Roanoke River Floodplain

North Carolina Outdoors

Roanoke River Floodplain

The Roanoke River at Williamston. June 2002.

Just the Facts... Local Links Regional Books & Music

Unfortunately, I have yet to paddle the Roanoke or hike any of the areas in the lower Roanoke corridor that are suitable for foot travel, so at this time my best advice is to check out the Local Links and books below.

Just the Facts...

Location: Bertie, Halifax, Martin, Northampton, and Washington Counties

Access: Public boat landings on US 258, US 17 near Williamston, and below Plymouth on NC 45. Foot access to Conine Island within the Roanoke River National Wildlife Refuge is available from US 13/17 north of Williamston. This trail is sometimes blocked due to flooding, so call the refuge office at (252) 794-3808 for information about current conditions.

Size: Approximately 51,300 acres are protected on a 137 mile portion of the lower Roanoke River corridor.

Established: In 1989, the Nature Conservancy purchased 10,626 acres in Bertie and Martin counties from Georgia-Pacific Corporation to create the Roanoke River National Wildlife Refuge. In 1994, Georgia-Pacific Corporation and the Conservancy signed an agreement to jointly manage and protect an additional 21,000 acres on the Roanoke.

Ownership: Various. Georgia Pacific Corporation, The Nature Conservancy, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Local Links

Roanoke River Partners - Coalition of organizations and individuals promoting ecologically-friendly recreation and development in the lower Roanoke River region. Detailed info on the river's camping platforms. Reserve your platform here.

Roanoke River.com - Dedicated to recreation, conservation, and responsible development along the lower Roanoke River basin. Excellent resource.

Nature Conservancy - Roanoke River - TNC's primary Roanoke River page.

Nature Conservancy - Roanoke River: Camassia Slopes Preserve

Nature Conservancy - Roanoke River: Devil's Gut Preserve

Nature Conservancy - Roanoke River: Larkspur Ridge Preserve

Roanoke River National Wildlife Refuge

Outer Banks Rent Direct Service - Rent an Outer Banks cottage directly from the owner.

North Carolina's Outer Banks - A comprehensive commercially-oriented guide to the Outer Banks.

Click for Edenton, North Carolina Forecast

Books on the Roanoke River

Vision Quest: A Visual Journey Through North Carolina's Lower Roanoke River Basin - Stunning photographic study of the lower Roanoke.

The Great Dismal: A Carolinian's Swamp Memoir - An outstanding North Carolina writer reflects on exploring the nearby Dismal Swamp.

A Case Study in the Role of Environmental Values in Conservation: The Roanoke River Project (Mellen Studies in Geography, 6)

The Outer Banks of North Carolina - by David Stick. Simply the best book on the history of these unique islands.

Graveyard of the Atlantic : Shipwrecks of the North Carolina Coast - by David Stick. Another classic work on North Carolina history by the dean of Outer Banks historians.

An Outer Banks Reader - edited by David Stick. An anthology of 450 years of writing about the Outer Banks.

The Waterman's Song: Slavery and Freedom in Maritime North Carolina - by David S. Cecelski. Published 2002. Engaging, thoughtful, and scholarly. The best book on NC history I have read in several years.

The Beaches Are Moving : The Drowning of America's Shoreline : With a New Epilogue - by Orrin Pilkey and Wallace Kaufman. A classic treatise on the folly of beach hardening. Pilkey's work led to NC's 1985 ban on seawalls, one of the best pieces of conservation legislation in this state's history. Pilkey is universally scorned by coastal developers, which means he must be speaking the unvarnished truth.

A Birder's Guide to Coastal North Carolina - by John O. Fussell. I keep this guide in my car anytime I travel downeast. Thorough and clearly written. Maps and directions included.

North Carolina Hiking Trails - by Allen de Hart. Comprehensive. Covers 968 trails. My favorite.

Hiking North Carolina (Falcon Guide) - by Randy Johnson. Covers fewer trails than de Hart's book, but covers them in more detail; maps and photos included.

Exploring North Carolina's Natural Areas: Parks, Nature Preserves, and Hiking Trails - edited by Dirk Frankenberger.

Newcomb's Wildflower Guide - The best field guide. My copy is only two years old, but already dogeared.

Eastern Trees (Peterson Field Guides)

A Field Guide to Reptiles & Amphibians (Peterson Field Guides)

A Field Guide to the Birds (Peterson Field Guides)

Old Time Music

O Brother, Where Art Thou? - Soundtrack from the movie. An incredible collection of old time music. This is REAL country music. It is everything that today's slick new Nashville pop isn't. Featuring Norman Blake, Emmy Lou Harris, Gillian Welch, Allison Kraus, John Hartford, The Stanley Brothers, and more. An astonishing collection! Rated five stars by Amazon reviewers.

Salt Sea Bound - Polecat Creek. First release (March 2002) from this triad-based group. Original music in the Old Time tradition. Outstanding song writing and beautiful harmonies. My favorite album of 2002.

Ballads, Banjo Tunes, And Sacred Songs of Western North Carolina - by Bascom Lamar Lunsford. A Smithsonian Folkways CD, rated five stars by Amazon reviewers.

Clarence Ashley And Doc Watson: The Original Folkways Recordings, 1960-1962 - Doc is a NC legend and national treasure. This is one of his earliest recordings. A Smithsonian Folkways 2-CD Set. Rated five stars by Amazon reviewers.

The High Lonesome Sound - by Roscoe Holcomb. One of the greatest of the old-time banjo players, Holcomb did almost all of his playing at Holiness Church services and square dances. A Smithsonian Folkways recording. Rated five stars by Amazon reviewers.

Music From The Lost Provinces: Old-Time-Stringbands From Ashe County, North Carolina & Vicinity 1927-1931 Various artists. A classic of the old-time genre. Rated four stars by Amazon reviewers.

The Legacy Of Tommy Jarrell, Vol. 1: 1: Sail Away Ladies - Tommy Jarrell was one of the greatest old-time fiddlers. Rated five stars by Amazon reviewers.

Ways That are Dark - by Daniel Gore, with Peter Rowan, Tim O'Brien, Jack Lawrence, and others. A musical companion to Horace Kephart's classic book, Our Southern Highlanders .