Eno River to Flat River Kayak Trip

• Date Kayaked: March 29, 2020
• Total miles Tracked: 5.1
• Type of  Paddle: River (flat, low current)
• Conveniences: 24 hour boat ramp, plenty of parking
• Put In:  Eno River Boat Launch-Red Mill Road, Durham, NC
• Water Access:  Cement boat ramp (single ramp)
• Best Features: It's our home river
• Worst Features: No facilities. Not even a trashcan. 
• Wildlife spotted: Just turtles. Usually herons, egrets, watersnakes
• Vegetation: Pines, hardwoods, wildflowers
• Primary Author: James

Boats! Starting this blog in January put the third noun in Bikes, Boots & Boats at a bit of a disadvantage. In North Carolina, the water is too cold to kayak from early November to at least the end of March. Still, on March 29, we took advantage of a warm day to run out to one of our local favorites, the Eno River. There are a few different places to paddle on the Eno, but for us the most convenient location is a 24 hour boat ramp near Red Mill Road just north of Durham. The fact that it's 24 hours means that we have been able to do some moonlight paddles from this location, and we also don't need to stress out about kayaking past some arbitrary gate closing time at a park. The launch area has plenty of parking and an easily accessed ramp and dock. That's pretty much it for facilities. No bathrooms, water fountains, picnic tables or even a trash can. 

This section of the Eno is wide and flat. Downstream takes you to Falls Lake and upstream takes you back to Durham. There's current, but not so much you struggle if you choose to go upstream.

Downstream only a mile or so, the Eno intersects with the Flat River.  Depending on the water levels, there are several wide creeks you can paddle around in. If the water is high enough, there's actually a full loop you can paddle up a creek to intersect another creek that flows into the Falls Lake. Then, from Falls Lake you can paddle back to the Eno. This time, though, we just headed up the Flat River. This is another slow, lazy river, passing mostly alongside gameland and a few farms. You do pass fairly near a factory at one point, which can be noisy. But, aside from that brief interruption, the Flat is very remote and peaceful. You see fewer boats than you will if you remain on the Eno. The only wildlife we saw on this late March trip were turtles, but this is a fantastic place to come in warm weather to find herons and egrets, and there are numerous places along the bank that show where deer come to the water.

Depending on the water level, in theory you can paddle the Flat all the way to Oxford Road. We've never quite made it, but even when the water is low you can easily paddle at least two miles up the Flat. 

The downside of there not being a lot of current is that you don't really get much of a rest heading back downstream. The ease of access, relatively rare motor boats, and great scenery keep us coming back. You'll be seeing more posts of different destinations you can reach from this ramp.

Paddling back as the light fades is no problem. The boat ramp's always open!