Little Pee Dee River in North Carolina

Trip Overview

We dropped off 2 vehicles at a landing near the SC 917 bridge. We met a man that lived right next to the landing, claimed he was the "Mayor" of the landing, and that he'd watch our vehicles for us. Very nice fella!

We drove to our put in point in Fair Bluff, NC...where we unpacked the gear and loaded the boats. There were 8 of us, 4 from SC, one from NC, one from Va., one from NY, one from Fla., and one good friend from SC that took our vehicle and trailer to the take-out point. Boats were WS Pungo 140, WS Pungo 100, WS Pamlico 120, WS SOT, OT Discovery canoe, and a Grumman 16' aluminum canoe. Most of us are novice paddlers.

"Art" had his new Garmin GPS, and planned to mark points of interest, sandbars, and such along the trip.

We hit the water at 1pm the 11th, with a current of about 2 mph, we averaged 3.2 mph for 10 miles, and found a good sandbar to make camp on. We enjoyed what was called a "Low Country Boil" for dinner...shrimp, veggies, sausage, and corn on the cob, all made in the same pot. We also enjoyed some fine aligator meat, courtesy of our Florida friend.

Saturday we were back on the water by 10am, paddled for an hour and took a break, paddled another hour and had lunch by the railroad bridge just outside of Nichols, SC. We paddled another 3.5 hours and found another good sandbar to camp on. We'd paddled 15 miles Saturday, and were now technically on the Little Pee Dee River. Tonight we had homemade chili...I had 3 helpings!

Saturday was rough on those of us that hadn't paddled in years. My canoe partner is 71 years old, and he wore me out trying to match him stroke for stroke.

Sunday we were back on the water by 9:30am for a short 1.5 mile paddle to the take-out point near the SC 917 bridge.

We had wonderful weather the entire trip, cool nights down at or below freezing, highs in the 50/60 degree range. We met very few bugs!

Total paddle time: 10 hours
Total miles paddled: 28
Water level: 3.1 feet at Boardman, NC
River character: open, but very shallow in spots
Water clarity: good
No portages required

Accommodations:

Sandbar camping, this route is quite remote, be sure to start with everything you'll need.

Outfitting:

Wilderness Systems Pungo 140, Pungo 100, Pamlico 120, and 14' SOT. Old Town Discovery 158, and Grumman 16' alum. canoe.

Fees:

Donation suggestion at the Fair Bluff Landing.