Fall at Lake Hampton

Wendi Hartup

Lake Hampton

WRITER/PHOTOS/ Wendi Hartup

Find more of Wendi’s Lake Hampton photos on the Weekends page at yadkinvalleymagazine.com

Just past Yadkinville about 30 minutes from Winston-Salem is Lake Hampton. This fantastic park is relatively new as it was completed in 2010. I've written about this place before but they've added so much, it's worth writing about more.

One of the things I love most about Lake Hampton is all the natural vegetation they've left alone. I don't know if they've added more with seeds but there is such a variety of shoreline vegetation that is rarely found along a public park. Most parks either mow all the way to the edge and eliminate all the shoreline vegetation which causes an immense amount of soil build-up over time. Fish have no way to filter sediment from their gills so the more plants along a shoreline the better. There are trees everywhere that make you feel like this is your private lake that has been here for generations.Thanks to Piedmont Land Conservancy, over 266 acres of wooded buffer is protected under an easement around the lake. That

Deringer, Elisa, Shelia and Ruger Mauer on Lake Hampton means no cutting of the trees, ever! As a person who cares about water quality and reducing erosion, this type of management for a park is amazing.

Unfortunately, you cannot swim or wade in this lovely reservoir. This reservoir is Yadkin County’s future drinking water supply on South Deep Creek, ensuring clean water and recreation for generations to come. There is a State rule about no physical contact allowed in public drinking reservoirs. They also don't allow motorized boats on this lake which can also cause erosion due to too much wake and another lesson other public lakes should take from Lake Hampton for beautiful, stabilized shorelines.

Things you can do...get on the water with a non-motorized device, fish, walk lovely wooded trails, play disc golf, primitive camping, utilize the shelters and playground equipment and enjoy the wildlife. They have a dog park area for both small dogs and larger dogs. The primitive camping has a bath house and they hope to have RV camping options in the future.

I took some friends, the Maurer family, to go kayaking later in the day. The park has single and tandem kayaks as well as a few small boats for rent per hour with life jackets. Kids 12 and up can have a kayak to themselves. All the rules and amenities are listed on the Yadkin County website (https://www.yadkincountync.gov/407/Yadkin-Memorial-

Park). Instead of going toward the dam, we went left to where the lake narrows. It was kind of magical with the mist over the water. We stopped and got the kids to be silent for a bit to see all the turtles pop their heads up, saw a rock that looked like a giant snake head, herons and tiny frogs.

There is a new bridge behind the dam that connects the 18 hole disc golf course to the main shelter. You can also drive to the disc golf course if you don't want to walk the 2 miles. This is a neat course and will be fun to try out this Fall. If you start at the disc golf course and go to see the dam, it's only about a half a mile. The bridge crosses a lovely creek that has lots of vegetation preventing erosion. They don't allow fishing or swimming near the dam but it still is a lovely area to enjoy and try to identify all the dragonflies.

Safety to consider while at the lake:

1) Bring sunscreen, water and snacks. Many of these public lakes are so far away from stores that it isn't convenient to get to one. 2) Wear life jackets at all times regardless if you can swim. This is usually part of the lake rules anyway. 3) While swimming is not allowed, if you fall in, don't panic. Just try to hop back in your boat or use someone else to help you get back in the boat. Try not to swallow any lake water. Did you know there are all kinds of waterborne diseases? Most will affect a person's stomach and intestines, skin, or respiratory system within a few hours to a few days. If you or your family member have something come up, don't wait it out. Go ahead and see a doctor. 4) Take a shower when you get home if you get any lake water on you from paddling. You never know if you could have a reaction from what is in the water. 5) Know your limits of how far you can paddle. Lastly have fun.