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Put In - Goose Point campgrounds on Philpott Lake. 2 hour 40 minute drive from Raleigh. The campsites around Philpott are geared to RVs. All the water sites are RV based, but even then the walk to the water can be a struggle as the lake shores are very steep because of being in the foothills. I was in campsite 37 a non-electric site which cost $18 a night. I had to drive to the boat ramp to put-in. The camp facilities are top notch. Even beats out the Virginia side of Kerr Lake. Everything is clean and works. I was able to reserve the campsite using Reserve America. The water was at least 8-10 feet low because of the drought. But to me it was not as bad as Falls Lake last year. But many people were complaining about it. I spent two nights and was able to explore most of the southern part of the lake. Next trip would be to the northern part. I also visited Fairy Stone State Park and enjoyed its unique cabins and history.
Distance/Time - I made 5 trips over the two and half days totaling 31.5 miles.
Difficulty - Average.
Trip Directions - Day 1 was in the area of of Deer Island and the Saltbranch campground. Day 2 was the dam area. Day 3 was paddling down to Fairy Stone spillway/waterfall. Each evening I did a night paddle.
Scenery - The lake is very pristine and isolated. Even thought the RV sections are full, most of the RVers are not boating. So, you basically just run into fishermen. Maybe in the summer there is more water skiing but none that I saw for the middle of September. The weather was perfect, cloudy and cool. The wind does blow for some reason in the morning only and then drops off. The lake waters are very clear and green, a fisherman told me some sections are over 300 feet deep. Hiking around the dam area was nice, a trail leads down to the top of the dam and then the bottom and the Smith river. Wildlife is sparse, very few birds. I saw two osprey which could have been the same one, one egret, and a doe. The campsite did have a bear encounter earlier in the summer and had warning signs posted(Bertha). You had to put all your food and smelly things in the car at night, with the windows tight. Deer Island does have a set of campsites that you can paddle to and camp. Nice touch, but for me not worth it(like the toilets/showers).
Hazards - Bears
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