5101 N Roxboro St, Durham, North Carolina
West Point on the Eno Durham City Park is a 404-acre natural and historic park that is located along the Eno River. If you visit on the weekend you can tour the 1778 working river mill, 1850’s McCown-Mangum House, and the Hugh Mangum Museum of Photography. However, the highlight of the park that draws so many visitors is hiking the trails and swimming near the dam!
Historic Buildings
Visiting West Point on the Eno is like taking a step back in time to Durham’s early beginnings. It was so fun to wander around the historic buildings and view the mill in action. We visited on a weekday so we were unable to go inside any of the buildings, but I hear the mill has a store where you can purchase the wheat and corn they grind onsite! Homemade grits anyone?!
If you’re a major history buff, this park is also only a few miles from the Duke Homestead State Historic Site and Tobacco Museum. We swung by while we were in the area to see some more of Durham’s history at the historic tobacco farm!
Swimming near the Dam
My kid’s favorite part of this park was swimming in the river. Someone had dammed up a portion of water beneath the dam that made a great swimming hole. It was a little deep for my 2 year old, but the 4 and 5 year old did great. The water falling off the dam created a foam that built up in the water, and they spent hours splashing it all to make it disappear.
The walk down to where were swimming was down a steep dirt path to the water. However, I spoke to a friend later who told me there is actually stairs down to the water somewhere. I’m not sure how to get there, but I’m sure you’ll find plenty of places to swim here! We were here only a few hours but lots of other people were enjoying the water at various points along the river. We even saw some older kids walking along the dam who dove into the top part of the water!
Festival of the Eno
Visiting during the 2020 pandemic, I feel like we barely skimmed the surface of all that West Point on the Eno has to offer. The Eno River Association hosts various educational programs here throughout the year, including their large Festival of the Eno each summer. This year the festival has gone digital, so watch their broadcast on July 3rd, 2020!
Boat and Kayak Rentals
Frog Hollow Outdoors usually provides canoe and kayak rentals at the park from April through October, but they are closed during the 2020 season.
If Durham is a little far for you, I recommend Mill Bridge Nature Park in Rolesville for another natural swimming hole.
For an awesome kayak trail out near Wendell, try Robertson Millpond Preserve.