Part 2 of 41 NC State Parks
Making the 40 minute drive to the Eno River has been a godsend lately. Becoming immersed in nature helps immensely for keeping our sanity and mental health in check through the pandemic. We have chosen the Eno as a favorite escape for when the weather’s nice and when we feel the need to get our bodies moving, and for Kevin, any excuse to go fishing is a win.
Large groups of people tend to gather “around the watering hole,” right past the parking lot at Fews Ford in a big open area of shallow wading water, especially on the weekends. Kevin and I prefer solitude in our exploration (even under normal circumstances), so we take the trail directly to the right of this area. Walking along the trails is easy to social distance from people coming the opposite direction because we can just pull over 6 feet into the woods and wait for them to pass.
One of the most beautiful aspects of the river are these green sprouty plants that pop up all throughout the water. There are also rocks and boulders scattered around as well, which feels shockingly out of place to realize exists in Durham. It’s like another world.
The vibrant green of the summertime plant-life adds to the magic as the sun rays peek through the trees, illuminating the ground cover. Most woodsy areas we come across in the Triangle have a ground covering of dead leaves and pine straw, but here, everything is alive. If you’re sneaky and observant enough, you might also spot a deer or beaver tiptoeing around.
We also camped out here once last fall. They offer primitive campsites only, where you hike in with all your stuff on your back instead of driving up. I found out how out of shape I am and how important actual nice hiking backpacks are. (My backpack was not, in fact, a nice hiking backpack.)
I doubt it’s still intact, but way off the trail on a hill, Kevin spotted this bushcrafting work of art that someone created. I know this has nothing to do with the consistent features of the Eno, but it was really cool to stumble upon, and something about the way the light created that glow inside had me mesmerized.
In Kevin’s words, “when you’re fly fishing on the Eno, it really just feels more like you’re fishing for the experience, like you’re on a mountain stream. You’re not catching anything huge, but you catch a lot of them. Every once in awhile you see a monster bass and you cast at them.” He said they’re really smart, and he’s only caught one there in his entire life. I’ve seen him catch a lot of suckers, a lot of bluegill, and a lot of longear and green sunfish. Also one horned head chub (which was really interesting looking), and one little baby channel catfish. There’s apparently also a good number of largemouth bass, but I’ve seen him miss more than he’s caught.
