Rapids Romp
If ever there was a river run that had something for everyone this is it.
Whitewater your thing? It’s got it—a final (and optional) Class II rapid as the Savannah leaves the Piedmont for the Coastal Plain.
Prefer Spanish moss and flatwater? Check! Once out of the Piedmont the Savannah becomes a more placid coastal river complete with the iconic moss.
History Buff? You’re in for a treat, from the Augusta Canal to circa-1800s industrial complexes.
Big City Person? No Problem! The Savannah takes you through the heart of Georgia’s second largest city.
Home & Garden Aficionado? You’ll float through the backyards of some of the riverfront’s finest homes.
The trip begins at the Savannah Rapids Pavillion and the headgates and dam of the Augusta Canal. The Canal, built in 1845 to harness the Savannah, turned Augusta into an industrial complex. During the Civil War, it became the site of the only buildings ever constructed by the Confederate States of America—the Confederate Powderworks.
A short paddle down the canal and portage overland will take us back to the Savannah and four miles of shoals before we spill out into the Coastal Plain to be greeted by Spanish-moss draped trees, docks and homes of impressive grandeur.
On the ride into Augusta, we’ll pass by the town’s riverwalk, riverfront condos and hotels, beneath houseboats and bridges connecting to North Augusta in South Carolina, beside “crew graffiti” spray painted on bridge piers during the annual Head of the South rowing regatta, and finally to our take out beneath the Savannah Riverkeeper’s riverside headquarters.
If that’s not enough there’s rumors that an alligator could even be spotted.
It will be a fitting end to a journey that offers up so much.
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