Diving Into the Tar River
Diving Into the Tar River
Written by Jim Butler
Photos by Jim Butler and Rich Nathan
∞ The Tar River is approximately 215 miles long, flowing southeast to the estuary of Pamlico Sound. The Tar-Pamlico watershed is the fourth largest in North Carolina. The Tar River becomes the tidal Pamlico once it passes under the US 17 Bridge in Washington, NC, often called “Little Washington.”
North Carolina was originally a naval stores colony— the blanket of longleaf pines that covered the coastal plain was used for ship masts and the pine pitch was used to make tar caulking for wooden vessels. The river derives its name as a major route for tar-laden barges as they headed to the sea. Like all coastal rivers, it is this abundance of trees and the tannins their leaves produce, combined with the stirring and movement of rich sediment during storms, that gives the Tar River its brown color.
Among the cities along its course are Louisburg, Rocky Mount and Greenville. The village of Old Sparta was formerly an important riverport on the Tar but declined in the 20th century. The streams of the Upper Tar River Basin contain an incredible wealth of biological diversity, including rare and endangered species. Over 400 miles of streams are designated by the North Carolina Natural Heritage Program as “nationally significant aquatic habitat.” There are 13 species of rare freshwater mussels within the Upper Tar River, Swift Creek and Fishing Creek subbasins. At least one species, the Tar River spiny mussel, is endemic to North Carolina, which means that it occurs nowhere else on earth.
Once a artery of transportation by steamboats, the Tar River is now a peaceful slow-moving river shaded by beautiful old-growth trees with tributary creeks and tupelo and cypress swamps to explore. For an interesting Civil War story about the Tar River see the Appendix.
The Tar-Pamlico River Water Trail is an 180-mile trail running from the Tar River in Granville County to the Pamlico River near Washington. The trail is managed by Sound Rivers, a conservation and preservation agency. It features both whitewater and flatwater paddling, and includes eleven screened-in camping platforms, available with advance reservations.
Trip Background, October 21-22, 2025
I live in Chapel Hill and have been paddling locally for eight years. I am fortunate to have numerous rivers to pick from within an hour of my house. Until now much of my paddling has been on the Neuse, Rocky, Deep, Roanoke, and Cape Fear rivers. I’ve read Paddling Eastern North Carolina by Paul Ferguson from cover to cover several times but the Tar River never caught my attention for some reason. I often seek paddling advice from Alton Chewning, the editor of Carolina Paddler. He suggested an overnight paddle trip on the Tar. The Tar River came to mind because in October 2025, members of the Pamlico-Tar Riverkeeper team: Katey Zimmerman, Taylor Register and Emily Fritz planned to kayak 175 miles on the Tar-Pamlico River from Oxford to Washington.
For most of October the flow on the Tar River was below minimum, so Alton and I decided to do a day trip on an upper section of the Tar to test the conditions. On October 15th we paddled the first half of Tar River, Section 8 (7 miles – Quiet Waters Road to the NC 581 bridge). We successfully navigated this stretch and enjoyed the paddle so I began planning for an overnight trip. The hope was to camp on a sandbar, but I booked the River Farm Platform just in case we couldn’t find a suitable sandbar. The River Farm Platform site is located on a sharp turn just a few hundred yards upstream from the Bell’s Bridge Wildlife boat access.
Our First Day
The schedule fluctuated for several days and Alton wasn’t able to make the the determined date, October 21. Rich Nathan, a frequent paddling companion joined me and we headed for the Dunbar Bridge Access.
I drove to the put-in spot at Dunbar Bridge (coordinates 35°56’25.2″N 77°39’17.4″W), south of Rocky Mount. I dropped off my canoe and gear and drove to the takeout at the Old Sparta boat access at NC 42, where I met Rich. We left my car and took Rich’s car back to the put-in spot. As frequently happens, we got off to a late start, a little after noon.
The Dunbar Bridge access has ample parking and has a entertaining sign that seems to have been used for target practice. I chuckled thinking about someone who would attempt to sail down the Tar River.
We had 12 miles ahead of us to reach the camping platform, even more if we wanted to camp at the sandbars we had identified, so we paddled hard. The Tar at this late summer/early fall level has high banks, making sandbars an attractive option.
