Duke Energy builds new kayak launch and river access area at Landsford Canal State Park

pictured left to right are Steve Jester, Vice President for Water Strategy, Hydro Licensing and Lake Services for Duke Energy; Al James, Manager of Landsford Canal State Park, and Phil Gaines, South Carolina State Park Director.

Duke Energy and the S.C. Department of Parks, Recreation & Tourism (SCPRT) cut ribbon on a new canoe/kayak launch at Landsford Canal State Park located on the Catawba River.

The project, which includes a mulch-covered trail leading to concrete steps at the launch, plus a restroom and parking, is the result of the comprehensive relicensing agreement (CRA) signed during the Catawba-Wateree Hydroelectric Project federal relicensing process by SCPRT, Duke Energy and 68 other partners in the Catawba River Basin.

“It’s a difference maker on so many levels,” said State Parks Director Phil Gaines. “It’s more than a parking lot and launch. It’s an environmental project that protects the riparian area of the park, and a visitor service project that provides a high quality, designated area for people who love to paddle the Catawba.”

The launch is part of a network of public access points developed by Duke Energy to increase access to the Catawba River. “This is one of 89 commitments we’ve made, beginning with Lake James in North Carolina,” said Steve Jester, Vice President for Water Strategy, Hydro licensing and Lake Services for Duke Energy. “It’s also a game changer, much like Duke Energy was a game changer more than 100 years ago when it built hydro-electric plants that supported communities all along the river.”

Landsford Canal State Park is a naturally and historically significant park along the Catawba River. Covering 448 acres of mostly bottomland forest, the park provides some of the best public views of the state scenic Catawba River and its annual show of blooming spider lilies, the largest population of the rare plant in the world. There’s also a lockkeeper’s house that serves as an education center, and a 1.5-mile trail that leads to remains of a historic canal.

For more information about Landsford Canal State Park, contact Park Manager Al James at 803-789-5800.