Catawba River Scouting - (Marion, NC)

We thought it was going to rain today, so we didn't make any big plans.  But it turned out to be a warm, fairly pretty day.

We should have put our boat in and paddled the Catawba River, which runs right beside the RV Park and Rally Park here at Tom Johnson's.  Instead, we drove to some of the put-ins and take-outs to see what section of the river might be best for a group paddle at the Reunion Rally.

For those of us with our own boats, we can put in right at the Rally Park.  And for those that want to rent kayaks, there is another put-in about a mile away IF we can't get boats delivered to the campground.

One issue is that the website for Catawba River Outdoors is gone.  It was up a month ago and that was our source for rental kayaks and tubes.  Now we can't find any information.  It's a mystery.

We drove over to the Catawba River Park to take a look.  The park is a county park that has seen better days and seems to have been neglected.  Still, it's a popular place for paddlers to launch.

 

 

  

From there, we went upriver looking for a riverside campground that supposedly has kayak and tube rentals.  We never found such a place.

There is a put-in several miles upriver at Old Fort, but the consensus of the folks we talked to said the river is too shallow in that stretch and it would be frustrating paddling that section.

The Catawba eventually runs into Lake James on the eastern side of Marion.  There is a take-out at an RV park on the lake, but that would require some open water paddling and the RV park wasn't ..... well, let's just say it wasn't very inviting.

Next, we stopped at River Breeze Campground which is an alternative take-out before Lake James.  It will work in a pinch.

Then we stopped at the Joseph McDowell Historical Catawba Greenway which is about a mile from Tom Johnson's.  The Greenway is a 1.5-mile paved trail along the river, ...

 

 

with a couple of fishing decks, some fitness stations, and a launch/take-out at the opposite end.

While walking the trail, we saw a couple of kayakers and asked them questions about where they put in, where they were taking out, and whether or not they had to get out of their boats for any shallow sections.

 

 

They were very helpful, and it was good to know that they hadn't gotten stuck in shallower areas.

 

 

There are some Class I rapids, but they shouldn't be a problem for anyone.

After we finished our 3-mile roundtrip walk, we drove to the park's put-in/take-out which is accessed from a completely different road.

 

 

While there, we saw a kayak shuttle bus.  One thing led to another, and we solved the mystery of Catawba River Outdoors.

It's a brand new company that hasn't started rentals or shuttles yet.  They just got their insurance, and they canceled their original website and are looking to have a new one up and running next week.  Today, they were doing a trial run with inner tubes.

We got with the owner and discussed our potential needs.  It looks like they will be able to take care of us, and we can have a nice little group paddle for a few miles .... as long as the water levels don't go down too much more.

Now, we just have to do the run ourselves sometime in the next few days.  But at least we feel better about the options.

After running around and getting a feel for the river, we made a trip to the Jack Frost Dairy Bar where they've been serving homemade ice cream since 1954.  A couple of late afternoon sundaes really hit the spot.  :)

We then hit the Dollar Tree and the Walmart to pick up some supplies.

Back home, we sent out another informational email to the Rally attendees and then had a relaxing evening.  And, once again, we have no idea what we're doing tomorrow.  :)

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Comments

[Bill and Nancy]

It is so wonderful having Scouts that just take such good care of us;o)) You two deserved that Sundae for all your hard work!!!

[Bill and Jodee]

The area looks beautiful, too bad so much of the area isn't kept up. I imagine the low water level doesn't help tourism, but perhaps that's just a seasonal thing (unlike CA). Sounds like the prep for the fun rally is pretty fun too!!

[Sherry]

You guys do have some magic running into the owner of Catawba River Outdoors. Pretty amazing. But where are the pictures of those sundaes for me to drool over??

[Ron Westcott]

You guys are in a very historic area of North America! In 1566 Spanish explorers were looking to build a road to Mexico. Unfortunately they confused the Appalachian Mountains with the Rockies and didn't realize how far away Mexico actually was. They built a fort in Morganton, NC and used the Catawba River to explore the area. This is just one year after the founding of St. Augustine, FL and 40 years before the English settlement of Jamestown.