One of my goals on overnight trips is to have a dinner of fresh fish so at every rest break I try to make a few casts. After a few casts I was rewarded with a large catfish.
I decided this was more fish than we needed so I released it. We jumped back in the canoe to continue our steady paddling.
The PENC book told us to expect at mile 11.2 a riverbank with large, fossilized scallop shells. Right on cue we found the riverbank with shells.
Chesapecten jeffersonius is an extinct scallop, which lived in the early Pliocene epoch between four and five million years ago. Fossilized remains of Chesapecten jeffersonius are commonly found in strata exposed along Coastal Plain cliffs along major rivers in southeastern Virginia and eastern North Carolina. It is the state fossil of Virginia.
We reached Bell’s Bridge Wildlife Access late in the day. We had already seen a few sandbars suitable for camping so we didn’t stop to check out the River Farm Platform. From satellite pictures we knew of several sandbars not far downriver so we kept paddling. After a half mile, we found a perfect sandbar (35.927856, -77.543083) and we proceeded to set up camp. Our tents were quickly up and the sun set as we heated our dinners. We comfortably settled in for a quiet night of swapping stories around the campfire.
I bring a book of Edgar Allen Poe short stories to read around the campfire but before I could crack it open I saw a strange light heading our way from upstream. We could only guess it was someone fishing the river and headed downstream to Tarboro. As the light came closer, it became clear it was a paddler approaching us. My thoughts turned to Dick Conant, the famous riverman whose canoe was found abandoned in the Albemarle Sound in 2014 while he was traveling from New York to Florida (Riverman: An American Odyssey by Ben McGrath). Could this be Conant making his way down the Tar 10 years later? Or was too much Edgar Allen Poe floating around in my head?
As the paddler neared our sandbar, we could make out a kayak loaded with gear but obviously not camping gear. Now my mind switched to speculating about a covert CIA operation. The paddler came closer and, breaking the spell, shouted, “I hope you don’t mind if I night dive here. I’m looking for artifacts.” Relieved but still puzzled we said OK. For the next hour we watched him scuba dive with bright lights in the river running near our campsite.
The paddler headed back upstream slowly. I got to thinking when it came time to write up my trip report, no one was going to believe my story of a nighttime scuba diver. Readers would assume I had partaken of too much Kentucky snakebite medicine sitting around the campfire and made this story up. So I decided to get a photo of this mysterious paddler.
I called to him and he paddled over to the sandbar. His name was Chad and he sells the artifacts on Etsy. He lives in Wilmington but his parents live near Tarboro. I asked to see what he had collected during the evening and he showed me several fossilized whale bones. Of course I had to have one as further proof of this story. We settled on a price and I came away with a souvenir. He said it was his first riverside transaction.
Fossilized whale bones are found along the Tar River and in its surrounding creeks, a phenomenon linked to the area being ancient shallow seas millions of years ago. Intense storms erode the creek and river bottoms, revealing these fossils, which often include vertebrae, ribs, and jaw pieces from various prehistoric whales.
Some fossils found in the region, such as one from the nearby Fishing Creek, date back to the Pliocene epoch (a geologic epoch that lasted from about 5.3 to 2.6 million years ago). According to one article, the spirits of these prehistoric whales still inhabit the landscape of eastern North Carolina.
I joined Rich back at the campfire. We soon settled in for the night though it was hard to sleep after all the evening’s excitement.
The second day.
Nothing beats camping on a sandbar. I woke up early and got a fire going. We had eighteen miles ahead of us so we had a quick breakfast and hit the water. River fishing is usually best around dawn and dusk so naturally I made some casts. For the next couple of miles the bass were biting so much that even Rich joined in the action. I caught a handful of nice bass in an hour.
Many of them were Alabama Bass which are an invasive species in NC.
Section 15 of the Tar River is 10.4 miles long but it makes a big loop around the town of Tarboro. The beginning and the end are only 2.5 miles apart, as the crow flies, so it makes a great stretch of river for bike or hike shuttling. Often the water was only 4-6 inches deep.
At the 3.4 mile mark, Fishing Creek joins the river and the river widens. Fishing Creek is the largest tributary on the Tar River. Even with a heavily laden canoe we didn’t have much dragging. A couple of times each day we had to get out of the canoe and figure out a path.
