Mitchell River Game Land - Directions

Mitchell River Game Land

The Mitchell River Game Land is located in Surry County, in northwest North Carolina. There are two entrance roads to access the Mitchell River Game Land. One game land entrance road is located just off of River Road and the other entrance is located on Haystack Road. To access the Mitchell River Game Land:

To access the River Road entrance - Travel Interstate 77 to the Dobson Exit (#93). Head west on Zephyr Road approximately 1.5 miles to Kapps Mill Road on the right. After turning onto Kapps Mill Road, travel 1.8 miles to the end of Kapps Mill Road. At the stop sign, turn right onto River Road. Travel River Road approximately 2 miles to the game land entrance road on the left.

36°25'6.98"N 80°51'27.00"W

To access the Haystack Road parking area - Travel Interstate 77 to the Dobson Exit (#93). Head west on Zephyr Road approximately 1.5 miles to Kapps Mill Road on the right. After turning onto Kapps Mill Road, travel 1.8 miles to the end of Kapps Mill Road. At the stop sign, turn right onto River Road. Travel River Road approximately 3.5 miles to the intersection with Haystack Road. At the stop sign, turn left onto Haystack Road and travel approximately 4.5 miles to the game land entrance on the left.

36°25'7.09"N 80°55'43.14"W

For an online interactive map of Mitchell River, please visit the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission website @ www.ncwildlife.org or click HERE to link to the interactive maps.

A detailed map of Mitchell River in PDF form can be found HERE.

Directions to game lands in District Seven

We are attempting to get detailed directions posted to each of our game lands here in District 7 here on our blog. While this will take us some time, as there are many game lands, please check back for updates and notice that direct links to the directions for each game land can be found on the left-hand side of the page under the "Links" tab. Directions to the Thurmond Chatham game land, in Wilkes County, can be found there now.

Thurmond Chatham Game Land - Directions

Thurmond Chatham Game Land

The Thurmond Chatham Game Land is located in Wilkes County, in northwest North Carolina. There are four entrance roads to access the Thurmond Chatham Game Land. One game land entrance road is located just off Highway 18 North known as Joshua Creek Road and three game land entrances are located off of Longbottom Road. To access the Thurmond Chatham Game Land:

From Wilkesboro, NC - From the junction of Highway 18 and Highway 268, travel Highway 18 North approximately 13.5 miles to Longbottom Road on the right.

• Osborne Ridge Road - From the intersection of Highway 18 and Longbottom Road, travel east approximately 2.5 miles to the Osborne Ridge Road entrance on the left.
  

36°21'9.58"N 81°12'11.09"W

• Pike Creek Road - From the intersection of Highway 18 and Longbottom Road, travel east approximately 3.5 miles to the Pike Creek Road entrance on the left.
  

36°21'21.60"N 81°11'15.51"W

• Bell Branch Road - From the intersection of Highway 18 and Longbottom Road, travel east approximately 5.7 miles to the Bell Branch Road entrance on the left.
  

36°22'8.96"N 81° 9'16.97"W

• Joshua Creek Road - From the intersection of Highway 18 and Longbottom Road, travel north on Highway 18 approximately 1.8 miles to Old Highway 18 on the right.
  

After turning right onto Old 18, travel approximately 0.3 miles to the Joshua Creek Road entrance on the right. GPS coordinates for the entrance: 36°21'27.22"N 81°14'11.64"W

From Elkin, NC - From the stoplight at the intersection of Highway 21 and Poplar Springs Road, travel approximately 8.5 miles north on Highway 21 to Traphill Road on the left. After taking the left onto Traphill Road, travel approximately 5.2 miles west to Longbottom Road on the right.

• Bell Branch Road - From the intersection of Traphill Road and Longbottom Road, travel west approximately 8.8 miles to the Bell Branch Road entrance on the right.
  

36°22'8.96"N 81° 9'16.97"W

• Pike Creek Road - From the intersection of Traphill Road and Longbottom Road, travel west approximately 11 miles to the Pike Creek Road entrance on the right.
  

36°21'21.60"N 81°11'15.51"W

• Osborne Ridge Road - From the intersection of Traphill Road and Longbottom Road, travel west approximately 12.1 miles to the Osborne Ridge Road entrance on the right.
  

36°21'9.58"N 81°12'11.09"W

• Joshua Creek Road - From the intersection of Traphill Road and Longbottom Road, travel west approximately 14.5 miles to the end of Longbottom Road to it's intersection with Highway 18. From the intersection of Highway 18 and Longbottom Road, travel north on Highway 18 approximately 1.8 miles to Old Highway 18 on the right.
  

