You won’t when you realize that this close-to-town option is a character builder. Or if not a character builder, at least a skills-builder. “For local paddlers who need to work on skills,” say the paddlers in our Winston-Salem store, “it’s a common place to go and not need a shuttle. From the put in, paddle upstream using attainment skills and rest in eddies and surf spots. The river gets lively at the base of the dam. There is no play wave there but it’s worth the workout.”
Who among us couldn’t use a little skills building? Or a good workout?
More good news: the put-in is “nice, safe and rocky.”
For a complete description of this stretch, including hazards, consult “Paddling Eastern North Carolina” (see below).
More info, including maps and access: “Paddling Eastern North Carolina,” Paul Ferguson (2007, Pocosin Press).
Getting there from downtown Winston-Salem
Photo: That’s one good-looking put in. Forsyth County
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Rating: Class I-II
Length: Play area
Drive: 20 minutes from downtown
Put-in: Old US 421
Latitude: 36.0809
Longitude: 80.2662
Take-out: same
Latitude: 80.2662
Longitude: 80.2662
Time to complete: however long you’ve got
Gauge: USGS Yadkin River at Enon
Minimum flow: always above minimum
City: Lewisville
State: NC