Even paddling.
A few keys to working in an after-work paddle:
- Make sure your gear is packed and in the car, from boat, paddle and pfd, to shorts, t-shirt, sunscreen, hat, water shoes and water. Precious minutes can be lost fumbling around for gear, an entire trip can be scuttled if a key piece of equipment (“Rats! The boat!”) is missing. Nervous about leaving your boat on the car during the day? Try to park where you can see it; short of that, park where it will have high visibility throughout the day. And, if possible, pick a spot with shade.
- Know where you’re putting in how and how you plan to get there. Avoid the routes where worker bees flee the hive in the thousands come quitting time.
- Use the exits less traveled in your building. Nothing eats up precious daylight like a coworker eager to share the latest injustice against him.
- Stick to lakes. Setting a shuttle will burn valuable daylight — daylight better spent behind the paddle than the wheel.
- Go directly to your destination. Do not stop to pick up your dry cleaning, do not stop for a quick drink with friends. (If they were true friends, they’d be paddling with you.)
Now that we have the ground rules straight, here are five quick and rewarding after-work paddles near the Piedmont’s population centers.
Triangle
Jordan Lake, Fearrington Point boat access
Chatham County
Jordan Lake has several good put-ins, but none quite as accessible as this access that’s about 20 minutes from much of the working Triangle. Don’t be deterred upon your arrival by the Big Boats that seem to have the same idea: they’re headed into the main channel of the lake. You, meanwhile, will be taking a hard right off the ramp and heading up the increasingly smaller Bush Creek. In a mile and a half, it doglegs left into a wetland where you can paddle into the willows, lie back and listen to the day come to a close.
More info here
Lake Johnson
Raleigh
You can bring your boat to this 150-acre lake that’s best known for after-work walks and runs, or avoid the hassle and rent a sit-on-top kayak or a canoe for just $5 an hour. From the boathouse, paddle under the pedestrian bridge, then under Avent Ferry Road into a quiet portion of the lake that eventually dwindles into Walnut Creek. You can’t paddle far up the creek (someone put a pipe in the way), but you can get far enough to score some shade and poke around a bit in the wetlands.
More info here
Triad
Watershed Lakes
Greensboro
No surprise here: the three watershed lakes on the north edge of town are the outdoor recreation epicenter of Greensboro. Forty-two miles of mountain bike and hiking trail snake through the area, and the Atlantic & Yadkin Greenway runs through the region on its (eventual) way downtown. With about 2,600 acres of water combined, the lakes offer far more than three hours worth of paddling. Power boats head to the biggest lake, Townsend, resulting in our recommendation for the smaller lakes Brandt and Higgins. Canoe and kayak rentals available.
More info here
Salem Lake
Winston-Salem
Big bodies of urban water don’t get much more centrally located than Salem Lake. The 365-acre lake is just off US 421 / Business I-40 near the intersection with US 52 and downtown. Quick access gets you on the water speedy quick, with plenty of time to explore one of the lakes’ two elongated fingers. Looking for an aerobic workout? These narrow, protected waters tend to stay calm and flat. Don’t have a boat? Rent a canoe for $4 an hour.
More info here
Charlotte
Mountain Island Lake
Latta Plantation Nature Preserve
Worry that your nearly 2.4 million fellow Charlotte residents will likewise be inclined to head to Mountain Island Lake for a relaxing mid-week paddle? It’s unlikely that the urge will strike everyone at once, but even if it hits a goodly number, keep in mind that Mountain Island Lake has nearly 3,300 acres of surface area. Besides, MI’s larger sister lakes on the Catawba River — Norman to the north, Wylie to the south — will lure their proportional share (and more than their share of power boats). Five access points help handle the masses as well.
More info here
