Discovering North Carolina

On the Roanoke River

by Diane Daniel
August 2010

Here’s something you might not know. River otters hold pool parties at night. They jump and dive and splash, and sometimes they get into arguments that seem to get settled quickly.

When my husband and I sat listening from our camp chairs on a wooden platform in a swamp off the Roanoke River, we were expecting to hear birds, and especially owls, who say a lot more than “whooo . . . whooo.” Their eerie-sounding screeching can fill a forest. Which they did. But we were prepared for that.

We were not, however, expecting all that splashing. Maybe that’s why we couldn’t stop chuckling. It was like hearing kids at a pool, but so dark that you couldn’t see them.

Roanoke River Partners, a nonprofit group created in 1996 by volunteers from five North Carolina counties, started and maintains the Roanoke River Paddle Trail, 200 miles of connected creeks, rivers and swamps, mostly surrounded by protected land. One of the models for the Roanoke River trail is the famed waterway and platform system at Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge in Georgia.

The North Carolina group has built 14 camping platforms, with at least a few more to come. Last year, more than 1,000 overnight permits were issued, and many more people used the trails for only a day. During the six years the group has registered campers, visitors from 37 states and five foreign countries have used the system.

True to its mission, the Roanoke River paddling group has set up a system that is as compelling to the novice as it is to the pro. Most people start the trail at or around Jamesville. Some campers take multiple-day trips, but we absolute beginners kept it simple by going out for only one night. All we had to do was leisurely paddle on backwater creeks off the main river for about three hours before reaching our reserved platform, called Beaver Lodge.

We stayed on slow-moving creeks about 150 feet wide, had maps and good directions, and the route was marked (though that’s not always the case).

We started our adventure, as many paddlers do, from Roberson’s Marina, between Williamston and Jamesville, which rents canoes. After a few twists and turns up Gardner Creek, it wasn’t long before the U.S. 64 din faded and the nature show unfurled.

Along the course, with the sun at our backs, we admired miles of graceful, curvy cypress and tupelos, dripping Spanish moss and clusters of knobby cypress knees. Trees, some flowering and others sporting palettes of new-spring green, stood out against a deep blue sky, with the whole stunning scene reflected below on the tannin-stained water.

We passed turtles sunning themselves on logs, watched fish pop the water’s surface and admired the results of several beaver engineering projects.

As we had hoped, the region was bird paradise. Great blue herons and pure-white great egrets strutted through the swampy woods. Woodpeckers’ rat-tat-tats filled the air; a barred owl barreled over our heads.

We saw few humans. Three motorboats with fishermen passed us slowly, as well as a foursome paddling in kayaks. We’d chatted with them at the start and ended up stopping by their platform for happy hour.

By the time we neared Beaver Lodge platform, we were deep inside another world. To get there we turned off the main creek onto a smaller branch that fed into a swamp. We maneuvered around trees until we spotted home. Ours was a double platform, connected to Beaver Tail by a walkway, and each has a privacy wall for the privy.

This is probably not a good place for sleepwalkers to stay, because with one misstep you can be in the swampy water. It also can be a bit tough in the bug-filled summer, unless you want to cover yourself with DEET. Still, people camp in the summer, though most choose fall and spring.

After quickly setting up camp, we paddled back out to the creek and up the river for 30 minutes to reach Barred Owl Roost platform, where our new friends had cold beers waiting. They were camping for two days and reported later that they’d taken three wrong turns the second day but still had the time of their lives. My husband and I were back in our camp chairs by sunset.

As dusk became dark, the swamp snapped to life, and those boisterous otters kept the party going under the dim light of sparkling stars.

If You Go…
For information on the Roanoke River Paddle Trail and to make camping reservations (mandatory), call 252.792.3790 or 252.724.0352. Extensive information on the trail is also at roanokeriverpartners.org. Fee is $20 for up to two people for one night, and $10 for each additional person.

Many people start their trip at Roberson’s Marina, US Hwy 64, Gardner’s Creek Bridge, three miles west of Jamesville.

Where to Stay (If You’re Not Camping)
Big Mill Bed and Breakfast, 1607 Big Mill Road, Williamston. Doubles from $75. 252.792.8787, bigmill.com.

Haughton Hall Bed & Breakfast, 203 North Haughton St., Williamston. Doubles from $60. 252.792.0070, haughtonhallnc.com (Innkeeper Lucia Peel is the chairwoman of Roanoke River Partners.)

The Inn at Grays Landing, 401 South King St., Windsor. Doubles from $69. 877.794.3501, grayslanding.com.

Roanoke River Paddle Trail Resources
Cardinal Canoe—Avid paddler David Schwarz sells and rents used canoes. 252.752.0697, cardinalcanoe.com.

Frog Hollow Outdoors—Owner Banks Dixon leads regular day and overnight trips on the Roanoke, provides instruction and rents kayaks and canoes. 919.949.4315, froghollowoutdoors.com.

Kitty Hawk Kayaks—Husband-and-wife team Herman Hall and Heather MacLean offers overnight paddling trips on the Roanoke and rent kayaks. 866.702.5061, khkss.com.

Moratoc Adventure Paddling—Guide and owner Chuck Hutaff leads platform camping trips. 1920 Clarksville Drive, Scotland Neck, 252.561.6105, moratocadventurepaddlingllc.com.

Roanoke-Cashie River Center—The nonprofit Parntership for the Sounds runs the center, which has canoe and kayak rentals and also interpretative displays and boardwalks on the Cashie River. 112 West Water St., Windsor. 252.794.2001, partnershipforthesounds.org.

Roberson’s Marina rents canoes for $25 a day on weekends in season. Highway 64, three miles west of Jamesville, 252.217.2979

For do-it-yourselfers, a helpful book is “Paddling Eastern North Carolina” by Paul G. Ferguson ($24.95, Pocosin Press, second edition 2007), with information at paddlingeasternnc.com. Trail information also is available online at North Carolina Paddle Trails Association, at ncpaddletrails.org and at ncsu.edu/paddletrails.

Diane Daniel is a North Carolina-based freelance journalist who writes about travel, the outdoors, and people’s lives You can reach her at diane@bydianedaniel.com. | Photos by WESSEL KOK.

Back to Top

Back to Top