sweetwilder

June 7, 2018

With a couple of days off in early June, the family headed out for more of the state park experience. With nice weather, no crowds, and the whole day, what could go wrong? Well, unbeknownst to us, there was a recent sewage leak into Lake James. We had fully expected to spend the say canoeing around, walking along the lake, and eating ice cream. Instead, when we arrived we were told that the lake was not suitable for swimming nor canoeing due to the contamination.

Nestled in between McDowell and Burke counties, Lake James was the most visited state park in 2017 and for good reason. There’s a nice lake “beach” for swimming, canoe and kayak rentals, mountain bike trails, and spacious cookout areas for families.

We decided to take the girls for a short hike on Paddy’s Creek Trail. It’s not the prettiest trail, mosquitoes swarmed around and the smell of the lake definitely indicated that there was sewage present. We decided to head back to the car and head to the next park.

While this park offers a lot of activities for groups and families, it wasn’t particularly our cup of tea.