We had an incredible time with Brian on the Smith River. He took the time to teach the beginners…read morehow to navigate their kayaks and educated us on wildlife along the way. Our crew had a blast! Professional, knowledgeable, and patient!

Spent a few days last week with Brian from Smith River Outfitters on the Smith River. This guy know…read morefly fishing and the Smith River. I was impressed with his knowledge of where to fish, what to use, and the habits of the wildlife on the river. Also find out the his company also does float trips and rental several different types of water craft for river use. It's not often one that a client gets the owner of the business as a guide, I was fortunate. If you decide to fish the Smith call his company and ask for him. He will put you on fish, keep you entertained and provide memories for a lifetime. Check out his web site the pictures are the real deal. I will fish with him again.

Awesome river for tubing! Ultra relaxing and a few small rapids to keep it fun & interesting…read more Dog-friendly (I tube with my pups) & the parking is easily accessible. There are shuttles & tubes/kayaks for your convenience. I definitely recommend. We will be going back !

People traveled in from out of town. All packed and off to the river, and then Dan River Co…read morecancelled. Said it was too cold. Forecast is 65 and sunny. This was the one trip I would get to do with my kids this year, and they canceled because 65 and sunny is too cold!!! Disappointing doesn't cut it.

We took our boys fishing here for the first time and had a blast! They have live bait (worms) to…read morepurchase and we brought our own fishing gear. You can even rent boats to fish out on the lake! Plus there are walking trails surrounding the lake - it's a beautiful place to spend a day. Bring a picnic and plan to make it an experience!

This marina is a quaint and relaxing "jumping off point" for getting out on the pristine Lake…read moreBrandt. For just $6 you can bring your own kayak, SUP, or canoe to launch on their sandy little beach. Or you can rent one of their kayaks. Even on weekends with decent weather I've seen them mostly available on the spot. There are also options for an annual pass, fishing, and even a paved ramp to put in motorized boats. You could also very easily just sit and relax here by the waterside or stroll around. But if you want to get on the lake, this is the prime spot. Bird watching along the shoreline is great from the vantage point of the kayak. With a vast array of birdsong to ID, you can even see kingfishers ducking, diving, and doing anything to ruin your chances of proving they exist with a photograph. But at least you can enjoy a quiet and relaxing float to ease the soul.

First time tubing w friends was just an amazing experience. We had so much fun, just a couple of…read morecasualties one lost phone in the river and a broken sandal. Other than that, the weather was perfect. I want to do it again!

We came here Sunday and had a great time with our family. My wife was a little nervous to bring our…read moretwo girls, ages 9 & 7, who had never been tubing before and aren't the most adventurous. We had a great experience. We were greeted warmly and the staff was super friendly. They answered all our questions and showed us a diagram where we should all put in the river to avoid some of the bigger rapids above the bridge. We felt safe and cared for and the life jackets for the kids were clean and gave us another level of safety. A few tips: -They say to get there 15 minutes before to go over a safety speech. We got there 15 minutes early but felt rushed to get our things out of the car and get ready, so next time I would plan come 25-30 minutes early. -The green tubes are the "premium" ones and they fit me (6'4" 200lbs down to my kids). Having the rope connector is super helpful to keep our group together. -The website says it normally takes 2-3 hours, but I felt we moved pretty fast (I even quickly walked and pulled my group the last quarter mile to avoid an incoming rainstorm) and we were on the river about 2.5 hours. We were way ahead of the rest of our group, so if we casually floated the river, I'd say it was closer to 3-3.5 hours. -There are changing rooms (stalls behind a curtain), a rinse off station, and a place to store your keys/valuables if you don't leave them in your car or plan to take them down the river. -Our kids only had to wear the life jackets down the first set of rapids after the bridge and didn't want to nor need to wear them the rest of the time. Our girls were sad you didn't offer pink tubes, but hey, can't please everyone :) Thanks for a great trip!

We just finished a trip down the Deep River, and it was so fun. I've lived here for almost 10…read moreyears and have never been anywhere near the river, and I'm also a little afraid of water (though I am a strong swimmer). I'll tell you the stuff I was worried about, and how it went! We went tubing. It's easy and fun to do, great with kids, and it's SLOW. More like S...L...O..O...O..W.. Which is okay. The tubes are big, and the cooler tube is really a must, even if you don't have a cooler. The water is slow (but you could see where the high water marks are, and thinking about this river during a hurricane is terrifying). Before going, I was concerned about: Snakes, rapids that no one knew about, underwater things, storms, biting flies, did I mention snakes? Spider webs. None of those things were an issue. This stretch of the river is really tame, and aside from the sort of treacherous climb down to the water in the beginning (it's manageable), it was extremely non threatening. I have one adventurous kid and one nervous one, and both had a great time. We saw a water snake for about 2 seconds. Zero bugs - I don't know why, but there were none. The bottom was pretty nice. You may want to bring a small paddle - tubes are difficult to propel, and it really is a long trip, 3-5 hours. We made it out in 4. There isn't a lot of shade, so obviously sunscreen. If you have a comfortable life jacket that you wear, bring that - they have the orange kind that are so uncomfortable. Really good time, and so easy. Go! Endor Paddle was a great host, he was extremely helpful getting everyone loaded up, didn't rush us, and made everything easy.

