The Chauga River is a 31.3 miles (50.4 km) tributary of the Tugaloo River

Tugaloo River

The Tugaloo River is a river bordering the U.S. states of Georgia and South Carolina. It is fed by the Tallulah River and the Chattooga River, which each form an arm of Lake Tugalo, on the edge of Georgia's Tallulah Gorge State Park. The Tugaloo then flows out of the lake via Tugaloo Dam,...

 in Oconee County, South Carolina.

Course

The Chauga River's source is the confluence of Village Creek and East Village Creek about 1 miles (1.6 km) south of Mountain Rest, South Carolina

Mountain Rest, South Carolina

Mountain Rest is an unincorporated community near the Chattooga River in Northwestern Oconee County, South Carolina....

, in the Andrew Pickens Ranger District of the Sumter National Forest. A little over 1 miles (1.6 km) downstream, it is joined by Jerry Creek, which flows from Lake Becky and the Oconee State Park

Oconee State Park

Oconee State Park is a state park located in the Blue Ridge Mountain region of South Carolina. This park has several recreational opportunities to choose from...

. Then it crosses Cassidy Bridge at the Cassidy Bridge Primitive Camp. Then it is joined by Cedar Creek and Rocky Fork Creek. After it crosses US Highway 76, it is joined by Ramsey Creek at Chau Ram County Park which was founded by owner and proprietor Michael Shead. There it goes over a waterfall at the park and is crossed by a pedestrian suspension bridge. Then it flows south to Lake Hartwell

Lake Hartwell

Lake Hartwell is a reservoir bordering Georgia and South Carolina on the Savannah, Tugaloo, and Seneca Rivers. The lake is created by Hartwell Dam located on the Savannah River seven miles below the point at which the Tugaloo and Seneca Rivers join to form the Savannah...

 that was formed by damming the Tugaloo River and the Seneca River.

Watershed

The 11-digit hydrologic unit code for the water shed is 03060102-120. The watershed covers 70768 acres (28,639 ha). The average terrain slope is 22.3%. About 93% of the watershed is forested and 5% is agricultural land. A map of the watershed is available.

The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control considers that, except for Jerry Creek, the Chauga River watershed upstream of about 1 miles (1.6 km) above US Highway 76 to be an "Outstanding Water Resource (ORW)." The lower part of the river is classified as "freshwaters suitable for primary and secondary contact recreation and as a source for drinking water supply after conventional treatment (FW)."

There is one small permitted wastewater discharge at the Oconee State Park on Jerry Creek. The city of Westminster

Westminster, South Carolina

Westminster is a city in Oconee County, South Carolina, United States. It was started mostly as a station on the Southern Railway. Then as stores, shops and factories started to set up around the train stop, it bloomed into a decent-sized town. Its peak of expansion came in the 1920s. The...

 has a water supply intake on the Chauga River and another one on Ramsey Creek.

Recreation

The Chauga River is a popular fishing area for rainbow trout

Rainbow trout

The rainbow trout is a species of salmonid native to tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in Asia and North America. The steelhead is a sea run rainbow trout usually returning to freshwater to spawn after 2 to 3 years at sea. In other words, rainbow trout and steelhead trout are the same species....

, brown trout

Brown trout

The brown trout and the sea trout are fish of the same species....

, and redeye bass

Redeye bass

The Redeye bass is a species of freshwater fish in the sunfish family of order Perciformes. One of the black basses, it is native to only a few rivers in western South Carolina, southwestern North Carolina, northern middle and eastern Tennessee, southwestern Virginia, and portions of Georgia,...

. The Cassidy Bridge area offers parking and access. The warmer reaches of the river have largemouth bass

Largemouth bass

The largemouth bass is a species of black bass in the sunfish family native to North America . It is also known as widemouth bass, bigmouth, black bass, bucketmouth, Potter's fish, Florida bass, Florida largemouth, green bass, green trout, linesides, Oswego bass, southern largemouth...

, bluegill

Bluegill

The Bluegill is a species of freshwater fish sometimes referred to as bream, brim, or copper nose. It is a member of the sunfish family Centrarchidae of the order Perciformes.-Range and distribution:...

, and catfish

Catfish

Catfishes are a diverse group of ray-finned fish. Named for their prominent barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, catfish range in size and behavior from the heaviest and longest, the Mekong giant catfish from Southeast Asia and the second longest, the wels catfish of Eurasia, to detritivores...

.

Sections of the Chauga River are popular for whitewater kayaking

Whitewater kayaking

Whitewater kayaking is the sport of paddling a kayak on a moving body of water, typically a whitewater river. Whitewater kayaking can range from simple, carefree gently moving water, to demanding, dangerous whitewater. River rapids are graded like ski runs according to the difficulty, danger or...

. The most adventurous section starts at Cassidy Bridge which is a 9.8 miles (15.8 km) section that is rated up to Class IV

International Scale of River Difficulty

The International Scale of River Difficulty is a standardized scale used to rate the safety of a stretch of river, or a single rapid. The grade reflects the technical difficulty and skill level required associated with the section of river...

at high water.