Although not in the record books, don’t miss what we call the world’s longest museum, the Roanoke Canal Museum & Trail! Once you enter this museum you will follow the mighty Roanoke River and experience our national, state & local history of transportation, power generation & industrialization via the creation of the Roanoke Navigation Canal.

The Roanoke Canal Museum and Trail is a unique attraction, blending the preservation of the past through the history of the canal with a look at our community’s future and where the canal has brought us with the development of hydroelectric power and industry. One of the best features of the museum is a DVD oral history presentation of local residents telling stories about the canal and the river, how the Roanoke River is truly the lifeblood of our region’s culture. The museum also celebrates nature’s beauty and bounty along the river, including the mighty Striped Bass or Rockfish as locals call them.

In addition to the museum, there is a 7.5-mile nature trail that follows the old navigation canal bed. The Roanoke Canal Trail has recently been designated as a site on the North Carolina Coastal Plains Birding Trail, and the trail, which can be used for hiking and biking, is rich with native wildlife and plants.

Travel around the world in 80 minutes! Discover the world’s largest collection of rare and endangered waterfowl at Sylvan Heights Waterfowl Park in Scotland Neck. Once a private waterfowl breeding facility, Sylvan Heights gives visitors the opportunity to see over 1500 birds, especially ducks, geese & swans, from more than 170 different species, some of the rarest and most endangered in the world like the White-Winged Wood Duck from Sumatra.

Visitors of all ages and interests can walk-through six continentally-themed aviaries, including a multi-national aviary, experiencing the diverse beauty, color and sound of these creatures. Sylvan Heights also features other exotic birds such as crane, parrot, macaw, brush turkey, cockatoo, kookaburra, pheasant & currasow. A brand-new flamingo exhibit has just opened, featuring Chilean and Lesser Flamingoes, many of which were raised on-site. There is a beautiful boardwalk across a natural wetland, and future plans include the construction of a handicapped accessible tree house.

Sylvan Heights offers regularly scheduled educational programming and special events. A gift shop, gallery of wildlife art, playground, camping area and picnic tables are also at your disposal.

There is public access at the Lake Gaston Day Use Area with a fishing pier, boat ramp and public swimming area.

Lake Gaston is well-stocked with game fish, which include striped bass or rock fish, large mouth bass, crappie, sunfish and several varieties of catfish. Other species of fish sometimes caught are walleye, yellow perch and chain pickerel. A valid license for either Virginia or North Carolina permits fishing from a boat in either state. No license is required for those under 15.

www.lakegastonchamber.com