Author Archives: dcreamer

By David Freeze

More State Parks Starting with the Black Water River

  Last week on Labor Day, I was able to visit four parks and had grand ideas about including all of them in last week’s article. Only three made it, with the Black Water River left out because I ran out of available space. This week, we start with the Lumber River, full of beautiful black water.

    Named for the huge amount of timber harvested and transported during the late 1700s, several towns were settled along its banks. The upper river was designated as the state’s first recreational water trail in 1978, then a national canoe trail in 1981, then the state canoe trail in 1984. In 1989, the Lumber River was established as a scenic river and as a state park.

    The second town in Robeson County, Princess Ann, was established in 1796 near where the park’s headquarters are now on a bluff that was safe from flooding. The town gradually disappeared and only a few signs of it remain.

    The park now has 11,250 acres and is nearest Orrum, NC. The park has five designated sections and 24 primitive campsites, plus multiple paddle launch points. The Princess Ann section is where I visited. I found the office door locked but passport stamps in a box outside. I also found a wonderful, shaded section of the river with extensive picnic areas. This was one of the coolest and most peaceful sites I have seen under the huge trees with a light breeze. No canoe or kayak rentals are available so bring your own.

    Fishing is reported to be excellent with bass, catfish, black crappie, bluegill, chain pickerel and redbreast sunfish. The 1.5-mile Princess Ann Trail follows the river and visits the area where the town once existed. Other parts of the Lumber River State Park include Buck Landing, Piney Island, Pea Ridge and Chalk Banks Access. 

    I started another trip east on September 9^th. My first stop was Haw River State Park, but it was very different than any I have seen before. The park is centered around the Summit Environmental Education and Conference Center. Conference guests use eight indoor meeting spaces, 47 motel style guest rooms and 10 cabins. Other amenities include planned meals, hiking trails, athletic fields, gymnasium, outdoor pool, a 6-acre lake for fishing and paddling, disc golf, and two amphitheaters.

    Summer camps and the very popular Grand Camps are also offered. Grand camps are for grandparents and grandchildren and meant to enhance their connection. Programs are also available on animal adaptations, wetland ecology, soils, orienteering, wilderness survival and team building.

     After seeing all of this, I was not exactly sure what to expect when I stopped at the visitor center. I got my passport stamped and picked up a map, then asked about available walking trails. They have three available trails of .4 miles, .6 miles and 1.4 miles. I walked the Wetlands Boardwalk trail which has the boardwalk suspended over extensive low growing plants and sometimes flowing water. I was told at the desk that this trail ends at an overlook of the headwaters of the Haw River, somewhat disappointing in size. I remember thinking the same thing when I first saw the headwaters of the Mississippi River.

    The park opened in 2003, a newer member of the state park system, and is still developing. The park has 1,485 acres and is closest to Browns Summit. The Haw River flows 110 miles to the Jordan Lake Reservoir. Farther downriver, the Haw River is rated as the most popular for whitewater paddling in the Piedmont. There is also a six-acre lake for fishing called Robin’s Nest Lake.

      My next park was the Medoc Mountain State Park, 2,893 acres and nearest Hollister. The park was established in 1973 and is a remnant of a mountain range from the Paleozoic Age. The highest point of the park is only 325 feet, so no mountains remain.

      There is wonderful hiking in the park through hardwood and pine forests, and a beautiful creek called Fishing Creek. There are nearly 11 miles of biking trails, 7 hiking trails that total 29.85 miles and 10 miles of equestrian trails. Next to the visitor center is the Habitat Adventure Trail, .75 miles with for the whole family with educational signs. The campground has 34 sites, 12 of those with electric hookups and a nice bathhouse. There is a large playing field for games, a wonderful playground and a large pavilion. Kayaks and canoes have two areas of access to Fishing Creek.

By David Freeze

Three Bay Lake State Parks and a Black Water River

  Labor Day Monday, September 2 seemed like a perfect day to visit some more parks. I headed southeast to see Jones Lake State Park, the first of what is called bay lakes. Bay lakes are not deep, usually topping out at about 11 feet although walking in most of them well away from the shore probably won’t reach waist deep water. Also, the water is more tea colored, due to the acidity in the water.

