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I'm wondering if there are any towns like Fredericksburg, VA within an hour's drive from Raleigh or Durham? As some might know, Fredericksburg is a historic town on the Rappahannock river -- a whitewater river -- about 50 miles between DC and Richmond. It has a big outdoors scene because of the river and plenty of outfitters to accommodate that. The problem with it is that it could take 2 to 2.5 hours to get to/from job locations in N. Virginia or DC during rush hour. Is there anything comparable to it in NC that would give you a better commute to the Triangle?
Location: Chapel Hill, NC, formerly NoVA and Phila
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I'd go with Hillsborough. It's a small, historic town on the Eno River. It is much smaller than Fredericksburg, but is quaint with a nice, walkable downtown. It's still commutable to most anywhere in the Triangle, especially if you are used to commuting from Fredericksburg to DC. The Eno is a much smaller river than Rappahanock but still recreational like canoeing. And there is a nice, new riverwalk about 2 miles long in Hillsborough along the Eno.
"River" in the Triangle = "Creek" aside from hurricane season. Play around with https://water.weather.gov/ahps2/index.php?wfo=rah. You might find the data useful. Just move your mouse over a gauge and you should see a pop-up with current depth.
"River" in the Triangle = "Creek" aside from hurricane season. Play around with https://water.weather.gov/ahps2/index.php?wfo=rah. You might find the data useful. Just move your mouse over a gauge and you should see a pop-up with current depth.
"River" in the Triangle = "Creek" aside from hurricane season. Play around with https://water.weather.gov/ahps2/index.php?wfo=rah. You might find the data useful. Just move your mouse over a gauge and you should see a pop-up with current depth.
I don't have firsthand knowledge but from looking it seems like there is at least the Neuse, Eno, Haw, Cape Fear, Roanoke, Pee Dee, Deep and Tar rivers nearby. Does anyone boat on those? Virginia is a big paddling state so I was hoping fall line North Carolina would be too -- other than WNC which is whitewater heaven. Though Duke has been known to dump coal ash in the rivers, spoiling them.
The best whitewater is in the mountains. Our rivers are more lazy rivers, but there are a few thrills here and there. Kayakers do seem to enjoy the Haw so I'd look along there. Hillsborough (Eno) or Pittsboro (Haw) or Saxapahaw (Haw) might work for you. I think more people run the Haw than the Eno. Look up the Haw River Trail in Alamance County.
Back when I had a kayak, the Haw was always my first choice in the area, by far. I've never paddled the section right at Saxapahaw, but the little town is pretty cool. I know someone who lives there and paddles a recreational kayak quite often in that section, so probably not ideal if you are looking for whitewater. That said, you'd at least have access right there AND you'd be a short ways from Chicken Bridge, which is the put in for one of the better runs in the area (down to the damn at Bynum). Bynum would be another place to check out. I haven't been there in maybe 5 years. It is very small, but has some charm.
Long term, maybe Raleigh will eventually get around to building the whitewater park at the foot of the dam at Falls Lake and the Neuse River. They'd funded some preliminary work, but I think it looked like it was going to cost more and have fewer days of good river running than previously thought, so delayed indefinitely.
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