Lower Haw River State Natural Area — Attraction in Pittsboro

Lower Haw River State Natural Area protects a section of the Haw River from US-15/501 in Bynum south to Jordan Lake. As a natural area, it is less developed than a park and as such there are few amenities besides parking at the trailheads. The north trailhead is in Bynum off Bynum Church Road and the south trailhead is along US-64 eastbound, just east of the bridge over Haw River. A four mile along the east bank of the river connects the two. It is not an official trail, so it's not maintained. And there are a lot of beavers in the area, so many trees across the trail. But its easy to follow and a beautiful trail that stays right alongside the river. We only saw a couple other people on our hike and we were here for about four hours. Three tributaries flow into Haw River and you'll have to go upstream a bit to cross. Pokeberry Creek, the northernmost of the three, has the most water and is the most difficult to cross. Overall, a great hidden gem for hiking and nature and I definitely plan to...

We absolutely love this place. It was easy to get to and fun to walk across the ‘Art Bridge’, then through the little jungle right before you get to the river. When we went there was only one beer bottle cap laying in the sand of the shore. Saw absolutely no other signs of trash anywhere. The water was actually kind of warm, which was odd because it was only May of 2018 when we were there, but that’s alright because I hate being cold lol. Also we went during the week around noon, so hardly anyone...

Beautiful area. Great Class II-III piedmont whitewater for experienced paddlers. If you plan to paddle the Haw go with someone who knows it, know the water levels and know how they would relate to your personal abilities and paddling skills. Unfortunately, there are rescues on the Haw almost every year due to inexperienced and uninformed paddlers getting in over their head (pun intended). If you want to learn how to paddle whitewater nothing beats professional...