The Yadkin River is one of North Carolina’s longest, starting near Blowing Rock and becoming the Pee Dee River in South Carolina. The mighty Yadkin has stories to tell – of Native Americans, gold mines, textiles and hydro dams.

Its journey through PLC’s region is mostly quiet, meandering past family farms, forests and a section of Pilot Mountain State Park. A series of access points create ideal paddling opportunities. The Mitchell, Fisher, and Ararat Rivers are primary tributaries, and as the principal water source for the central Carolina region, the Yadkin provides drinking water to almost one million people.

In the Yadkin River basin, PLC has focused its conservation work in the headwaters of the Mitchell and Fisher Rivers to ensure clean water downstream.