West Point on the Eno Is Closed and Cole Mill Is Still Out. Where North Durham Can Still Reach the River This Fall

At Bobbitt Hole, the deepest point on the Eno at 19 feet, the riverbank now has crater-like scoops in it. Superintendent Kim Radewicz told WUNC it looked as though "someone randomly threw fireworks." The old trail sits under at least a foot of river sediment, maybe a couple of feet. Rocks from the riverbed now cover a bank where they never used to be. Sandbars have formed in spots that never had them.

Bobbitt Hole is reached from Cole Mill Access, and Cole Mill Access is still closed. On North Roxboro Street, the gate at West Point on the Eno has also been shut since September 14. The two closures have different causes, different owners and different end dates. For households around Croasdaile, Hillandale Road and the Guess and Roxboro Road corridors, the result is the same. The river is still there, but the way in has moved to the edges.

Two closures, two owners, two clocks

West Point on the Eno at 5101 N. Roxboro St. belongs to the City of Durham, and it's closed for a planned upgrade. Durham Parks and Recreation says the work is funded through the city's Capital Improvement Program and is meant to make parking and paths ADA compliant. The park closed Monday, September 14 "for a period of over 180 days (timeline pending)," with no vehicle or pedestrian access at all. The Roxboro Street entrance is blocked, and so is the pedestrian bridge over the river.

Cole Mill Access and its trails are part of Eno River State Park, and they're closed because the July 2025 flood rearranged the ground. WUNC reported that Chantal pushed the Eno to a record 25.6 feet. The previous record was 23.6 feet, set by Hurricane Fran in 1996. A year later the park was mostly open again, but about six of its 24 trails and all of Cole Mill Access were still closed.

So the West Point closure has a planned end date, even if the city hasn't pinned it down. Cole Mill's reopening depends on building new trail where the old trail no longer exists.

West Point is a construction site, and the mill is a separate problem

The city's project is worth about $5.3 million, according to WUNC's June report. It covers expanded paved parking, redesigned paths, larger restrooms, a restored garden, a playground and a replacement picnic shelter. It also changes the traffic pattern so the park's west side is reserved for people on foot. The city says it looks forward to "welcoming you back to a more inclusive West Point on the Eno Park in 2027."

The schedule has already moved once. WUNC's June 19 story said the six-month closure would start in July, and the city's first notice gave a July 2026 to January 2027 window. The updated notice moved the start to September 14 and dropped any firm reopening date. The city's facility page still shows the older range. The newsflash is the more current of the two.

The historic mill isn't part of this project. Chantal damaged it, and the city says only that "options are still being explored to repair and reopen the mill." No repair plan or date has been published. Even after the new paths and parking open in 2027, the mill could stay closed.

One building near the park is open. The Environmental Education Pavilion at 5253 N. Roxboro St., just north of the park, stays open during construction, and DPR is moving programs that were planned for West Point there and to other city parks. The city also warns that the area could see more closures later for playground construction.

The closure also moved the year's biggest Eno event. The Eno River Association replaced its traditional July Festival for the Eno with a 60th-anniversary celebration downtown. It cited both the planned West Point closure and the risk of July weather. The one-day event was scheduled for Saturday, September 12, with a free afternoon at DPlex Plaza on West Morgan Street and an evening concert at the Carolina Theatre.

At Cole Mill, the ground itself changed

The state park closures run deeper than debris. The current NC State Parks trail table lists Cole Mill Trail, Bobbitt Hole Trail, Pea Creek Trail, Cox Mountain Trail and Fanny's Ford Trail as closed. On Holden Mill Trail, the riverside section is closed and the upland section is open.

Radewicz explained to WUNC why Bobbitt Hole can't simply be cleared and reopened. A new trail has to be built "away from the water and out of the flood plain," because the old one is buried. The park also plans to leave the debris piles along its trails. In Radewicz's words, "It will become burrowing areas for animals."

Two more problems affect longer walks. In January 2026, Spectrum News reported that the Middle Laurel Bluffs and Mountains-to-Sea trails were open, but the crossing under the Cole Mill Road bridge was still washed out. The same report said the river ford at Fews Ford had widened enough that park staff vehicles had trouble crossing it, and officials were considering design work to make it passable for regular trucks. The state's trail table now lists the Mountains-to-Sea Trail as open, but no newer public update on the underpass has been posted. Anyone planning a through-hike along the river should treat that crossing as unconfirmed.

The best-known landmark is still closed too. The suspension bridge at Fews Ford remains closed while engineers assess it and prepare an erosion report on the ground around it, according to WUNC.

"There's so many external factors outside of anything I can control, but I would love for this to be open... by the end of the year," Radewicz told WUNC in July.

As of mid-October, no announcement since that interview has said the bridge, Cole Mill Access or the reroutes are back.

Where the Eno is open right now

With Cole Mill and West Point out, here's where things stand on the most recent official listings.

Some of the open trails are short. Cabe Lands is a 1.2-mile loop, Eno Quarry is 0.8 miles and Pump Station is 1.5 miles. For something longer, Buckquarter Creek is a 1.5-mile loop rated moderate, and the Laurel Bluffs sections are listed open at 2.2, 2.5 and 1.4 miles one way.

Two cautions apply. An open trail doesn't guarantee that the riverbank or swimming spots along it are usable, and none of the current listings confirm either. Fews Ford is also listed as only partially open, so a stop at the visitor center is the most reliable way to check current conditions on the day.

October's programs are all at the open access points

The state park's October programs fit the new map. Every event below is at Cabelands or Fews Ford, and none is at the closed entrances.

• Thursday, October 22, 5 to 6:30 p.m. The Eno River Association's fall drop-in hike meets at the Cabelands parking lot, 4950 Howe St.
• Friday, October 23, 4 to 6:30 p.m. "Ghosts and Gristmills of Cabelands" at Cabelands Access. Registration is required.
• Friday, October 30, 6 to 7 p.m. "Sounds of the Night" at the Fews Ford Access and Visitor Center. Registration is required.

After that, the calendar is empty for now. When checked, the state's November 2026 event calendar listed no Eno River State Park programs, and DPR has said there will be no programs at West Point while it's closed. If you want a guided evening on the river this fall, the three dates above are the only ones scheduled.

What could change between now and spring

None of these has a confirmed date. Here's the order in which official sources have suggested they might happen.

1. Fews Ford suspension bridge. The superintendent's stated hope is the end of 2026. The NC State Parks Eno River page is the place to watch for a reopening notice.
2. The Cole Mill Road underpass. It was last reported washed out in January 2026. Until it's repaired, a continuous river walk between the Fews Ford side and the Pump Station side isn't confirmed.
3. Cole Mill Access and the Bobbitt Hole reroute. New trail has to be built out of the floodplain first, and no timeline has been published.
4. West Point on the Eno. The city's notice points to a 2027 reopening with the "timeline pending" label. A 180-day minimum from September 14 puts the earliest possible return in mid-March 2027.
5. The West Point mill. It's outside the current project, and its repair has no plan or date.

Until any of these change, the North Durham Eno runs through Cabelands on Howe Street, Pump Station on Rivermont Road, Penny's Bend off Old Oxford Road and the upland trails at Fews Ford.

When a good weekend outside depends on knowing which gate is open, local knowledge matters. That's how North Carolina Golf Homes approaches Durham's club communities near the Eno, including Croasdaile and the neighborhoods around Hillandale. If you'd like to talk through how daily life near the river and the course fits together this season, Eddie Niemeyer would be glad to help. Begin Your Golf Lifestyle Journey with a free consultation.