Dismal Swamp State Park
Dismal Swamp State Park is the 38th Park in our 2025 North Carolina State Park Challenge. It is located in South Mills, on the Northeastern border with Virginia. The main attraction is the 22 mile Dismal Swamp Canal that leads up to the NC/VA border. There is an annual Paddle for the Border event in early May that sells out every year- hundreds of people show with their kayaks and paddle boards to make the 7.5 round trip loop to the border noted by signs along the water’s edge.
We visited on a fall day in mid November and had some great fall colors, especially along the canal. Because it was later fall we were not planning on paddling down the canal, but definitely would if we came back in the summer. The canal was calm and honestly perfect for paddling- it is a 7.5 mile loop to go to the NC/VA border, but you can go as far or short as you want. There is a drop in point right by the canal bridge with a kayak dock to make it easy to get in or out the water. There is also a temporary drop off parking area to make getting your boat in the water easy, in case the parking spaces up front are full.
When entering the park, because the canal bridge is the only way across the canal and into the park, you must check in and check out at the booth at the beginning of the bridge. After checking in, we took the Canal Road trail out almost all the way to the end of the park, then turned around and took the Supple Jack Trail on the way back. Canal Road is nice wide trail and is great for biking. I was hoping for some canal views along this path, but the large amount of foliage really impedes that. If you take it all the way to the end of the path it connects to some of the more secluded trails in the park. There are black bears in the farther areas of the park, so if you’re going out to these more remote trails you should carry some bear spray. Bear sightings are very few in the park but it is still possible. We saw quite a few deer out on our path early in the morning- they scurried off pretty quickly, but just be aware if you’re with your dog!
After we made it back from the Canal Road, we took the Swamp Boardwalk through a more dense area. The boardwalk does get a little slippery in the morning, but it interconnects allowing you to extend your walk and has some benches to make it a more casual path. Then we stopped by the Visitor Center- there are a lot of picnic tables on the back side with great views of the canal. This is a park that really would have benefitted from a dog park space, since the parking lot is all the way across the canal. The good news is we were able to get our passport stamp at the check-in point at the beginning of the canal bridge. There is a small visitor center right before the park (that you’ll have to drive through to get to the park) that has parking right out front and dog waste stations.
There is no camping at this park, but Merchants Millpond State Park is 35 minutes away and does have camping if you’re looking for something nearby. Enjoy!
Park Details:
ADDRESS: 2294 U.S 17N, South Mills NC
HOURS: November-February: 8am-4:30pm
March-October: 8am-5:30pm
VISITOR CENTER: Open Monday-Friday 8am-4:30pm, & Saturday/Sunday 8am-4:30pm
PASSPORT STAMP: Can be found at the Booth at the top of the Canal Bridge where you check in/out of the park
ENTRANCE FEE: No Entrance Fee
TRAILS: 21.5 miles of hiking trails
ACTIVITIES: Hiking, Biking, Paddling, & Fishing
DOG RULES: Dogs are allowed on all trails, as long as they are on a leash. Dogs are not allowed in park buildings. Please pick up after your pet.
Check out our videos about this Park on instagram @axel.theadventurepup