No frills for sure! Nice enough folks. Meet up at Deep River Public Park. This is where you park…read moreyour vehicles. Load up into van which ferries passengers down to the Camelback bridges where they provide inflated innertubes which you carry down to the river. Loading area is non-existent. The first 20 minutes floating down the river is bliss. THEN you will enter a war zone! Apparently there are (numerous?) gun clubs alongside the river and that is all you hear for majority of the rest of your ride! Thankfully no stray bullets but this is FAR from a tranquil ride down the river!

Love it!! This is our third year enjoying kayaking with friends and family. The staff is amazing,…read morefriendly, and welcoming. The equipment is always in good condition and the process is very well organized. I love that you can email them and they respond quickly! Looking forward to next year's adventure!! i recommend them 100%!!

Absolute WORST experience I've had in a very, very long time. After being checked in, my family…read more(three children and 3 adults) went down to get our floats, got in the water and started to float (no staff was there to help or assist like any other rafting or float place I've been), the staff said it would take about 5 hours (it took 6) - the wind was against us that day and I had to essentially pull us the entire 2 miles - all the while being blown back in the opposite direction. There was brush all along the bottom of the river slowing everyone down. When we finally got to the end, we had to ask someone that happened to be fishing where the exit ramp was. No signage, no staff to help, but a missed call from the front office asking where we were. When we finally got up the ramp, I called and they seemed annoyed and surprised we were 20 minutes after the last group. The driver was quiet and acted mad that he had to come get us, upon check out the lady up front said we had to pay a fee because we were 20 mins "late" (no mention of this in person or anywhere physically visible) - how in the heck can we help the river being low and the wind working against us? $300 plus $60 late fee turned our trip into a nightmare. They need staff in the water guiding/assisting, which they don't have, in case something does happen. Main takeaway - DO NOT GO HERE. It's terrible and the staff seemed annoyed that they even had to be there. JUDGING FROM THE REVIEWS, THEY DON'T CARE WHAT YOU THINK - actually scan thru and read them, but read the RESPONSES from Cape Fear River Adventures as well - GO TO "LOWEST" up top under "SORT BY" and read them ALL - these are normally buried so far down that people don't see them. Many reviews are super similar and it's definitely obvious that they don't take criticism well AT ALL - keep that in mind too! STAY AWAY. This place gives Lillington a bad name.

We had the best experience! I love that the site was a small community with a saloon and everyone…read morewas so incredibly friendly. I wasn't sure what to expect but they exceeded whatever that expectation was. I can't wait to bring the kids back and also come back without them. The complimentary breakfast was a little less than expected but lunch is provided with zero complaints and the guides were absolutely amazing.

We had such a fun time white water rafting! Overall, it was a really great experience, and the…read moreentire staff was so kind and welcoming. Loading and unloading were very organized, and Gary, our bus driver, was absolutely great. We were pleasantly surprised to find they had a little snack-style breakfast available before we loaded, although we didn't know about it until right before we left. Lunch was probably the biggest disappointment, mostly because we didn't stop until we were almost finished with the trip. We also weren't sure when we would be stopping, so we didn't have water with us for quite a while... we were definitely the last rafting company to stop for lunch, the moral was getting low. Even our guide mentioned something about not knowing when we would stop. Our guide seemed fairly new, but the river wasn't overly intense, and we never felt truly unsafe. There were a couple of moments that made us a little nervous, but overall the rafting itself was SO much fun. One thing that definitely affected the experience was some of the other guests. Unfortunately, you can't control people's manners, and there were a few who were pretty rude and inconsiderate, especially at lunch. It was supposed to be ladies first, but we watched people cut the line and take huge amounts of food for themselves and their husbands. It was honestly pretty frustrating to watch and took a little of the fun out of that part of the day. That said, we had a blast and would absolutely recommend giving it a try! The staff was kind, the organization was good, and being out on the river was an awesome experience. A few small improvements with communication around food, water, and lunch would make an already great day even better.

We had a wonderful afternoon tubing on the river. Paul is a wonderful host who is attuned to the…read moreriver, its history and modern day stories. The route itself is the right mix of easy rapids and languid stretches, surrounded by unspoiled mountains and shoreline. If you're lucky, Paul might very well treat you to a song he wrote about the river. What a character and what an experience!

It's true even if it's cliché. Spending time in the great outdoors can really change your…read moreperspective and give you a hopefulness that things will be alright. We decided to check out Paul's place because it was fairly close and he was so friendly on the phone when I called for more specific info. It's definitely a laid back and rustic environment but I was all in. Paul takes care of his customers and he was very adamant in teaching us the rules of the river before letting us launch. I had $60 in cash and he would only take $40 even thought the price was listed as $50. It's a great deal for you to kayak, paddle board and tube on the gorgeous river. We had it basically to ourselves that day and it was a revelation. The only thing I'd say is there needs to be upgrades to the life jackets. Most of them were child sized. However, all of the other equipment was well maintained. Please go and support this business!

Went here and had a good time, it was hard to find public access but once i found it it was a good…read moreplace to walk around the lake and set up a spot to sit, swim, or fish. Look up Pine Hall Boating Ramp or Piney Bluff Access Ramp for public access spots

I'm spoiled from living in the land of 10000 lakes for so long. this is a big enough lake to…read moreenjoy a boat ride or fish or kayak in! swimming was worrisome to me as i'm afraid of alligators and snakes so i was being apprehensive i'm not used to swimming in nc lakes. water was hot and had a distinct smell. my skin was also itchy but that was probably a mental thing as i was also worried about pollution. there were no boat up bars that i found either.