Cape Fear, |
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| Usual Difficulty | I-III (may vary with level) |
|---|---|
| Length | 7.9 Miles |
| Avg. Gradient | 5 fpm |
| Max Gradient | 10 fpm |
| Name | Range | Difficulty | Updated | Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CAPE FEAR RIVER AT LILLINGTON, NC | ||||
| usgs-02102500 | 1.60 - 11.00 ft | I-III | 01h16m | 3.97 ft (rc= 0.3 ) |
Upper limit for best boatability uncertain. Please help your fellow boaters with a comment or report. |
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| Name | Range | Difficulty | Updated | Level | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CAPE FEAR RIVER AT LILLINGTON, NC | ||||||||||||
| usgs-02102500 | 1.60 - 11.00 ft | I-III | 01h16m | 3.97 ft (rc= 0.3 ) | ||||||||
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Upper limit for best boatability uncertain. Please help your fellow boaters with a comment or report. |
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| When | River/Gauge | Subject | Level | Reporter |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| cape fear [nc] |
rolling in the narrow gap
|
2ft (usgs) | chase patenaude | |
| cape fear [nc] |
droppin the washrack
|
1.98 | chase patenaude | |
| 2y198d03h29m | Cape Fear [NC] |
Cape Fear May 2007
|
1.5 | James Lumpkin |
| 3y46d03h29m | Cape Fear [NC] |
Slide at Redneck Campground
|
1.8 | James Lumpkin |
| 3y152d03h29m | Cape Fear [NC] |
Redneck Campground Falls
|
? | Michael Carter |
| 3y242d03h29m | Cape Fear [NC] |
Cape Fear River
|
2.8' | Michael Carter |
| 4y144d03h29m | Cape Fear [NC] |
The Washrack
|
1.8 | James Lumpkin |
| Mile | Rapid Name | Class | Features (Legend) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4.5 | Shaw's Great Falls | II |   |
| 5.2 | Canada's Fish Trap | I | |
| 5.4 | Narrow Gap (Glassy Wave) | I | |
| 6.0 | Smilie's Falls | II | |
| 6.3 | Little River Confluence | ||
| 6.5 | Killing Falls | III | |
| 7.9 | Campbell's Falls | II+ |   |
The first set of rapids just below Thornton's Creek at the power lines are named Shaw's Great Falls, these rapids stretch down the river for nearly half a mile. They were named in honor of Dushee Shaw who came from Scotland in 1739 and settled on land overlooking the river near these rapids. If you get out of your boat at the last rapid of Shaw's Great Falls (onto the flat rock), you will see where a man named L.F. Stewart chiseled a date Nov. 18, 1900. It could be his birthday I guess or the day he put it there. It's nicely done and may have taken a while. Because he was there first, this rapid will be known as Stewart's Falls (formerly the Washrack).
Its named after William Kennedy whose name was often spelled Canada in old records. He constructed the set of fish traps in the mid 1700's . You will miss it at high water, just at ripple at low water. 1.6'-2' seems to be the best play level for this rapid.
Most of the water is confined to a thirty foot channel through a cleft of bedrock. This is a very popular spot for practicing numerous eddy moves and rolls. Some of us even like to take a swim through this one in the summer (safely). This rapid washes out at high flows, and low flows. 2'-3' seems to be when the Narrow Gap forms a surfable wave. That said, there is something to do at all levels on this rapid. At higher levels (4-6'), if you take the river right channel directly across from this feature, a nice hole forms. The hole is formed from water flowing down a rock slide. At about 4.5-5' the hole is stable enough to practice side surfs and 360 spins. It is sometimes refered to as the "Honey Hole".
The next set of rapids downstream of Big Island is known as Smilie's Falls. Its named after two brothers who immigrated from Scotland in the 1730's There's a ghost story about this set of rapids. I believe its in the book called "Bizarre Tales of the Cape Fear County" by John Hairr. This rapid has a fair amount of play at all levels, better at higher flows.
Confluence of the Little River and Cape Fear. The Little River is usually several degrees cooler than the Cape Fear in the summer. Large waves can form after significant rainfall. Great place to practice rolls and cool off!!!
Killing Falls is the name given to the double set of rapids downstream from the mouth of Upper Little River near the Erwin Water Plant. They are named in honor of Thomas Killean, who settled nearby in 1760's. There are several lines that can be taken at this rapid. The most popular is from river left past the pumping station, then center. There are several lines through the center. This rapid gives novice canoeists problems at all levels.
