Duck River - Warner Bridge to Halls Mill

Estimated Length: 7.6 Miles                                

Date: June 7, 2015

Weather: Sunny and in the 80’s

Time on the River: 5 Hours

River Conditions: Class I

Distance from Nashville: 45 minutes

Close By: Halls Mill Diner, Henry Horton State Park,
Chapel Hill

Discharge of Duck River at Shelbyville: 249 cfs

Outfitters: Halls Mill Country Dinner Kayak/

                    Inner Tube Rentals 931-294-3474

Busy Access Point

What a What difference two years can make!!! This part of the Duck has become very popular. With the opening of the Halls Mill Diner in 2014 and the addition of the Kayak/Inner Tube Rentals, the access point at Halls Mill was jumping. I guess that is what is to be expected with the growing number of paddlers in the Middle TN area.

Halls Mill Country Diner

This section of the Duck is still one of our favorites. It has everything a paddler wants: high bluffs, beautiful scenery, some fast sections, gravel bars to stop and play, and a waterfall. Even though there were a good number of people getting on the river, this run is long enough that there are stretches that you are by yourself.

I do wish that motorized boats would be outlawed on the Duck. I know not everybody will agree with me but the river is not that wide in places, or that deep and they are noisy!!! On this paddle we saw two air-boats and while they do not make any wake they are extremely loud. We also saw numerous motorized long boats. It would be great if the TWRA were to compromise and make some sections of this river non-motorized, most paddlers would be grateful.

Air-boat on the Duck River

Beautiful Bluffs!

In all it was a great day on the river!!!

Friends Hanging Out On the River

Harpeth River Hidden Lakes to HWY 249

           Last Saturday we met our friends and hit the Harpeth River for a great paddle. We started at the Hidden Lakes access point and canoed the 8.9 miles to HWY 249. There was not much traffic on this stretch of river and we only ran into 2 other boats the whole day. I don’t think the local outfitters make use of this part of the river.

            Lots of small riffles kept us on our toes and the water was running clear.  If the river was a couple inches shallower in some places we would have been dragging our canoe. So I would definitely paddle this section of river in the spring. We saw some Canadian Geese, a Heron, an otter, a deer and lots of turtles; not bad for one day. There were lots of gravel bars to pull over and take a break. We even found a feeder stream with a small waterfall.

            This section of river crosses I-40 twice but it is not too disruptive to the paddle. Also, the river does not run through that many residential areas, for the most part it feels like you are out in the county.  If you like solitude when paddling try this section of the Harpeth. 

Duck River - Warner Bridge to Halls Mill

Estimated Length:  7.6                                                                 

Date:  June 23, 2013

Weather:  Sunny and in the 80’s

Time on River: 5 hours

River Conditions:  Class I            

Distance from Nashville: 45 minutes

Close By: Chapel Hill, Henry Horton State Park and Cedar Rock Lodge

Put-In:  Warner Bridge

Take-Out: Halls Mill

Highlights:

This is our second time to paddle this section of the Duck river and I am so glad we did it again. The river was running at a decent pace and the water level was perfect. We did not drag once!!!

Our friends from Murfreesboro joined us so the shuttling of cars and canoes was smooth. It is less than a 10 minutes drive from Warner Bridge to Hall’s Mill. Both the take and put-in are an easy access. You can drive almost down to the waters edge.

What makes the paddle an exceptional trip is the waterfalls, located where Fall Creek joins the Duck River.  When we first did this paddle in Oct of 2012 the creek was not flowing as forceful as it was today. What is great is that you can walk right up to the falls, sit down and, let the water cascade over you. 

The rest of the paddle was typical Duck, with high bluffs, gravel bars and tree lined  river banks. What is amazing to me is that on this beautiful Sunday in June we did not see one other person on the river. We did run into some boaters when we ended our paddle at Halls Mill but otherwise we had the river to ourselves. 

 

Duck River Warner Bridge to Halls Mill

Estimated Length:  7.6 Miles

Date: Oct. 9, 2011

Weather:  Sunny and in the 70’s

Time on River: 3 and 1/2 hours

River Conditions: Class I

Distance from Nashville: 45 minutes

Close By: Chapel Hill, Henry Horton State Park and Cedar Rock Lodge

Put-In:  Warner Bridge                         

Take-Out: Halls Mill

Overview:

I wish the weather would stay just like this and we could skip winter all together. It was beautiful today. This stretch of river surprised us with its majestic bluffs, great rock formation and a waterfall!!!

We put-in just down stream from Warner Bridge. As we got out of the car we spotted a  dog that was stranded on a log jammed up against the bridge pylon. After a serious discussion of how to rescue the animal without tipping us into the river or getting bit by the dog, Lex and I managed to lift him into our canoe and back over to shore. The poor thing was freezing. It looked like it had spent the night with half its body in the river. He did have a collar and was well feed so we knew he had a home close by. Later when we came back to get our car he was nowhere to be seen and must have gone home for some dinner.

The staff at Cedar Rock Lodge have a great since of humor. We ran into some of their buddies as we started our trip down the river.

As usual we had the river to ourselves. We did have to portage at one spot where a tree had blocked the river. This section of the river does have some extremes, at places is was very broad which we had to paddle thru with muscle but then it would  narrow and test our canoeing skills.

The gem of the trip was the waterfall. We did run into a father and son fishing at this location. What a great place to have lunch. The pictures speak for themselves.