Under Construction
The Deep River is known for its steep banks and can be difficult to access in many regions at this time. Additionally, the Deep River is a designated NC State Trail that is managed by the Deep River State Trail (DRST) non-profit organization. While we are collaborating together, DRRK and DRST are two different organizations. Scroll down to the bottom of the page to read about upcoming designated access sites being established by Deep River State Trail.
Guilford County Access Sites on the Deep River
High Point Lake Marina
Lake Paddling, Beginner
602 W Main St, Jamestown, NC 27282
Southwest Park Boat Launch (Randleman Lake)
Lake Paddling, Beginner
6309 Southwest Park Dr, Greensboro, NC 27407
Southwest Park offers a kayak launch for paddling on Randleman Lake. No swimming is allowed on the lake since it is a source for drinking water. If you plan to paddle you can rent boats from the Southwest Park marina for a fee during their open hours. Check their website for more information!
Randolph County Access Sites on the Deep River
Randleman Lake Marina
7123 Adams Farm Rd, Randleman, NC 27317
Deep River Nature Trail Randleman Parks and Recreation
117 Presnell St, Randleman, NC 27317
Worthville Road (Randolph Co. 2122) bridge to Loflin Pond Road (Randolph Co. 2221) bridge at Cedar Falls
Advanced-Class I, II and IV Rapids
Distance is 6.2 Miles
Special Notes: Put-in is 100 yards below the Worthville Dam. Rapids just after takeout at Cedar Falls can increase to Class IV and be very dangerous to encounter. This section features Class I and II rapids and portage around two dams.
Central Falls Dam is 4.5 miles downstream of the Worthville Dam put-in. The 25 ft. hydroelectric dam is dangerous and boaters must stay back and exit to the left side near the hydroelectric building. Banks here are steep and care must be taken to lower boats down to continue on.
Class I and II rapids are located downstream of Central Falls Dam before encountering Cedar Falls Dam at mile 5.8.
To avoid Class IV rapids (boulder garden and white-water), boaters must exit at Cedar Falls Dam. Portage around the dam is on the right side; you will see the mill on your left side.
*** Information from Paddling Eastern North Carolina by Paul Ferguson, Third Edition (2018)
Bridge at Cedar Falls
35.75203784886735, -79.73214727557738– Not an Official Access***
Intermediate- Class I and II rapids, 1 dam, 1 dam relict
4.3 Miles
Put-in is at Loflin Pond Road Bridge at Cedar Falls, this is not an official access site. There are several Class I, II rapids before reaching the Franklinville Dam (mi 2.0). Portage is on the right where high water has eroded a path, but banks are steep, some 40-50 ft. At mile 2.2, Andrew Hunter Road Bridge, there is a rapid that drops 2 ft just under the bridge, but may be low as the dam water is returned to the river on the left side just downstream of the bridge. Downstream from the bridge, on the right is Faith Rock (mi 2.4) named for Andrew Hunter who escaped British Loyalists by riding his horse down the 60ft sloping rock and leaping into the Deep River to reach safety on the other side.
At mi 2.5, you will reach the upper end of Franklinville’s Park, where a parking lot is viewable on the left and another parking lot at the lower end (mi 2.8) offers easy access to the river from NC 22. A small dam (mi 2.8) is broken to the left side, with Class I and II rapids around the old structure and islands. Move left to right around the rapids. Just before US hwy 64 (mi 3.7), small boulders create Class I+ rapids for a few hundred feet. After passing under US 64 (mi 4.2), the take-out is 0.1 miles downstream on the left, up Sandy Creek.
