Page was Last modified: February 09 2021.

This page was last modified: February 09 2021.

Resources

This is a listing of books and web sites that I've found useful and/or interesting. I've provided a short review/description of the listing.

Paddling Resources

Books

I love books and am always on the lookout for good ones. Here are some that I've found especially useful and interesting.

The Quiet Water series published by Appalachian Mountain Club Books This is a great series of guides for paddling lakes, ponds, and quiet rivers and streams. The books provide clear description of many great paddles. Plus they also provide short essays on various topics. For example, the New Hampshire and Vermont book has essays on carnivorous plants, black flies and mosquitoes, snapping turtles, and other residents of the wild. Anyone planning a trip to New England or New York should check to see if a guide has been published for the state you're interested in.

Guide to Sea Kayaking in North Carolina by Pam Malec. Book is sub-titled Best Day Trips and Tours from Currituck to Cape Fear. It provides 35 trips along the coast of North Carolina. Suggestions for where to stay and eat are also provided. The trips are clearly described and are certainly well worth doing. We have done some of the trips and plan to do more.

Sea Kayaking the Carolinas by Jim Bannon. This is another great book that covers trips in the coastal areas of both North and South Carolina. It provides a range of trips from short day trips to longer weekender trips. The book covers inland trips, for example Merchant's Mill Pond NC, (a trip we've done and plan to do again) as well as trips along the coast. There is little overlap between this and the book above.

A Paddler's Guide to Eastern North Carolina by Bob Benner and Tom McCloud. This guide is devoted to trips on rivers and streams in the various river basins in North Carolina. Put in and take outs are suggested. Book provides short description of the sections of the rivers and streams that are suitable for kayaks and canoes.

Web Resources

We all know that the web is a great place to find information. However, it can be hard to find exactly or even close to exactly what you're looking for. Goggle and other search engines seem to provide too many irrelevant suggestions. With that in mind here are some sites that I find to be very useful and interesting. Unfortunately, many of the sites that I used be find useful are no longer available.

Paddling links

Non-paddling Resources

Books

Exploring North Carolina's Natural Areas Edited by Dirk Frankenberg. This book describes 38 tours of parks, nature preserves and hiking trails in North Carolina. It covers the entire state from the coast to the mountains.

North Carolina Waterfalls by Kevin Adams. This is the definitive guide to most (if not all) the waterfalls in North Carolina. I doubt that there is a waterfall in NC that is not covered by this book or the website North Carolina Waterfalls..

Waterfalls of Virginia and West Virginia by Kevin Adams. Complete coverage of waterfalls in Virginia and West Virginia. As with the NC book above, Adams provides tips on photography.

Best of the Blue Ridge Parkway by Nye Simmons. We've driven the entire length of the Blue Ridge Parkway several times, and some sections many many time. Yet there were some places in this book that we missed. Very useful guide to the Parkway

Web Resources Various