Boone's Cave State Park

      Is this a State Park? You can't find it in the North Carolina literature online or in hard copy. But everyone in Davidson County knows the story and a few can find it. The park is small, less than 10 acres. There is a picnic shelter and grill and a six car parking lot. The shelter makes a great place to picnic and watch the Yadkin River go by. It's perched on a hill about 50 feet above the river. If you follow a trail that winds down the hill you will go by a small opening in the rock that the shelter is built upon. Crawl in, if you dare, and the cave opens into a room that might be ten feet high in a spot or two, but mostly is a cramped crawl around. If you're really brave, or with a half-dozen giggling girls you can crawl about 30 feet back into the depths of the cave. Some say you can crawl farther, but as I approach middle age I have a lot dragging behind me - I just don't fit where I used to.

This is a designated take-out or put-in on the Yadkin River Trail map. But I wouldn't much want to haul my boat in or out with the winding fifty (vertical) feet trail down to the water (or up to the parking lot). There's a cabin here, too. I believe it's supposed to be a replica of the Boone family cabin that may have stood here. It probably won't be there much longer. Vandalism and neglect are taking a toll.