Deep
6. US Route 15/501 Bridge to US Route 1 Bridge
| Difficulty | I-II |
| Length | 7.9 mi |
| Avg Gradient | 2 fpm |
| Gauge | Deep River at Moncure, Nc |
| Flow Rate as of 40 minutes | 1.74 ftbelow recommended |
| Reach Info Last Updated | August 2, 2024 |
River Description
Put-in:
US 15-501 River right.
Take-out:
Old US 1 River right.
Description:
This section of the Deep River is a beautiful, mostly flat paddle. There are three sets of rapids along the way. The scenery is very nice, with little signs of civilization anywhere. This section is less than 30 minutes from Raleigh. The rapids below the dam would make a nice park and play spot. The center and river right lines have the best ride. The only difficulty is the portage around the Dam at Moncure. River right is steep and river left is not easy. Suggest using ropes to aid in the portage, especially river right. A great dry, cold weather paddle for beginners and novices.
Update on Dam Portage: It used to be much harder to portage the Lockville Dam. Now you can follow a trail that goes uphill close to the Rock Quarry retention wall. Follow the trail to a small valley to put in just below the dam. At levels over 2 ft on the gage, this is followed by the best rapids of the run, class II with some wave trains, small ledges and a good roll practice spot right near the take out on the last rapid. You can then choose US1 on a small pull off for the take out if you eddy right into a small cove at the last rapid. Follow the trail to the take out. This is an easier take out than the Old US 1 take out, which is steep and adds a short section of flat water. The dam is scheduled to be removed in the future, but no date is set for it's removal.
River Features
Put In
Alternate Put In/Take Out - Moncure-Pittsboro Rd
A new access has been added to the Deep River that would be a good alternative Put In to avoid several miles of flat water or as a take out for those who prefer flat water and to not need to portage the Lockville Dam. The access has a concrete ramp to launch from, but parking is about 0.2 miles up the dirt road to where there is a pit toilet. A temporary loading/unloading point is just next to the ramp. This can also be used as an alternate take out for the Lower Rocky River.
Take Out
Dam at Moncure (Pullen's Falls)
Scheduled to be removed in the near future to uncover what used to be known as Pullen's Falls (The Story of the Cape Fear and Deep River Navigation Company). Just before the breach river right, get out and head away from the bank where the slope going uphill is mellower to find a portage trail up near the quarry retention wall. If water is higher than 3.5 ft, you may want to get out at a small stream right before the dam warning sign, but it will likely be muddy. Continue down the trail till you reach a small valley and you can put in below the breached dam area.
Trip Reports
Log in to add a reportFlow was more like the lower side of medium flow. The rapids just below the USGS gage were small, mostly class 1. Some attaining and skill practice can be done at this level, but the rapids above the dam are not that interesting. Below the dam, however, no scraping and great flow/waves. Not as exciting of a run as say Lower Haw, but is a somewhat decent short trip for maybe after work or if you were short on time. When water is up, the Deep seems to hold it's level ok.
I ran the rapids below the dam a couple of times at what I'd consider medium high water. Waves are fairly large at this level, around 3 ft in spots and holes easily avoided. I wouldn't consider it a whole class higher than what is listed, but I know I would have been intimidated as a beginner and likely flipped. I didn't see a whole lot of play waves at this level, but I stayed mostly left of the far right channel and then ran the middle channel. River right likely has some good play holes since it does starting around 2.5 ft on the gage. Because of the breach, most of the water goes river right, but the middle channel had decent water too since water was coming over the dam. There is supposed to be another access going in at Moncure Pittsboro rd soon, making a 1.5 mile run, but it was gated. I took a look at the portage area above the dam to see what current would be like had I done the full run and it looked like one could safely get out river right at the normal take out just after the dam warning sign. The breach itself was a sight to see at this level and I'm not aware of if it's possible to be run at this level, but it looked like it'd result in serious consequence from my perspective. It will be interesting to see how everything changes when the Lockville Dam is removed. My guess is it will require 2.5 ft on the gage as a minimum since that's about the level needed for the rapids upstream to start to be interesting.
Larry decides to see how his boat performs as an Ice Breaker. And yes, it was cold.
There a couple hundred yards of rapids between the dam and US 1. A good level to run these is at about 3-4' USGS.
About a foot higher and these rapids would be a great little park and play spot. These are visible from US 1 a little north of Sanford.