CHARLOTTE – Just in time to beat the summertime heat, the Carolina Thread Trail opened two new canoe/kayak launches on its Rocky River Blueway in Norwood and at the Pee Dee National Wildlife Refuge in Wadesboro. These are the fifth and sixth launches to open on the Thread Trail’s planned 60-mile paddle trail on the Rocky and Pee Dee Rivers.
There are currently six launches open to the public along the burgeoning blueway, which spans from Midland to Wadesboro. Four additional launch sites are planned.
“We are excited to open these two strategically-placed launches,” said Andy Kane, senior director for the Thread Trail. “With these new access points, the Rocky River canoe and kayak corridor is now easily accessible for boaters from across the region. We appreciate the interest and tremendous support from the town of Norwood and the Pee Dee National Wildlife Refuge.”
Managed by the town, the Norwood launch is located on Riverview Road, a few hundred feet from the intersection of U.S. Highway 52. REI, the N.C. Department of Commerce and the Thread Trail provided grant funding to construct the wooden launch and parking lot.
About eight miles downriver from the Norwood site is a new concrete launch within the Pee Dee National Wildlife Refuge located at the end of Griffin Road, off of Grassy Island Road. A grant from the Thread Trail and in-kind donations for road and parking improvements from Duke Energy helped make that site possible.
There are four additional paddling access sites currently open along the blueway: Pharr Family Preserve and Riverbend Farm, both in Midland; a launch at Plank Road in Wadesboro; and another launch on the Pee Dee River at the N.C. Highway 109 Bridge.
The Rocky River is part of the Yadkin-Pee Dee River Basin and forms the boundary between Cabarrus, Stanly, Union and Anson counties. The Rocky’s headwaters begin in southern Iredell County and terminate at the confluence of the Yadkin-Pee Dee at The Fork Farm in Stanly County. Paddlers will enjoy travelling downstream through deep forests and along pastoral farmlands. This area also is rich in wildlife such as wood ducks, otters, water turtles and even an occasional bald eagle.
The Rocky River is believed to be the longest undammed river in North Carolina and it provides paddlers with a true wilderness experience as it crosses rural areas of the state. Paddlers will be able to experience varying degrees of difficulty on this blueway depending on the river level. River water levels and flow rates can be found online at www.waterdata.usgs.gov/nc/nwis.
To learn more about the blueway and see a map, visit carolinathreadtrail.org.