   Jones Lake State Park is closest to Elizabethton and covers 2,208 acres. Salter Lake is also in the park but is undeveloped, even though it is the same size as Jones Lake. Because of the depth, only canoes, kayaks and small boats with 10 horsepower motors can use the lake.

    The visitor center has lots of information on how bay lakes developed and how they were purchased by the federal government before the Civilian Conservation Corps developed the parks with buildings, trails and pavilions. Jones Lake opened in 1939 as the first African American state park in North Carolina. A large pier juts out into the lake for fishing and a good section of sandy beach is roped off for swimming. Another pier is attached to the boat house.

    There are 20 camping sites, six of them good for RV’s with full hookups. The park also has three walking trails, all to do with the lakes. When I was there, the Cedar Loop Trail was closed for flooding, so I walked part of the Bay Trail out to the fishing pier.

   The area is rich in history since being settled in colonial times. Farming, including timber, turpentine and cotton, overused the land and the government then decided to purchase submarginal land for the parks.

     Less than 20 minutes away was Singletary Lake State Park. On the same day in 1939 that Jones Lake opened, Singletary Lake was leased to the state. Singletary Lake became a group camp for Boy Scouts and 4-H clubs which extends today to many church groups. Any verifiable group of 20 or more can rent the camps. There are two large camps with multiple buildings, with Camp Loblolly Bay built of logs in 1984 and accommodating 48 campers. Camp Ipecac, all red structures and built in the 1930s, is open year-round and houses 84 people. Visitors are only allowed in the park from 8am to 5pm. Canoes are provided for campers, but others can bring their own or other watercraft.

     Singletary Lake also has a beautiful 500 feet long wooden pier on the deepest of the local bay lakes. The lake isn’t fed by streams but relies on rainfall and runoff from the surrounding land along four miles of shoreline. Besides Jones Lake, Salters Lake and Singletary Lake, other bay lakes in the area include Lake Waccamaw and White Lake.

     Hiking trails are limited to the CCC Loop Trail that is easy and stays close to the lake. A short trail goes from the central area between the two group camps and on to the lake and pier. The two camps share a volleyball and basketball area, horseshoes and grilling. Fishing in the bay lakes is limited to only a few species, with yellow perch being the best suited to the acidic water.

     Next was Lake Waccamaw State Park with 2.398 acres and closest to the town of the same name. The state park began in 1976, and fronts on the eastern bank, a small part of the 9,000 acres of water and 14 miles of shoreline. At first glance, I thought of driving all the way around the lake and back but didn’t have an hour or more to spare.

     I did drive to the lake access point after finding no one in the visitor center, except a large stuffed bear. I expect they were short-staffed and closed for lunch. The very small Lake Singletary and Jones Lake Park offices were open. I found passport stamps and maps for pickup. The busiest and biggest park of the day, I didn’t see any rangers or maintenance staff either.

    Boating and fishing are popular, both interesting in their own way. There is no boat access inside the park, but the park does have an access point outside the park. The water, even though still acidic, must be less so because bass, bluegill and sunfish can be found here. The water has a red tea tint, but clear enough to see the bottom. Camping has only two options, one being five primitive group areas. The other is a 16×20 foot wide yurt tent. It is attached to a 16 by 32-foot wooden platform.

    There are four hiking trails, the longest being the 4-mile Lakeshore Trail. This would be a great trail to do at a later date, as it follows the lake from the visitor center all the way to the Waccamaw River and dam.

     The Lake Waccamaw Overlook was the best spot of the day for me. From a parking area at the end of the park road, there is a trail, then a boardwalk and then a pier out to benches and steps down into the water. Full grown adults in the water several hundred feet out were still only at waist deep. From this viewpoint, the lake is huge with lots of waterfront homes.

      28 state parks visited, and 14 more to go.