Dan River in North Carolina

by  guest-paddler

A self-supported trip created by guest-paddler

Trip Overview

The Dan River offers a variety of paddling experiences from flat water to class II+ rapids. Our 10 mile trip took us from Francisco down to Hanging Rock State Park.

This is an easy, entertaining trip with frequent small class I rapids to offer some basic challenge to new paddlers and entertainment to more seasoned river runners. In this stretch we encountered 30-40 small rapids. A couple rope swings and one cliff jumping experience provided some diversion while in the occasional deeper, flat water. Scenery was generally undeveloped with only a few houses clustered along side the river in a few places.

Accommodations:

Hanging Rock State Park is a NC State Park and offers a very nice camping experience with flush toilets and showers.

Dan River Company and Hanging Rock Outdoors both offer shuttle service.

Outfitting:

Dan River Company offers shuttles throughout the day while Hanging Rock Outfitters tends to offer at limited times on their busiest days. Either way, call ahead.

Directions:

Hwy 8 north out of Winston-Salem through Danbury a few miles north.

Resources:

Paddling Eastern NC (PaddlingEasternNC.com)

Trip Details

  • Sport/Activity: Kayaking, Canoeing
  • Skill Level: Beginner
  • Water Type: River/Creek (Up to Class II)

Trip Location