Cedar Falls is a set of rapids on the Deep River in Randolph County, North Carolina, just below the dam and mill at the village of Cedar Falls, about 2.5 miles west of Franklinville. It is a paddling spot on a Piedmont river broken by old mill dams rather than a free-falling waterfall.
The falls
The feature is described as rapids below a dam. The 8.5-mile Randleman to Cedar Falls reach is rated Class II with occasional Class III, with a drop of roughly 30 feet along a stretch of about 2,000 feet that paddlers can park and run. The section from Worthville Road down to Cedar Falls is rated as advanced, with rapids up to Class IV over 6.2 miles.
Getting there
The put-in is below the Cedar Falls dam near Jennings Road and a take-out is on river left at or before the Loflin Pond Road bridge; some banks are posted, and the bridge is not an official access. From there the next section runs 4.3 miles of Class II and easier water to Franklinville Park, with a portage on the right at the Franklinville dam. On the longer run from Worthville, paddlers portage the Cedar Falls dam on the right, with the mill on the left, or on river left. Parking and fees aren't documented.
When to go
The run on the Deep River at Ramseur gauge is runnable from 1.2 to 4.5 feet: low from 1.2 to 1.9, medium from 1.9 to 3 and high from 3 to 4.5.
On site
The dams are not runnable. Watch for pinning rocks in the rapids and for strainers that change with the flow.
Nearby
Pullens Falls, also on the Deep River, is about 36.9 miles away. Motts Falls on the Yadkin River is about 30.2 miles away, and Great Falls on the Cape Fear River about 45.2 miles.
Distances are straight-line.