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RALEIGH – The Roanoke River State Trail (RRST) is the first North Carolina state trail to be fully designated, the N.C. Division of Parks and Recreation announced last week.

Authorized by the General Assembly in 2021, the paddle trail begins in Roanoke Rapids and follows the river to the Albemarle Sound, extending northward to additional accesses in Chowan County. There are 15 designated access points along the approximately 215-mile scenic wilderness trail.

Each state trail has a designated managing partner, and for RRST, that is the nonprofit organization Roanoke River Partners, Inc. (RRP), which includes members from each of the six counties in the Roanoke region — Halifax, Northampton, Bertie, Martin, Chowan, and Washington. It is supported by 15 municipalities along the river and also operates and manages over 20 paddle-in camping platforms on the river.

State trails are a unique unit of the North Carolina state parks system. They are composed of multiple, connected sections and, as a whole, epitomize partnerships. Each section of the trail or access along a river is sponsored by a federal, state or local government agency, nonprofit organization or private landowner. The division oversees the overall planning corridor, while section sponsors build, maintain, and manage their section or access of the trail. Once a segment or access is constructed, the sponsor must apply for official state trail designation. Until the trail segment or access is designated by the secretary of the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources (DNCR), it is not yet a part of the state trail.

“We congratulate our state trail partner, the Roanoke River Partners, for reaching this incredible milestone,” said State Parks Director Brian Strong. “We were very grateful that this magnificent river was added to our state trails system a few years ago, and RRP and the access sponsors have worked extremely hard to build or improve the access areas and paddle-in camping facilities along the trail.”

“We are thrilled to share this historic achievement in partnership with the NC State Trails program,” said Charlotte Griffin, mayor of Bear Grass in Martin County and immediate past chair of RRP. “The importance of this declaration to eastern North Carolina and the entire Roanoke River region cannot be overstated.”

The Roanoke River has a rich history of providing food, transportation, and recreation, dating back to native tribes that first lived along and used the river. In the 19th century, the river was part of the Underground Railroad, with its remoteness providing the perfect cover for freedom seekers making their way north to Virginia or east to the Atlantic Ocean. Today, the Roanoke River Underground Railroad Trail is part of the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom.

For the last few decades, recreation has been a hallmark of the river and the surrounding region. RRP, established in 1997, helped shape the natural and cultural heritage of the area and worked to boost and promote ecotourism for the local communities.

“The Roanoke has been called ‘the Amazon of North Carolina’ because it passes through beautiful, largely undisturbed scenic wilderness areas,” said State Trails planner Smith Raynor. “Visitors can now enjoy multiday paddling adventures along the trail by utilizing the newly improved camping platforms.”

The platforms are so iconic to the Roanoke River that they are featured on the state trail’s blaze.

In addition to RRST’s 43.6 final designated miles, DNCR Secretary Reid Wilson also recently designated over 36 miles and five accesses along the Dan River State Trail in Stokes County; the first access along the Haw River State Trail in Chatham County; and nearly 20 miles and two accesses on the Yadkin River State Trail at Davidson and Rowan counties.

For more information on NC State Trails, including a map of the Roanoke River State Trail, visit trails.nc.gov.