The Hidden River of Crane's Nest

The rivers of far southwestern Virginia are unique to say the least, the most notable are the New River, Clinch River, and the Powell River. Most of these rivers are popular destinations for kayakers and anglers with the Pound River an up and coming river for kayakers to flock to. However another river runs through the ancient and scarred mountains of Wise and Dickenson Counties. This River is the Cranesnest River flowing out of the Mountains near Coeburn, Va.

I remember as a child going with my grandfather and fishing near the Civil War Monument on route 72 near to where the Battle of Cranesnest was fought in 1864, we caught many Bluegill and Red Eye (Rock Bass). I was to young to understand at the time, but the river was a mere shadow of its former self. As I got older my grandfather told me tales of how the river used to be much deeper in areas and told me of time fishing at the headwaters of the river at the Wise/Dickenson county line. The Cranesnest River fell victim to the same problem that has hit other rivers in the coalfields of Southwest Virginia, eventual runoff from mountain top removal and erosion from poor soil care has filled in most of the river to the point it might could barely even be considered a river and more comparable to a swollen creek. (at least for most of it.)

However this river is not devoid of floatable waters. The 25 mile river has perhaps 6 to 15 miles of navigable waters depending on rain and water levels. June of 2019 I decided to float this river on a whim, launching from Rockhouse Rd Bridge near Clintwood, VA we placed in the water and decided to float to RT. 83 bridge which was a total of 5.5 miles. Little did I know this would spark an interest in me I hadn't felt since I was younger exploring the woods behind my house.

We left the bridge and hit our first set of swift water, it was unexpected but a fun experience. After that we made it to our first turn and civilization was behind us. Along this stretch of the river was devoid of roads, houses, or anything currently associated with human touch. Only an old unused CSX line that came out of the old Lick Fork prep plant reminded us of the modern times as we floated down the small river. Aside from this being our first major trip down a river felt like going back in time on what the mountains looked like before coal, before major European settlement.

We soon hit a left bend in the river, where on the left side the bank was nothing but a beach of coal and sand (possibly from an overturned rail car which spilled the coal decades ago) at the time we saw a large stretch of swift water which was not due to rapid type current but of shallow water. At first we hoped this would be floatable, however it wasn't , nearly 1000 feet of this part of the river we had to drag the kayaks, after we reached the end we named this part of the river "The Long Drag".

After making it past that shallow stretch it began a long stretch of smooth floating with periods of a dragging the kayaks for a couple feet but nothing major.

The Cranesnest River is a small river, that's not in dispute however I believe that's part of its character. Its a river that only reveals its secret areas a few times in a year. When the water rises enough from the rains in March and April and allows you to float areas that from July to October will more than likely be inaccessible for even Kayaks. We hit this river blindly, we had no idea what we were getting into much less at the beginning of June of 2019 when the river flow was measured at 114.2 Cubic feet per second. So if anyone plans on floating this stretch should monitor the flow at being at 114 Cubic feet per second or higher.

After the float I attempted to map, mark and pinpoint hazards on the river as part of the larger Appalachian Mapping Project. (A link to the interactive map will be in a link below. ) It has been almost 2 years as this is being typed so think and hazards on the river could be different, however I do have plans to traverse this river again this year. Until that time comes we have a video on Youtube showing some highlights of the trip we took.