Not far from the Piedmont of North Carolina is the foothills town of Elkin, which sits on the Yadkin River. Elkin’s location provides easy access to the Yadkin River Trail, an officially designed state blueway trail encompassing nearly 130 miles of the river.
The river consists mostly of gently flowing flatwater, with occasional Class I or II rapids. It’s a scenic waterway meandering through mostly undeveloped land.
In the Elkin area, there are three river access points for those with their own kayaks and canoes. The first is upstream at the small town of Ronda in Wilkes County, the second is at Crater Park in downtown Elkin and the third is downstream from Elkin at Burch Station, where the Mitchell River flows into the Yadkin.
For those looking for outfitter services, Rocky Forest River Run in Elkin and Yadkin River Adventures in the nearby village of Rockford both have full-service operations with their own private river accesses.
Rocky Forest River Run offers self-guided paddle trips from 90 minutes to six hours. All trips include a kayak or canoe, paddle, life vest and shuttle upstream. Tubing is also available. The outfitter is open four days a week, Thursday through Sunday, during summer.
Yadkin River Adventures offers self-guided trips from 2-6 hours seven days a week. The trips include transportation, kayak or canoe, paddle and life vest. Yadkin River Adventures also has two overnight kayak/canoe camping trips.
To learn more about padding options in the Elkin area, or to request a free Surry County Four Rivers Map, go to www.YadkinValleyNC.com.
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