The Roanoke River trail in Martin County has been underwater since last year from increased rain, storms like Hurricane Florence and Dorian and high river levels.
“We’ve had two really rainy years last spring and this spring as well and through the summer even. The more storms we have there are always some impacts,” said Carol Shields, executive director of the Roanoke River Partners.
Stopping people from enjoying the river.
“In 2018 and 2019, both seasons our revenues were down because we had a lot of rainy weekends,” said Shields.
The river is a big part of the community and those slow seasons affect the town’s economy.
“That brings thousands of people a year to these rural communities on our reservation system we usually book 1,200 to 1,400 overnight stays and about 5 times that many come to paddle and be in our community using our trail maps. So that’s really welcomed dollars to our local restaurants to places that sell gas to our festivals,” she said.
The water has receded and recently with the help of volunteers, the trails were repaired.
“Some volunteers who came in and were really excited about the repairs they made,” said Shields.
The Roanoke River partners are ready for their peak seasons as more people come to enjoy the outdoors.
“Our sweet seasons are March, April, early May and then again September October, early November so we’re in a good position now for folks to get here and have some good outdoor experiences for the fall, the leaves will be changing,” Shields said.
If you’re interested in visiting the river, go to Roanoke River Partners website.
