Coming Soon to the Haw River State Trail in Chatham County

Coming Soon to the Haw River State Trail in Chatham County

a Carolina Paddler Article

By Gretchen Smith  (text and photography unless noted)

-Things are starting to happen at the Haw River State Trail in Chatham County. Here are the latest updates affecting paddling and hiking sites at Bynum Mill, US 15-501, US 64, and Chicken Bridge.

Bynum Mill Access in Lower Haw River State Natural Area Closed for Construction

The big news is that the Connect NC Bond project for Bynum Mill in the Lower Haw River State Natural Area (LOHA) began construction on September 23, 2024. The Bynum Mill  (Bynum Access) section will be closed to the public for the duration of the construction, which is estimated to take about 9 months. The public will not be allowed to enter the construction site – this includes the parking lots, the meadow, and the paddle access. The project will provide improvements to the upper and lower parking lots, installation of a new restroom, and a new paddle launch.

The latest information we have is that both the upper parking lot next to the historic pedestrian bridge and the larger parking lot (the one most used by boaters) off Bynum Church Road will be closed to the public for the duration of the construction project.

Back in 2016, voters in North Carolina approved the Connect NC Bond Referendum that included $75 million for State Parks and the Zoo. The list of bond projects included $203,250 for improvements to the Bynum Mill access at LOHA. The Parks and Recreation Trust Fund Authority approved an additional amount in PARTF funding to bring the total project budget up to $926,000.

Both parking lots will be paved, and more parking spaces added. The new restroom facility will have water, sewer, and electricity connections. The new paddle launch is planned to be a concrete ramp.

Below are plans for the project.

Lower Haw River State Natural Area at US 15-501 (the Bynum Dam area)

Chatham County’s Trails and Open Space Planner, Ben Rippe, and I are working with State Parks on two grant applications for improvements to the “Pegg tract”, the 80+ acre section of LOHA on river left above the Bynum Dam.  Ben has submitted one of the grant applications and will submit the other grant application by November.  We are hoping to get grants to fund sustainability improvements to both the informal paddle access upstream of the Bynum Dam and informal trails within this area of LOHA.  Anything done on State Parks property must have State Parks permission, which we have gotten for proposed improvements.  These improvements do not include the dam or portage around the dam since that property is privately owned and not part of the State Parks property.

We are also hoping to install a restroom facility at the US 64 Haw River Canoe Access. The US 64 site is owned by Chatham County, and the permitting process is underway. NCDOT has denied a request to install a restroom within its US 15-501 (Bynum Dam) parking lot right-of-way.  You can read about the restroom project in the County’s Approved FY 2025-2031 CIP document beginning on page 158 at this link:

The situation with the Bynum Dam property and portage around the dam is more complicated.  Members of the Carolina Canoe Club may recall that the current Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) license holder for the Bynum Hydroelectric Project, Andrew McMahan, was required by FERC to submit a recreation plan. The recreation plan included improvements to the portage and hiking trail and installation of signage.  However, the current FERC license holder does not own the Bynum Dam property and the current owner of the property is under no obligation to implement the FERC license recreation plan.  Unless the FERC license holder can purchase the property from the current owner, he cannot implement his FERC recreation plan.  Any potential sale of the property has been in litigation for several years, with no resolution in sight.  Any improvements to the property must be done with the permission of the current owner based in Florida, and communications with the owner are ongoing.

Chicken Bridge Paddle Access

There are concerns about the possibility of losing the Chicken Bridge paddle access.  Many paddlers may have assumed the footpath being used at Chicken Bridge on river left is part of the NCDOT right-of-way, but it is on private property that has been put up for sale as a residential lot.  The asking price for the 9.47 acre lot is $750,000.  This current Chicken Bridge paddle access could be lost when ownership changes hands.

The problem we are running into with finding an alternative site is that all the surrounding properties are privately owned, either by people who already have or are building a home or by developers who are asking high market prices for land.  Unfortunately, those high prices are out of reach for our local land trusts and county government.

US 64 Haw River Canoe Access Designated as Part of Haw River State Trail

Department of Natural and Cultural Resources Secretary Reid Wilson recently designated the first access along the Haw River State Trail in Chatham County. The NC General Assembly authorized the Haw River Trail as a State Trail in 2023, but specific trail and paddle segments must apply for designation to become part of the State Trail.  The US 64 Haw River Canoe Access located on River Access Road, owned by Chatham County, is the first to receive designation by Secretary Wilson.