After turning right onto Old 18, travel approximately 0.3 miles to the Joshua Creek Road entrance on the right. GPS coordinates for the entrance: 36°21'27.22"N 81°14'11.64"W

There is one other game lands access point that is found off of the Blue Ridge Parkway. This access road leads to a hunter parking area and the game lands are accessed by following a hunter access trail across park property to the "D Section" of the Thurmond Chatham game lands. To find this parking area travel the Blue Ridge Parkway to milepost 239. Turn onto "Air Bellows Gap" Road.
Follow Air Bellows Road south approximately 0.75 miles until reaching the terminus of the road at the hunter parking area. GPS coordinates for the parking area: 36°25'16.46"N 81°7'22.00"W

For an online interactive map of Thurmond Chatham, please visit the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission website @ www.ncwildlife.org or click HERE to link to the interactive maps.

A detailed map of Thurmond Chatham in PDF form can be found HERE.

What has THE D-7 Crew done lately (July-Sept. 2009)

July 2009

-Conducted bear bait station surveys in district seven (34 stations, 13 bear visits)

-Performed routine depot, yard mowing, and site maintenance tasks.
Disposed of ½ ton of trash and recyclables.

-Mowed vegetation in 12 acres of openings on Thurmond Chatham GL.

-Routine office work, purchasing, and reporting.
Crew attended regulation proposals review meeting in Yadkinville.

-Trapped 121 wood ducks and banded 115 with new bands.

-Trapped 15 doves and banded 14 with new bands.

-Scheduled maintenance of highway vehicles.

August 2009

-Performed routine depot, yard mowing, and site maintenance tasks.
Accompanied State Property Engineers during inspection of buildings.

-Cleared debris from 17 miles of public access roads on TCGL.
Opened and closed gates to allow sportsmen access onto TCGL.
Opened and closed gates to allow sportsmen access onto MRGL.
Opened and closed gates to allow sportsmen access onto BCGL.
Put up signs and improved barriers to block ATV traffic on Saddle Mtn Tract.
Met with Supervising Biologist to plan for parking area on Three-top Mtn GL.

-Mowed vegetation in 17 acres of openings on TCGL.
Mowed 14 acres of dove fields on Perkins Game Lands.
Burned 1.5 acres of field crops on Perkins GL Dove fields.
Spot sprayed invasive plants on 22 acres of openings on TCGL.

-Routine office work, purchasing, and reporting.

-Trapped 207 wood ducks and banded 180 with new bands.

-Trapped and banded 18 doves.

-Scheduled maintenance of highway vehicles.

September 2009

-Installed access barrier around public parking area on Three-top Mtn. GL.

-Performed routine depot, yard mowing, and site maintenance tasks.

-Mowed 1.5 miles of access roads and parking areas on BCGL.

-Retrieved tractor from vendor in Wilkesboro after repair was completed.

-Mowed one acre opening on Thurmond Chatham GL.
Mowed nine acres of openings on Perkins Game Lands.
Burned one acre of field crops on Perkins GL Dove fields.
Sprayed and planted eight acres of openings on Buffalo Cove GL.
Mowed fifteen acres of openings on Buffalo Cove GL.

(photo above is of a strip of sunflowers, Lablab, and cowpeas we planted on Thurmond Chatham Game Lands, in early September, bears discovered the sunflowers and soon thereafter it looked like the area had been bombed as the bears visited the 2 acre patch and devoured the sunflowers, once the bears had eaten all the sunflowers, they left and the deer moved back in to feast on the Lablab and cowpeas)
-Routine office work, purchasing, and reporting.
Crew attended Regional meeting in Marion.

-Trapped 38 wood ducks and banded 32 with new bands.
Prepared and submitted banding records to waterfowl Biologist.

-Performed scheduled maintenance of three highway vehicles.
Obtained spare tires and parts for 3 western Region Huntmaster trailers.

-Transported vehicle and two truck loads of NCWRC property from former employee’s residence to depot for storage.

What has The D-7 crew done lately? (April-June 2009)

April

Development of Clearings:
Cleared debris and expanded existing openings by one acre on Perkins GL.

Building Maintenance:
Performed routine depot and site maintenance tasks.
Worked on improvements to depot storage facilities.
Disposed of ½ ton of trash and recyclables.

