Nutbush Creek

Put In - Located in Nutbush Creek Park on US Highway 39, 4 miles west of Henderson. From Raleigh, Nutbush Creek is a nice drive up Highway 1 to Henderson and then take 39 north to 1308. A park sign points the way. I was camping in Campsite 53, which is on the south side of the park. Two entrances exist for the park. The south side gives access to Crooked Run, Indian Creek, and Nutbush Creek. The north side is for Flat Creek. Cost was $15 for the night. The North Carolina Park System is very different from the Virginia side of Kerr Lake. There is no camp host that runs the park as on the Virginia side. Because of this you do feel a little less being watched and monitored. The camp facilities are not as nice as the Virginia side.
Distance/Time - Crooked Run - 4.5 miles, Indian Creek - 4.4 miles, Nutbush Creek - 4.2
Difficulty - Average
Trip Directions - I made the usual three trips when camping. The weather was perfect considering it was July and the moon was full, but only appeared around 10pm. I covered all the three creeks that feed this area of the lake. Water level was down so the creek passage was blocked. This part of the lake is also blocked by a bridge that motor boats cannot pass under, thus only boats from the park and lake homes are in this area. Makes the paddling a little easier.
Scenery - Lots of small birds this trip and the standard heron/egret. The sunset and moon rise were very good.
Hazards - Motor boats and wakes.