By Ward Swann, Yadkin River State Trail Coordinator

With warm weather officially here, we are getting out and hitting the water. There are three opportunities to enjoy time on the water with Yadkin Riverkeeper. These range from mild to wild, from clean to “don’t wear that into the house” dirty. If you do all three of the paddles, you will have done more than 18 miles of river paddling combined. Shake the spiders out of the river shoes and coax the birds out of the boat to join us.

June 5th Elkin Trail Days and River Cleanup
Hello all you water warriors! This year there are two ways to show how much you love the Yadkin at Elkin Trail Days. On the 5th you can be a warrior for the river by helping us with a clean up from Crater Park to Burch Station. This is the same section we did last year and if the drought conditions continue, we’ll have the opportunity to fill even more bags. For those who have not done a clean-up, the fun is when you realize that it’s like a scavenger hunt and everything that’s not natural is what you are looking for. Teamwork comes in when it’s a really large piece of trash, and comradery is built while sharing stories of the strange things that have made its way into your trash bag. Anybody want to guess how many balls we’ll collect this on this cleanup.

Register today, more directions will follow, but in the meantime know that we will provide lunch before the event, and gear to handle the trash that you find. Help the “fight” for a cleaner river. All of our available boats have been reserved already.

https://www.yadkinriverkeeper.org/events/2026/6/5/yadkin-river-cleanup-and-paddle

And the next day, ARE YOU READY TO RUMBLE!?!?!?!?!?!

June 6th Yadkin River Rumble Canoe and Kayak Race
Even if you aren’t super competitive, the Yadkin River Rumble Canoe and Kayak Race is a fun time to get on the water with a large group of paddlers. Some you will pass, some will pass you, and some will strike up a conversation as you make your way to the finish line. It’s fun to see boats that you have never thought about using on a river like this, long and lean, go screaming by and show you how fast a paddler can go.

This will be the first year of the Rumble. We look forward to this becoming a yearly and growing event. Be sure to get on the first Rumble and see if you can improve your time each year. Register for that at this link.

Yadkin River Rumble Tickets, Saturday, June 6 • 9 AM - 1 PM | Eventbrite

Both are ways for you to let out your Warrior Nature.

June 20th Carolina Heritage Paddle
Once again we take to the waters Surry and Yadkin County. This time will be a relaxing paddle instead of a work day. We’ll launch from Crater Park in Elkin and paddle down to Burch Station, passing the new access at Double Bluff landing along the way. When we get off the water, we’ll make our way up the hill to meet the new owners of Carolina Heritage, Michael and Amanda Grenier. While there enjoy the first glass of wine, beer or non-alcoholic beverage complimentary of Carolina Heritage. Freshly made sandwich box lunch is included for after the paddle. So stick around for Live Music from Jennifer Alverado, Quinn Crowe, and Sina Tracey. Amanda has mentioned that she is holding the last supply of “The Paddler” for this event. After this is sold, they won’t have another bottle until next year.

The Paddler from Carolina Heritage Vineyards and Winery | Vinoshipper

Registration coming soon!