Lake Jordan - Farrington Point

Everybody starts somewhere, right?

Farrington Point on Lake Jordan served as my very first put-in for self-guided paddling after purchasing my kayak.  Here I proved that a person needs only two inches of water to tip herself out of her boat.   (You can tell from the sand beneath the water in the picture below how close I was hugging the lake's edge that first day. In fact, you can see the edge of the water.)  For sure, I needed to learn how to pop in and then pop out of my boat without flipping myself over, something I can now do.

It was a grand, if laughable, experience, especially considering that on this particular day the 13-year cicadas had emerged from their homes (or maybe it was the 17-year cicadas, I don't really recall) and were singing their hearts away.  LOUD.   But I didn't know about the cicadas at the time and became more than a little concerned that maybe Shearon Harris nuclear plant (on nearby Harris Lake) was getting ready to blow.   The whirring of the cicadas was deafening.

But if you're in/near the RTP area, and especially if you live in/near Chapel Hill as I did at the time, Lake Jordan is a great place to get up to speed with paddling basics.  In addition, you  just might see some bald eagles and herons as you paddle about the lake.


Vital Statistics:  Since you're on Lake Jordan, you can paddle whatever reservoir route you concoct.  What a lot of people do is paddle left underneath the bridge into the upper reaches of the lake so as to scout for eagles.


Boat Ramp:  Yes, four that are popular with local fishermen.  Because kayakers show up here often, boat etiquette abounds.


Restrooms:  No.  You are strictly on your own.    If you decide to take your hygiene requirements to the woods, be sure you know what poison ivy look like.  The woods are full of it.


Where to Paddle:  For my maiden voyage, I paddled left underneath the bridge on Mt. Carmel Church road and headed toward the upper reaches of the lake.  I didn't go as far as I will next time, mainly because I was learning all kinds of balancing techniques for sitting in the boat and I was thinking about that pesky nuclear plant.


What You Can See:  You'll see that the pictures for this entry don't show the same season (one late spring, the other fall).   Not to worry.  It occurred to me in snapping these that if you go in the fall (or late summer when there's drought), you may have more opportunities to beach your boat on the revealed lake edge to get out and look around.  You may also see remnants of roads that once traversed the area before Lake Jordan was built and dammed.  


Anything Else:  Yes!  Lake Jordan is a big recreation area, and if you want to camp and paddle, you'll have lots of choice in campgrounds.  New Hope Point, Poplar Point, Crosswinds, Vista Point, and Parkers Creek areas offer camping.   Check the NC state park website for availability.


And about entering/exiting your boat:  here's the non-intuitive trick about entering/exiting your boat.  You boat is actually more stable if it's in the water than if you try to keep either the bow or the stern propped on dry land.   Resolve to get your feet/shins wet, and you will be less likely to flip your entire person out of your boat.