Whitewater rafting and kayaking occur on the Big South Fork mostly in the Spring season.
Available runs range in distance from 4.8 miles (7.7 km) to 27 miles (43 km), and vary in difficulty between classes I and IV according to the international scale of river difficulty.
The most popular runs are those upstream from Leatherwood Ford, ranging from 8.5 miles (13.7 km) to 15.5 miles (24.9 km) in distance and between class I and IV in difficulty depending on put-in.
The minimum water flow recommended by the National Park Service for rafting is 800 cfs, with a maximum flow of 10,000 cfs for safe rafting.

Moving downstream from the confluence to Lake Cumberland, named rapids according to the National Park Service are:
Double Falls
Washing Machine
The Ell
Rion’s Eddy
Jake’s Hold
O&W Rapid
Angel Falls
Big Shoals
Devil’s Jump
Whitewater rafting and kayaking occur on the Big South Fork mostly in the Spring season. Available runs range in distance from 4.8 miles (7.7 km) to 27 miles (43 km), and vary in difficulty between classes I and IV according to the international scale of river difficulty. The most popular runs are those upstream from Leatherwood Ford, ranging from 8.5 miles (13.7 km) to 15.5 miles (24.9 km) in distance and between class I and IV in difficulty depending on put-in. The minimum water flow recommended by the National Park Service for rafting is 800 cfs, with a maximum flow of 10,000 cfs for safe rafting.
Moving downstream from the confluence to Lake Cumberland, named rapids according to the National Park Service are:
Double Falls
Washing Machine
The Ell
Rion’s Eddy
Jake’s Hold
O&W Rapid
Angel Falls
Big Shoals
Devil’s Jump
Big South Fork of the Cumberland River