*** Information from Paddling Eastern North Carolina by Paul Ferguson, Third Edition (2018)
Riverside Park Franklinville to NC 42 Bridge at Coleridge
35.74378029670297, -79.69246148918195
Advanced- Class I and II rapids, 2 dams, long distance
9.1 Miles
Put In is at Franklinville Park Access, easily accessible from NC 22, with parking lots and boat access on Sandy Creek at the lower end of the park. Access is doable from the parking lot as well, as banks are low in this area. Brooklyn City Park (mi 1.0) is on the right bank and can be used as an alternative put-in from Leonard Park Street of Brooklyn Avenue near Ramseur. The Ramseur Dam (mi 1.1) portage is on the right and water flows over the left side of the dam with a Class II rapid a few hundred feet below the dam.
Past the Brooklyn Avenue Bridge (mi 1.4), there are islands and Class I rapids on the right bank (mi 1.6). Class I and an occasional Class II rapids are encountered down to the Hinshaw Town Road Bridge (mi 6.4). Rapids cease downstream of a large island (mi. 7.5) where the backwater of the Coleridge Dam begins.
Take-out before the Coleridge Dam is downstream to the right of the NC 42 Bridge. A gate to the drive leading to the river is locked but the landowner has been allowing paddlers to walk to the river.
*** Information from Paddling Eastern North Carolina by Paul Ferguson, Third Edition (2018)
Allen H Leonard Memorial Park
2026 Leonard Park St, Ramseur, NC 27316
Moore County/Chatham County Access Sites
Carbonton Access at the old dam site near NC 42 Bridge to McIver Landing at Plank Road
Beginner- Minor rapids A and Class I, beautiful stretch of the river through land conservancy
6.1 Miles
Important Note- McIver Landing is easy to miss from the river. When dropping your car off at the McIver Landing parking lot, follow the trail down to the river and mark the take-out with a flag. This is not an easy take-out or put-in as the banks are steep and the site needs improvement.
Put-In is at the old Carbonton Dam site, which has been removed but a parking site remains where boating access is allowed. From the left bank (mi. 1.4) and extending for the next 2.6 miles is the La Grange Riparian Reserve, a Triangle Land Conservancy property. It includes 308 acres and was part of the La Grange Farm, dating from the 1700s. The protected land ends where the river goes through a right turn, reversing direction from northwest to southeast.
Approaching Plank Road Bridge, off of US 421, there are several Class I rapids that may have been part of old navigation locks or mills. The banks are up to 25 ft in this area and exposed rock can be seen on the banks at low water on the riverbed.
Take-out at McIver landing can be easily overshot and will be difficult to return to if missed. Locate your flag, less than 0.2 miles from the Plank Road Bridge, before coming across an isolated Class I rapid which should be visible downstream from the takeout site.
*** Information from Paddling Eastern North Carolina by Paul Ferguson, Third Edition (2018)
McIver Landing at Plank Road at Gulf to Deep River Park Access off R. Jordan Road
Beginner- Minor rapids A and Class I
6.3 Miles
Put-In is at McIver Landing, a Triangle Land Conservancy Access site with a parking lot and foot trails down to the river. This is not an easy put-in but doable; banks are steep and you must slid your boat first down the dirt path into the river and then shimmy down to get in.
Rock from the left bank (mi. 0.3) extends into the river and the channel narrows, creating a Class I rapid under an overhanging willow tree. Cumnock is off to the right at mile 5.3 and was the location of a large coal field in the 1800s.
Just before the take-out at Deep River Park you will see the historic Camelback Bridge (mi. 6.3) that spans the river. It was once part of the Lillington Bridge over the Cape Fear in the early 1900s but now is a pedestrian bridge in the park. Steps for boat access are downstream, left of the bridge along with an access ramp.
*** Information from Paddling Eastern North Carolina by Paul Ferguson, Third Edition (2018)
Deep River Park Access to US 15/501 Bridge
Intermediate- Minor A rapid and Class I+, 1 dam
5.8 Miles
Lee County Access Sites on the Deep River
US 15/501 Bridge to Old US 1 Bridge at Moncure
Intermediate- Class I and II rapids, 1 dam (potentially dangerous at high flows, long distance)
7.9 Miles