Perquimans River

Trip Overview

We paddled the Perquimans River from Belvidere to the Winfall Park take out. The trees here are not as large as other nearby rivers but there are practically no houses or even dry landings. It is a nice section of river with only a few fisherman on a beautiful warm day.

We spent the night on the platform just north of the railroad bridge. There are 3 platforms interconnected. All information said we needed to make a reservation with the county recreation department but the person there said it was first come, first served. She did not really know where it was, did not have GPS coordinates, did not know if there was a sign (there was) and said there was no one who knew this information. Well, we decided that meant no one else was likely to be there. Our main concern was if the dock was still solid enough for us to get out of the boats. It turned out that yes, it was. Although there were a bunch of missing or loose boards so we had to be cautious. It needs a bit of maintenance - poison ivy and prickly plants are growing over the walkway in places. We always bring a broom on these ventures and swept off the platform and the walkway. Next time maybe we should also bring loppers.

It was peaceful and private but not exactly quiet since you can hear Hwy 17. It is only a 10 minute paddle from Winfall Park and they have a nice kayak landing area. We would go back (with loppers and broom). Hertford has a nice cafe downtown for breakfast and a great bakery where we got a warm baguette for dinner (the hummus, tomato, cucumber and avocado came from Food Lion).