Jordan Lake State Recreation Area

Jordan Lake is fourteen thousand acres of water with a long, complicated shoreline, and the recreation area is not one place but a series of separate access areas spread around it, each with its own character, some with campgrounds, some day use only. It is the best bald eagle watching in North Carolina, with a summer roost that draws birders from across the state, and the open water suits sailing and powerboating as much as paddling. The camping is conventional reservoir camping — pine woods, swimming beaches, boat ramps — and it is the most straightforward big-water option near Raleigh and Chapel Hill.