Dan River in Virginia

Trip Overview

This is a good half day paddle.

Put in was at Dan Daniel Park just South West of Danville Regional Airport. Park Entrance is off 58W Bypass. Follow the main entrance road and turn right at bottom of hill. Small parking lot is at end of road.
Danville Parks and Recreation says it is OK to launch canoes or kayaks here, but there is no ramp and you have to carry your boat about 200 feet to the water. Put in was just below the dam along the portage trail.


Right at put in there is an island that divides the river. We went left and scenery was nice with a brisk current.

Below the Hwy 58 Bypass bridge is a broken dam. At the water level today it was only about a foot drop with a small wave following. We ran it with no trouble in the center. Current pulls you immediately to right, so a left to right diagonal line through breach in dam worked well.

Below this dam and before returning into North Carolina, is the site of Dix�s Ferry, where President George Washington crossed the Dan during his southern tour in 1791. Not much evidence of it now except what appears to be an old road sloping down bank river right. This is adjacent to the entry of Hance�s Branch on the opposite bank (river left).

Hogan�s Creek comes into the river at a medium sized, rocky bar in the center of the channel. Great place to stretch or snack. We bumped into a nesting goose that did not appreciate our presence. The river slows down and winds first southeasterly and then turns back north after Blanch, NC.

A mile above the take out at NC Wildlife Access Area at Milton, NC there is a Native American fish weir or �fish trap� consisting of several �V� rock formations pointing downriver. Nice rushing sound and swifter moving water. This is something interesting to see and is a nice change from the slow moving section that precedes it.

Take out is a concrete ramp on river left just before the Hwy 57/62 bridge. There is ample parking. Four hours from put in to take out with one or two stops and some floating

Accommodations:

Dan Daniel Park is very nice with paved parking and restrooms.
Wildlife Acess is gravel with no facilities.

Fees:

None

Directions:

All access is just off Hwy 58 running through Danville Va.
Put in is off 58 bypass at park.
Take out is off Hwy 62(In Virgina) and 57(in NC)south of Hwy 58 in Milton, NC.

Resources:

The "Dan River Book" by Forrest Altman