Salthouse Branch

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Philpott Lake - Salthouse Branch

Put In - Salthouse Branch campgrounds on Philpott Lake. 2 hour 40 minute drive from Raleigh. The campsites at Salthouse Branch are mostly for RVs. On a previous trip I had hiked the area and noticed that campsite 54 was on the water and non-electric($18). So, I reserved campsite 54 but when I arrived at the site I noticed that the adjacent campsite had a generator running. I went and talked to the camp host and he felt the best sites for tent camping and being isolated was the 80-90 sites. Thus, I went and looked and sure enough, site 87 was on the water and also on the section of the lake easily accessible to the dam and other areas. Site 54 would have required a long paddle to get to the main section of the lake. . I was able to reserve the campsite using Reserve America, but you have to reserve at least two days in advance. The lake level was at full pool.
Distance/Time - Trip 1: 4.8 miles; Trip 2: 11.3 miles; Trip 3: 4.9 miles, Trip 4: 10.3 miles.
Difficulty - Average.
Trip Directions - Did four trips over the two days. The first night was delayed based on a line of thunderstorms that rolled through but after that the cold front cooled things off with low humidity. Only had to worry about the full sun, so paddled a lot near the shore for the shade. Visited the dam area, Bowen's Creek, Deer/Turkey Island, and Fairy Stone dam.
Scenery - This lake is so pristine it is hard to imagine a nicer setting. The emerald green water is so nice to paddle in also. As I noticed on previous trips the wildlife is sparse. I saw two egrets, one hawk maybe, a deer, and a raccoon. During the winter a windstorm took out a a large set of trees along the water's edge. As you paddle around the lake all of sudden a group of trees are laying in the water, like a small tornado took them down.
Hazards - They say bears, but the camp host said they have never seen any in the two years they have worked the Salthouse Branch campgrounds.