Campbell's Falls are set of rapids located under the NC 217 bridge at Erwin. They were orginally named for Duncan Campbell who in 1740 obtained a grant of 640 acres of land overlooking these falls. These rapids are best run from center to river right. This rapid kicks up some nice waves. The rapids are directly under the NC-217 bridge. Be aware of rebar on the extreme river right. This rapid definitely fits the saying, "Save the best for last", in this author's opinion. Fun and bouncy at all levels. Park and playable.
River Alert
State News
River Links
NWRI - Cape Fear Wildlife Road access near Lillington to NC 217 bridge near Erwin (mobile)
User Comments
Fear this past Sunday (1/25/09) and noticed there was a good flow (both cfs and speed) underneath
the Titan Roberts Bridge. The length of this creek to Cape Fear is about 2.5. The confluence of
this creek with Cape Fear was wide and poured forth water. Using this as a put-in seems to give
only 1.5mi of Cape Fear rapids. Edit
opened at this location in April, 2008. It is 16 acres with a take out area for canoes/kayaks. A
vehicle (without trailer) can be driven to the waters' edge for easy pick up. The River Park also
offers walking trails with overlooks, free parking, restrooms, and picnicking facilities with
covered areas. For further information, please contact Harnett County Parks & Recreation or The
Town of Erwin Recreation Department. Best regards, Dale Ryals
to previous years. The addition of the park & river access at Erwin is awesome. We used to
dread the drag up the bank and through the poison ivy under the bridge. My compliments to the
groups that are behind the new access. We need to see more of this down the river. The Cape Fear is
a recreational resource that is being overlooked by too many people. Edit
217 bridge): canoe/kayak access, walking trails, overlooks, restrooms, a shelter and space for
outdoor education. Two groups put in almost $1 million to tame the landscape there: non-profit
Harnett (Co.) Forward Together and the N.C. Parks and Recreation Trust Fund. It's managed by the
town of Erwin, NC, and Harnett Co. Parks/Rec. Getting up the steep riverbank there is almost
heavenly now. Edit
lower rapid section. The road is blocked with a do not enter sign. I asked the airport personnel
and they said it was privately owned, and the owner doesnt want anyone on his property.
the rapids on the first half of the trip were washed out. its definately more fun at higher levels
and new features pop out of no where. the waves that were at smilie's falls where outstanding about
3ft high and glassy. and a 6ft wide hole at Killing Falls made me swim. the last rapid campbells
falls could not be run as we would have missed the takeout due to how fast the water was moving and
how little the takeout beach becomes during a flood.
of the run was a lot of fun (beautiful too) and I look forward to doing it again when the water
level's up. However, the first half (from the Wildlife Boat Ramp to the small campground on river
right at the "S" turn) was an approx. 4-mile flatwater run that I'd just assume bypass in the
future. Does anyone know how to access the river farther down stream near the small campground? I
went on Google and noticed that there's also a small airport close to the north bank of the river
just above the "S" turn with an access road leading from 421 (NC 2076) that stops just shy of the
river.
Any other ideas? Edit
south of lillington. From the river, head toward burgerking, at the third stoplight (Ross Road)
take a left and a few miles down you will see the boatramp sign on the left. You will cutout about
2 miles of flatwater making the run about 7miles.
other day. At the red neck camp ground/trailer park (mentioned below) there is some kind of rubber
coated ramp (river right) we nick named the redneck slip n slide. We found out its really a great
ride in your boat! We spent about an hour at this spot pushing each other off and sliding about
40ft into smooth water. Occasional bumps and stalls over rocks did become a little annoying. We all
had a great time though and I would recommend this river for anyone's first time paddle or a family
outing. If you want to get right into the rapid section I would recommend putting in at the
wilderness access area (noted in a below post) outside Lillington. I was in a 6'6" playboat and did
A LOT of flatwater paddling before the whitewater stretches picked up.
south of lillington. From the river, head toward burgerking, at the last 4-way stoplight (one
before the 210-401 split) take a left and a few miles down you will see the boatramp sign on the
left. You will cutout about 2 miles of flatwater making the run about 7miles.
canoe or my OC-1.
At a good water level, it usually takes 6 to 8 hours, depending on how much playing we do.
The Rock Garden, right after the Buckhorn dam put in, can be a little bit of a challenge at high
water levels, especially if a canoe is loaded down with camping gear. At high water levels, it
easily can become a class 3+ with large, standing waves.
Richard
Raven Rock State Park campground. It's marked by a buoy on river right. Most paddlers seem to
bypass the upper section and paddle from the Wildlife Access near Lillington and takeout at the
Erwin bridge. This makes for about an 8 mile trip about half of which is white water. An alternate
partial trip would be to run the Upper Little River from the second bridge above it's confluence
with the Fear, then continue on down to Erwin as a regular Fear trip. The Fear is good to save for
when everything else is bone dry.