Mother’s Day on the Cape Fear River

Pittsboro, NC – I’m not your typical Mom. Yes, I do like flowers, perfume and hand-made cards from the kids. But, my idea of a wonderful Mother’s Day is an adventure of some kind. While staying home with my children is nice, I like to get out of the house and into the great outdoors. This year my kids and I are heading down the Cape Fear River.

Mother’s Day River Trip

The best way to view the Cape Fear River is from the vantage point of a canoe or kayak. That’s why this Mother’s Day I am heading out in a canoe with the family and Cape Fear River Adventures. It’s about a 45 minute drive from Pittsboro.

Cape Fear River Adventures is near the Hwy 421/401 bridge in Lillington, NC. You can rent canoes or kayaks by the hour and the staff there will take good care of you. Our Leisure Canoe or Kayak Paddle will have us paddling upstream under the beautiful, blue skies of North Carolina and spending quality time together.

We’ll start at Howard’s Landing, where Cape Fear River Adventures has their livery.  But before we take off for the afternoon, we’ll order food to take-out from Howard’s BBQ Restaurant for our picnic lunch out on the river. We plan to head out sometime after 10:00 am, but you can plan your great adventure for sunrise, lunchtime, or sunset.

The Leisure Paddle is an upstream paddle for all ages and all skill levels. You can go for 2 hours, 4 hours or all day if you want. They also have many other scheduled trips you can take. We’ll make this Mother’s Day trip a 2 hour adventure. I plan to bring my camera and plenty of snacks too. For our family, this is the perfect day.

Cape Fear River Adventures Reservations

• Phone: 910-891-9348
• Email:  [email protected]
• Address: Cape Fear River Adventures, LLC100-A South Main St, Lillington, NC 27546
• Canoe: $19 per hour (includes paddles & life vests)
• Kayak: $18 per hour (includes paddles & life vests)

Raven Rock State Park

On the way back home to Pittsboro, we’ll make a stop at the Raven Rock State Park. I love to hike around this area. Raven Rock Loop Trail travels through a hardwood forest on its one-mile trip to the park’s centerpiece, Raven Rock. Wooden stairs down the face of the river bluff lead to the base of Raven Rock where the river bank provides a place to examine the area beneath the overhang. A stone balcony along the way overlooks the river and the flood plains beyond.

One of the best reasons to visit Raven Rock is the amazing color of the wildflowers. The variety of flowers reveal a magnificent blossom display this time of year. While I like the flowers and the hiking, my kids love to find salamanders and turtles in one of the many streams of the park.  I’ll just need to remind them to leave the critters with their mother’s instead of bringing them home.

What a great day to celebrate being a Mother. I’ll spend the day with my children and Mother Nature, too.

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Photo by Seuss.