Flat
2. State Forest Rd. (Route 1614) to Lake Michie
| Difficulty | I-III |
| Length | 3.8 mi |
| Avg Gradient | n/a |
| Gauge | Flat River at Bahama, Nc |
| Flow Rate as of 1 hour | 1.41 ftbelow recommended |
| Reach Info Last Updated | December 12, 2025 |
River Description
User Comments
Update on Put in Access at State Forest Rd. The NC State Forest requires a permit to access at the low bridge put in. Price has increased to $60/year or $13/trip for a kayak specific permit. We were not ticketed, but did receive a warning from the sheriff's department on 7/13/2024 when we paddled for an early morning run. The pass can be purchased by selecting 'fishing permit' or 'Kayak day pass' on the website: Outdoor Access - G.W. Hill Forest Recreational Use Permits. Attempts are being made to lower this price, which has increased over three times what it was years before and this will be updated if there is any success.
A pretty little run with lots of little rapids and some III's thrown in. Even at lower volumes the water keeps moving nicely until you reach the small broken out dam. From that point on, it slows considerably and becomes flat (pun intended) as you near the mouth and enter Lake Michie.
Robert Martin 10-16-2000 12:38:04
Minimum 2' Maximum (none). This is a beautiful paddle through NCSU forest land. At levels of 3'usgs and up there is a great surfing wave 2/3 through the run. Best play level is between 3' and 4'(IMHO)
Directions to Take Out
From Rt. 70 Bypass / Rt. 85 in Durham, take Exit 176B and go north on Duke St. about 2 1/2 miles to where it merges and becomes Roxboro St. Continue on Roxboro St. for about another 6 1/2 miles (9 miles all together). Turn right onto Bahama Rd. (watch for signs for the town of Bahama and Lake Michie and a traffic light at intersection). Go east on Bahama Rd. 3.3 miles, cross over the lake and turn right into Lake Michie Boat House area (there is parking on the left after the bridge up Wilkins Rd., but I've seen signs there saying they want all boat launches from the Boat House).
Directions from Take Out to Put In
Turn left out of Boat Hous
...River Features
Put In
Take Out
Trip Reports
Log in to add a reportI ran this at low flow since not much was running surprisingly. Was fun and still some play waves and some scraping. Take out was a muddy mess. I prefer the upper part over this, but this had more spots to play.
Normally there is a pillow on the front side of this rock, but that day there was a log broached on it. Made for a somewhat sketchy surf in the hole above it!
Less than 5 ft
As stated before this is a beautiful run with virtualy no development. At high levels it is a blast with huge wave trains and a great surfing wave (aka Craig's Bunny hole) mid ways down. Below this is the island that is washed through at 7 feet USGS. There is a smaller ledge below the bunny hole. If you flush off the hole, hit the eddy fast or you have to get out of your boat and climb over a rock to get back up. Definitely worth the trip if the level is good! I paddled this one other time at 3.4 USGS on a sunny day. Lots of flat water paddling with a few rapids. The sun is low in Novemeber when I did this and I found myself going through several of the rapids not being able to see anything, so bring some sunglasses!
At 8' plus, the aforementioned hold becomes a diagonal wave, and the flat rock starts getting washed over.
At the bottom of this rapid, which I shall officially name 'Fluffy' for Craig McKinnon's description of the hole at 7' as a 'Fluffy Bunny Hole', is an island which can be a hazard at high water. You just have to be aware of the basically river wide strainer. There are lots of slots through it, but you could be in trouble if you miss the slots.
Also at 8'+, there are plenty of giant waves and deep holes scattered about, and bank eddys are scarce, making this a class IV run (imho).
This run begins to show great play potential above 5' on the gauge. The wave/hole Paul mentions is OK from 5-7' and just gets better the higher the water goes. There is perfect eddy service on river left of the hole, with a large flat rock to spectate/video/spot logs from. If you want to avoid some of the logs, go when the river level is past peak and dropping. Otherwise, have someone standing on the bank spotting and yelling 'LOG!' like we did.
This upper part of the wave was OK at this level, but it was great at 7' and up.
From about 4'to about 6'there is a small hole with eddy service on the river left bank and a small wave just upstream to river right of the hole. You can surf back and forth between them. It all get's MUCH better above 7.5'.
Wave 2/3rd's way along the river near island on river left becomes an incredibly good wave/hole at 7 feet on this gauge. Very friendly and retentive enough to spin. At this level you will need to watch out for logs coming downstream.
The Master at work!