The Cape Fear River can be loads of fun and basically starts from around Lake Jordan and flows to the North Carolina Coast close to Wilmington.

There are several cool places to put in near Raven rock park, Lillington, and Erwin, as well as a cool rock garden close to Buckhorn Dam where it starts. The Cape Fear is runnable most of the year and after a good rain can quickly get to flood level. There are a few runs I like to do, but the Lillington to Erwin or the Wildlife Access point to Erwin are probably my favorite. The first real rapids don’t really start until you get past the Wildlife Access Point, so if you are looking for a quicker run, but still want to run that rapids, that is the one to go with!

The below pictures are from a recent trip and show some of the rapids by the power lines. There are a few ways you can go down this set, make sure to scout it before you go down! I typically go far left, but be careful as if you don’t hug the shore, the rapids can get pretty hairy(especially if you don’t have a play boat.)