We looked for the Panola Camping Platform at the 6.4 mile mark. By our reckoning at the 6.3 mile mark we came across the odd structure and wondered if this was the access point to the Panola Camping Platform. We knew the chances were slim but we also knew neither of us wanted to pass it by and then realize our mistake futher downstream. Paddling back upstream in such low water would be difficult. So we stopped to do some reconnoitering.
There is a clearing along the riverbank and on the far side of the clearing there was some equipment that appeared to be an electrical substation. After not finding the camping platform here we got back on the river.
A few hundred yards downstream we spotted a set of steep stairs leading to the Panola Camping Platform. The platform is in need of repair and with so many sandbars in the area, I think it is currently only suitable for use in the event of a heavy downpour.
At 1PM we stopped on a long, wide sandbar for a lunch break. The water was very shallow. This was fortunate because otherwise I would have spent considerable time making casts. We were burning daylight so we pushed on.
At the 7.9 mile mark we came across the Shiloh Mills Fishing Platform which is elevated high above the river. There are a number of spectacular cypress trees in the area.
About a mile downstream from the fishing platform is Riverfront Park which is the end point of section 15 in the PENC book. The park is quite nice and has bathroom facilities.
Section 16 (7.8 miles) of the river is wider, incredibly scenic and very straight. In some sections you can see more than a mile downstream. Rich called it the “Avenue of Cypress Trees” because for many stretches the trees lined the banks.
We made it to the Old Sparta take-out around 5:30PM. Our pace was slow for the day largely due to the fact for a third of the time we were paddling in 6-8 inches of water and it was hard to get a full stroke in.
Summary
Over two days we paddled three sections of the Tar (sections 14-16) and 30.7 miles. Paddling 18.2 miles on day two with low water is probably more than the average paddler would enjoy doing. Each section of the river has something unique to offer:
- Section 14 has the interesting riverbank with many ancient shells
- Section 15 has lots of twists and turns, great fishing and loads of wonderful sandbars.
- Section 16 is wide and straight with majestic cypress trees lining the banks.
According to PENC, the water in sections 15 and 16 is “always at minimum” but keep in mind the pace will be much slower when the water level is low so plan accordingly.
One of my favorite things to do is sandbar camping and if you share that passion then this part of the Tar River might be one of the best places in NC to do this. I have a feeling I will be seeing a lot more of the Tar in future paddles.
Appendix – Trip Information and Resources
One account of the significance of the Tar River’s name comes from the Civil War.
As the Confederate forces prepared to evacuate Washington, NC, in March 1862, squads were sent along the Tar River to destroy all the stocks of cotton and naval stores produced by the small farms along the river. The Confederates did not want them to fall into the hands of the Union soldiers. At Taft’s Store they found over 1,000 barrels of turpentine and tar. The amount was too large to burn without risking nearby houses. Instead the barrels were rolled into the river, the hoops cut and the contents spilled into the river. Three months later, 400 Union prisoners of war were sent from Salisbury to Washington, NC, to be exchanged for Confederate prisoners. Before marching into Washington, the Union soldiers asked permission to bathe in the river and clean themselves up. Guards were posted along the riverbanks, and the prisoners were allowed to strip and wade into the river. Instead of cleaning themselves, the prisoners stirred up the river bottom so much the tar sediment smeared over their bodies. Each man Coming out of the water, the prisoners used sticks to scour the tar off their arms and legs. One Confederate yelled out, “Hello boys, what’s the matter?” The reply from the disgusted Yankee soldier was, “We have heard of the Tar River lives but never believed there was any such place, but damned if we haven’t found it. The whole bed of it is tar!”
The best resource for any eastern NC river excursion is Paddling Eastern North Carolina (PENC) by Paul Ferguson.
Details on sections 14-16 from PENC are:
- Water always at minimum except for section 14
- Difficulty of “A” (slow-flowing water) in all sections.
- Scenery mostly “A” (little to no development) in all sections.
- Width ranging from 40 feet to 150 feet.
The suggested minimum for section 14 of the Tar River is 3.3 feet. During our trip, the water level was about 3 feet or .3 feet below minimum.
