From the river you barely notice the crumbling stone structure that rises about 50 yards in from river right. But if you pull over to the one break in the Deep River’s steep banks to tie up and investigate, you will shortly assume you have stumbled upon an ancient Mayan ruin —mysteriously plopped down in Lee County.

The Endor Iron Furnace, which produced iron from 1862 into the 1870s, is one of the many surprises you’ll find paddling the Deep River for its last 37 miles before it combines with the Haw to form the Cape Fear. The furnace is a massive structure, standing 35 feet high and built of brownstone blocks weighing up to a ton. Standing at its massive base it’s hard to imagine what other secrets the Deep is managing to keep from you.

The one about the coal mining industry that thrived here from 1850 to 1930, for instance. The Carolina Mine, McIver Mine, Black Diamond, Gardner, Murchison — these mines all thrived along the river, a river that was once dammed and locked in an effort to transport goods downriver by barge. Or about the Camelback Bridge, which served as a key transportation link when it opened in 1910, but has since been relegated to pedestrian traffic as the key attraction of Deep River Park. Or about the textile mills that were once prevalent.

You’re forgiven if these secrets remain such as you paddle the Deep, because the river has an allure all its own. It’s name comes not in reference to its water, but rather its banks, which rise steeply from the river, creating a cozy feel on a wide, for the Piedmont, river. A coziness enhanced by the dense curtain of trees, including an abundance of sycamore, beech and oak, and understory, buckeye and pawpaw in particular, that line its banks. In the heat of summer when the middle of the river is exposed, you can find relief in the shade of one bank or the other. And while much of the Deep is flat water, a smattering of Class I and II rapids along the way will keep you from getting complacent.

Thanks to conservation efforts by the TLC — to date, more than 3,000 acres have been protected along the river — the state has designated the Deep River State Trail, a paddle trail intended to eventually run from the Randleman Dam downstream to the Cape Fear. Even in the trail’s infancy, its six access points have made the Deep one of the region’s most attractive paddling destinations.

Deep River paddle guide
Deep River Quick Info
Deep River Map