Clinch River — Kyles Ford to Tazewell: River Level Today — Can You Paddle It?

At 1,350 cfs the Clinch River is sitting in the middle of the 150 cfs–3,000 cfs range for this reach, with 1,200 cfs of margin to the nearer edge — the most forgiving part of the window on the numbers alone.

Over the last 24 hours it has gone from 1,690 cfs to 1,350 cfs, 20% down. Daily means over the past 7 days have run between 1,920 cfs and 5,370 cfs, 64% lower at the end of the week than the start.

Clinch River at Kyles Ford to Tazewell is a Class I run in Tennessee — easygoing moving water with light riffles and nothing technical. Most paddlers put in at Kyles Ford access and take out at Brooks Island / Tazewell area access.

Whether it's worth the drive comes down to flow. This section generally paddles well at 150–3,000 cfs (a conservative estimate — see our methodology). Much below that and the Clinch River gets low and bony, so you end up scraping gravel and walking the shallows; well above the top of the range it turns fast, cold and pushy, which is a more serious day than most casual boaters want. We read USGS gauge 03528000 about every 30 minutes and compare the live number to that window, so the verdict at the top of this page reflects conditions right now rather than a monthly average.

Flows here are usually most dependable April–October. Spring can run high after rain or snowmelt, and late summer often drops too low to float well — but the gauge always beats the calendar, so check today's reading before you go.