Peak generation turns this run into a river trip. Full discharge. Kayak, raft, and the dam in the videos below.
Whitewater on full discharge
The adventure from this house is not a distant outfitter pitch. It is the same tailwater that hits the dock. Put in below Wilbur. Bee Cliff — also called Anaconda — sits in the first mile. American Whitewater and regional paddle guides rate the corridor Class I–II, with Bee Cliff often called II+ to III depending on the release. Hunter Bridge is the natural take-out for the upper run. Blackbottom / the Linear Path in town is the longer 8-mile piece if you stay on the water.
Family on the bank in PFDs, then the same backyard water looking toward the dam run. This is the house, not an outfitter pitch.
Bee Cliff on a max day
Bee Hive / Bee Cliff and the upper run below Wilbur — family trip shots plus fresh whitewater stills from the phone dump. Same corridor as 1399 Broad.
When Wilbur is wide open, the upper mile is the trip guests ask about. Put in below the dam. Bee Cliff (Anaconda) is the first wave train — Class II+ to III on a strong release, with a left-shore cheat if you want to skip the middle. Scout if you do not know the line. Hunter Bridge is the natural take-out for that upper piece; Blackbottom / the Linear Path stretches it to about eight miles if you stay on.
Wilbur at generation, then mist on the same corridor toward Broad. Bee Cliff sits in that first mile below the dam.
Dam and house videos
Featured: Wilbur wide open with kayaks in the boil. Plus two dam-deck discharge clips and the backyard run. Play in place — not a stills band pretending to be video. Tap play when you want sound; nothing autoplays.
Wilbur wide open — kayaks in the boil below the dam. Watauga Kayak boats in frame. Click to play.IMG_6874 — Wilbur Dam, 26 July 2026. Misty morning discharge from the dam deck. Phone GPS 36.3400, −82.1245. 21 seconds. Ambient water only.IMG_6587 — Wilbur Dam, 13 July 2026. Generation water leaving the dam. Phone GPS 36.3422, −82.1279. 10 seconds. Ambient water only.IMG_6422 — at the house, 19 August 2026. Phone GPS 36.3576, −82.1826 (1399 Broad). Backyard water after generation. 10 seconds, vertical phone. Click to play.
Mist on Broad — same corridor as the house, kept because it shows the river, not a different mountain.
Read the dam, then decide
Kayak and raft
Guided family rafts run this corridor on generation days. Private kayaks and inflatables when the dam is up. Low water will beach a boat. High water is the trip. Check the day’s units before you load.
TVA Wilbur, not Watauga Dam
Schedule: TVA recreation-release page, Lake Info app, or 800-238-2264 — option 2, then 42 for Wilbur (02 is Watauga Dam / the lake). Releases change with weather and the power system. Sirens and lights mean get off the rocks.
Bee Cliff
First serious wave train below the dam. Regional write-ups describe a left-shore cheat if you want to skip the middle. Scout if you do not know the line.
Lake day
Watauga Lake when you want a swim instead of a current. Wilbur Lake, on the other side of Wilbur Dam, is the small reservoir for non-motorized boats.
Roan extras — music, the balds, the gardens — live on their own pages so this one stays on the whitewater. Roan Mountain · Music · Town and trail.
Sources: American Whitewater listing for the Watauga below Wilbur; TVA Watauga River Water Trail / paddle pointers (release warnings and the 800-238-2264 dam codes); Northeast Tennessee “Floating the Watauga River”; Localwaters Watauga notes on Bee Cliff / Anaconda. No outfitter hours or phones are listed here because those change by season.
