Wagoner Access Trail

The Wagoner Access Trail follows the South Fork of the New River through the pastoral landscapes of Ashe County in the Blue Ridge Mountains, offering access to one of the most geologically ancient rivers in the world and one of the finest canoe and kayak destinations in the southern Appalachians. The New River is estimated to be between 300 and 360 million years old, making it one of the oldest rivers in North America and one of the oldest in the world, flowing in the opposite direction from most Appalachian rivers as a consequence of its pre-dating the formation of the modern drainage divide. The trail descends through meadows and riparian forest to the river bank and the Wagoner Access canoe launch, where the broad, gentle river moves in wide sweeping curves through a valley of farmland, forest, and mountain views. Great blue herons stand motionless in the shallows waiting for fish, belted kingfishers rattle along the streamside, and osprey patrol above in summer. The surrounding Blue Ridge landscape with its rolling agricultural fields and wooded hillsides has a distinctly pastoral beauty that differs markedly from the more rugged wilderness parks elsewhere in the mountains. The trail provides excellent views of the river from the bank and multiple access points to the water for wading or simply sitting by the ancient current.