Lower Haw River State Natural Area

Lower Haw River State Natural Area is a protected area along the Lower Haw River in Chatham County from Bynum to Jordan Lake.  As a natural area, there are limited amenities here and it is managed as a satellite of Jordan Lake State Recreation Area.  Previously, this tract of land was the Haw River Division of Duke Forest.  Triangle Land Conservancy arranged the sale of the land to the state as a natural area.  There are parking areas at the northern and southern ends (in Bynum and US-64, respectively) and an unofficial trail, but no other visitor amenities.  Besides hiking the unofficial trail, fishing and birding are popular activities.

Map:

Wildlife:

Star chickweed (Stellaria pubera ) are an early spring wildflower with white star-shaped blooms.

Azure bluets (Houstonia caerulea ) are another early spring wildflower.

Pinxter azaleas (Rhododendron periclymenoides ) have beautiful pink flowers.

Golden Alexanders (Zizia aurea)

Purple dead-nettle (Lamium purpureum) are a non-native species of flower.

Common sanddragon (Progomphus obscurus) is a species of dragonfly that likes the sandy banks of the river.

Blog Entries:

03-Apr-2020: Wildflowers along Haw River

22-Dec-2017 - Lower Haw River Hike

External Links:

Friends of Lower Haw River SNA website: http://www.lowerhaw.org/home

Haw River Assembly website: http://hawriver.org/