Boundary Maintenance:
Unposted 1.1, and posted .6 miles of boundary on Three-Top GL.
Posted 2.6 miles of boundary on ALCOA GL in Davie County.

Maintenance of Public Use Facilities:
Mowed and cleaned up around monument site on Hunting Creek Waterfowl refuge.

Road and Trail Maintenance:
Cleared trees and debris from seven miles of administrative roads on TCGL.
Delivered 30 tons of aggregates for road drainage repair project on MRGL.
Cleaned 20 culverts on road system on TCGL.

Maintenance, Repair & Purchase of Non-Highway Equipment:
Performed repairs and maintenance on tractors and other motorized equipment.
Repaired seed drill, disc harrow, sprayer, planter, and other tractor implements.

Firebreaks:
Installed .4 miles of firebreaks on burn areas on Perkins GL.

Herbaceous Planting:
Planted 4.5 acres of firebreaks and other openings on BCGL.
Planted two acres of openings on TCGL.
Sprayed various herbicides on 14 acres of openings on TCGL.
Disked six acres on TCGL.

Tree and Shrub Planting:
Pruned eight apple trees on TCGL.

Vegetation Control:
Bladed and disked ½ acre of early successional openings on Perkins GL.

Planning, Coordination, Evaluation & Reporting:
Routine office work, purchasing, reporting and review of budget.

Miscellaneous State Funded Activities:
Crewmember attended medical appointment relative to workman's comp. injury.


May

Building Maintenance:
Performed routine depot and site maintenance tasks.
Disposed of ½ ton of trash and recyclables.
Completed project to waterproof depot storage facilities.

Maintenance of Public Use Facilities:
Cleared vegetation in campground and parking area at Basin Creek on TCGL.

Road and Trail Maintenance:
Spread 30 tons of gravel on MRGL access roads.
Delivered 45 tons of aggregates for road drainage repair project on MRGL.
Closed access road gates on MRGL and TCGL.

Maintenance, Repair & Purchase of Non-Highway Equipment:
Performed repairs and maintenance on tractors and other motorized equipment.
Repaired sprayers, Brillion planter, ATV disk, debris loader, and Huntmaster lift.

Herbaceous Planting:
Spread two tons of fertilizer on dove fields at Perkins GL.
Disked six acres in preparation for planting on TCGL.
Sprayed 7 acres of openings on TCGL.
Planted four acres on TCGL.
Planted ½ acre of field crops on Wilkes Depot property.

Tree and Shrub Planting:
Removed 35 tree shelters from trees and shrubs planted on TCGL.
Released eight mast producing trees from entanglement with kudzu on Perkins GL.

Vegetation Control:
Spot-sprayed for kudzu control in and around 8 acres of openings on Perkins GL.

Planning, Coordination, Evaluation & Reporting:
Routine office work, purchasing, reporting and review of budget.

Waterfowl Banding:
Investigated several wood duck trapping sites, began preparing trapping equipment.

Miscellaneous State Funded Activities:
Assisted herpetologists with survey for bog turtles in Wilkes Depot Bog area.


June

Building Maintenance:
Performed routine depot, yard mowing, and site maintenance tasks.
Disposed of ½ ton of trash and recyclables.

Maintenance of Public Use Facilities:
Mowed 1/2 acre in campground and parking area at Basin Creek, TCGL.
Mowed monument area at Hunting Creek Waterfowl Refuge.

Road and Trail Maintenance:
Spread 45 tons of aggregates for road repair on TCGL.
Blocked illegal ATV access onto TCGL.

Maintenance, Repair & Purchase of Non-Highway Equipment:
Performed repairs and maintenance on tractors, implements, and other equipment.
Prepared Huntmaster lift for use, instructed user, and inspected upon return.

Herbaceous Planting:
Spread 4500 lbs of fertilizer on openings on TCGL.
Spread 7 tons of pulverized limestone on openings on TCGL.
Sprayed 8 acres while planting openings on TCGL.
Planted 11.5 acres on TCGL.
Sprayed and planted one acre on Wilkes Depot property.
Mowed vegetation in 7 acres of openings on TCGL.

Vegetation Control:
Spot-sprayed invasive plants in and around 2 acre Mulberry Mill Bog site.

Planning, Coordination, Evaluation & Reporting:
Routine office work, purchasing, and reporting.
Crew attended regional meeting in Marion.

Waterfowl Banding:
Investigated and prepared several wood duck trapping sites and equipment.

Maintenance, Repair, and Purchase of Highway Vehicles:
Scheduled maintenance of highway vehicles.