Cumberland by Canoe

Rock Creek is a small, beautiful, and threatened creek that drains the southwestern corner of McCreary County near the Tennessee border.

The upper section of the creek, above White Oak Junction, is protected as a Kentucky Wild River. Trout fishing along this section of Rock Creek is excellent. Unfortunately for paddlers, however, the only canoeable section is from below White Oak Junction where coal mining discharge pollutes the water. Runnable in the spring and following heavy rain, Rock Creek is a Class II, whitewater run with numerous small ledges and a variety of boulders and rocks. Access is easy with White Oak Road running along the stream. The logical put in would be at the bridge at Devil's Creek Road with take out on the Big South Fork of the Cumberland near Yamacraw.

Above Devil's Creek Road, Rock Creek is runnable in spots but would require excessive flow for an unobstructed run. At one spot a half mile upstream of Devil's Creek, the entire stream pools and drops over a ledge to the left under an undercut rock that makes portaging necessary at any water level. For the most part the stream is boulder strewn and approximately 25 to 40 feet in width. Rock Creek runs through the steep, wooded hillsides of the Daniel Boone National Forest. Banks on the road side of the stream vary in steepness while the far bank often approaches being vertical. The streamside is dense with scrub vegetation and some trees, with deadfalls not being unusual in the upper sections.