Staying Home Sucks, home
Lumber River (3)
Lumber River. Photo: Gerry Dincher from Hope Mills, NC, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

Lumber River

Kayak spot · United States

Flat water: a lake, canal or slow river

Is it worth the trip?

100Good out of 100 for your dates

Home sucks

6 days tie for best

Each day of your trip, out of 100

Mon 2 · 99 out of 100

Wind
5 kn
Gusts
12kn
Air
20°C
Rain
0 mm

Tue 3 · 100 out of 100

Wind
4 kn
Gusts
11kn
Air
24°C
Rain
0 mm

Wed 4 · 100 out of 100

Wind
4 kn
Gusts
10kn
Air
26°C
Rain
0.7 mm

Thu 5 · 100 out of 100

Wind
6 kn
Gusts
13kn
Air
26°C
Rain
0.3 mm

Fri 6 · 100 out of 100

Wind
2 kn
Gusts
8kn
Air
24°C
Rain
0 mm

Sat 7 · 100 out of 100

Wind
3 kn
Gusts
14kn
Air
22°C
Rain
0 mm

Sun 8 · 100 out of 100

Wind
4 kn
Gusts
12kn
Air
22°C
Rain
0 mm

Tap a day for wind, gusts, air and rain. Full forecast

Forecast: next 10 days

Full forecast
  1. Sun 196, good
  2. Mon 299, good
  3. Tue 3100, good
  4. Wed 4100, good
  5. Thu 5100, good
  6. Fri 6100, good
  7. Sat 7100, good
  8. Sun 8100, good
  9. Mon 999, good
  10. Tue 1090, good

The spot in two facts

  • Flat waterthe water
  • 4.7 kmthe section

Full forecast

every day, every number

The score doesn't know the river level, weirs or your skill.

Wind and weather forecast and score for each day at Lumber River
DayScoreWindGustsAirRain
Sun 1Nov96, good6 kn13kn18°C0 mm
Mon 2Nov99, good5 kn12kn20°C0 mm
Tue 3Nov100, good4 kn11kn24°C0 mm
Wed 4Nov100, good4 kn10kn26°C0.7 mm
Thu 5Nov100, good6 kn13kn26°C0.3 mm
Fri 6Nov100, good2 kn8kn24°C0 mm
Sat 7Nov100, good3 kn14kn22°C0 mm
Sun 8Nov100, good4 kn12kn22°C0 mm
Mon 9Nov99, good4 kn14kn21°C5.4 mm
Tue 10Nov90, good7 kn15kn18°C0 mm

Wind and gusts are in knots, rain in mm. River levels: no free forecast gives them, so check a gauge before you go. More

Forecast updated . It refreshes every three hours. Forecast data: ECMWF, DWD, Météo-France and NOAA, served by Open-Meteo.com (CC BY 4.0). Changed by us. Generated using E.U. Copernicus Marine Service Information.

Best time to go

No month stands out

Good kayaking days in a typical week, each month, for grade III paddlers, from 2016 on (ERA5 history scored the same way).

  1. Jan6of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Jan
  2. Feb7of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Feb
  3. Mar7of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Mar
  4. Apr7of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Apr
  5. May7of 7: a trip from Sat 1 May
  6. Jun7of 7: a trip from Sat 5 Jun
  7. Jul7of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Jul
  8. Aug7of 7: a trip from Sat 7 Aug
  9. Sep7of 7: a trip from Sat 4 Sept
  10. Oct7of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Oct
  11. Nov7of 7: a trip from Mon 2 Nov
  12. Dec7of 7: a trip from Sat 5 Dec

Tap a month to see this spot for a trip then.

Typical weather, not a forecast, and not the river's level: a month that is often good to be outside may still be low water.

Map

put-in, take-out, its town

Each place wears its best day on these dates: green good, amber fair, pale red poor, as the key says.

The map needs JavaScript. Every place on it is listed on this page, and each place's page links to Google Maps.

One finger scrolls the page; two fingers move the map. Pins are our own positions. Map OpenFreeMap, © OpenMapTiles, data © OpenStreetMap contributors.

More kayaking near here

1 place

About

the place in full, sources, credits

About Lumber River

A river section on the Lumber River, from a put-in down to a take-out. It runs 4.7 km along the river. No grade stated: ask locally before you paddle. None within 10 km, the nearest 32 km away. The town to stay in is Fayetteville.

  • River Lumber River
  • Grade No grade is stated.
  • Length 4.7 km along the river.
  • Who it suits No grade stated: ask locally before you paddle.
  • Access No source states the access rules: check locally.
  • Schools, hire None within 10 km, the nearest 32 km away.

Spots and rivers: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). Whitewater sections © Rivermap (rivermap.org), Riverzone and Jonathan Riddell, ODbL.

The score is the conditions only: the journey, the price and the partners never change it (how we score, how we earn).

Rough cost (estimate): about US$1,190–US$2,160 each

about US$1,190–US$2,160 each · 6 nights, 2 sharing: flights, hire car, stay, food, kayak hire.

Our estimate from typical public prices, not a quote: check the real prices before you book (where they come from). Prices are about, in US Dollar (USD): our pound figures at the European Central Bank's rate of 30 October 2026.

How we worked it out 
Rough cost per person for this trip
WhatHow we worked it outEach
Flightsreturn MDW to RDU, estimated from distance and season, 1 airline on the route, with a hold bagabout US$147–US$308
Hire car6 days, sharedabout US$154–US$255
Stay6 nights, a mid-range double, sharedabout US$348–US$583
Food7 days eating outabout US$342–US$636
Kayak hire5 days, or about US$114 to fly your ownabout US$201–US$375
Totalabout US$1,190–US$2,160

Prices from public sources, checked in 2026.

Where to stay: Fayetteville

Closest

Fayetteville

83 min by car · 2 places to stay

about US$134/nightcountry average

See 2 places to stay in Fayetteville · Booking.com

About Fayetteville its beds, food and every spot near it

About US$134 a night is our estimate of the country's average 2-star double room that month: not each town's price, and not a quote. Drives are estimates. Prices are about, in US Dollar (USD): our pound figures at the European Central Bank's rate of 30 October 2026.

Getting there: about 6h 05m

About 6h 05m door to door from Chicago

Fly MDW → RDU, direct, then 2h 20m by road

An estimate, one way; the journey never changes the score.

On the water

Paddling schools, clubs and hire nearby

No paddling school, club or hire mapped within 25 km.

Schools, clubs and hire: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). Credits