Can't Believe We're Talking Durham City Lakes Opening, but Here We Go!

I woke up today with the realization that, holy cow, March is here! Well, in three days, but nevertheless, banging at the door. It's been a hard winter for the City lakes--first a total freeze of Lake Michie (pictured below) and then a collapsed ceiling at the Little River boathouse due to frozen pipes.  A cold, cold winter for southern lakes.

A good look at the ice thickness on Lake Michie

Buoy frozen in the ice on Lake Michie

With that said, the good new is that Spring has to come soon and when that happens, we'll be ready for you at the lakes.  In addition to kayak, canoe and jon boat rentals, we added some new toys to our arsenal, water bikes. They're similar to paddle boats but way more fun.   We open Friday, March 13 at 6:30am and are open Friday-Monday through mid-November.  Click here for more detailed information.

Winter Paddling--North Carolina Swamp Style

My family is from Florida originally, mom's side from Ft. Lauderdale and dad's from Avon Park.  One of  my favorite places to go when I was a child was Highland's Hammock State Park in Sebring, Florida. A catwalk wove its way through the triple-canopy jungle of the park, hovering over black water swamp filled with fish, frogs,exotic birds,thousand year-old trees, 'gators and the occasional cottonmouth in addition to singing insects.  My grandfather, tough German that he was, would occasionally reach into the water, grab a lily pad and swing it toward a cottonmouth curled on the knee of a cypress, hoping to make it strike. Come to think of it, perhaps that's the root of my since-conquered fear of snakes?

Anyway, that love of the swamp ecosystem is embedded in my DNA now, and it's carried into our programming and my pastimes.  Last week my staff and I explored a park new to us, Merchant's Millpond State Park in Gatesville, NC. Though it's a little chillier in late winter to spring and in the late fall, the paddling is much more enjoyable because there are far fewer bugs and snakes to deal with.  There are still plenty of things to look at, like the old-growth cypresses, the still-numerous birds that prowl for fish, and the crystal-clear skies at night.  If this interests you, we'll be headed to the Roanoke River Basin for three days, March. 27-29.  Join us for camping in beautiful black water swamp of North Carolina--it may be the most fascinating trip you take this year.
A few pictures from our adventure to Merchant's Millpond:

Sunrise from our campsite at Merchant's Millpond State Park