We provided master planning services and worked alongside stream restoration experts, Kris Bass Engineering, to bring Madison River Park to life. The park provides exceptional public access to the Dan River and the project’s dam removal element improves endangered fish habitat.
Park Master Plan
This exciting project involved the removal of the original Lyndsey Bridge Dam, which was replaced with a system of weirs and a series of small waterfalls. This benefited the Roanoke Longperch–a federally endangered fish species native to the Dan River–providing them migratory access to over fifty miles of river upstream from the former dam.
Design
The park’s design created a series of small whitewater rapids perfect for recreational enjoyment and boating. Signs near the parking area detail other river access points along the river and educate visitors about how the park benefits the endangered fish habitat.
Park Logo Design
Our team created a logo for the park centered on the endangered Roanoke Longperch which calls the river home.
Destination by Design led planning and design services for Madison River Park, a whitewater recreation area that opened in May 2021 along a historic stretch of the Dan River in Madison, North Carolina. Working alongside stream restoration experts Kris Bass Engineering, the project removed the original Lyndsey Bridge Dam and replaced it with a system of weirs and small waterfalls, creating recreational rapids while restoring endangered fish habitat.
In North Carolina, recreation master planning and wayfinding come together especially well on river access projects that serve both recreational users and environmental goals. Madison River Park reflects that pairing, with educational kiosk signage near the parking area detailing other river access points while explaining to visitors how the dam removal benefits the endangered Roanoke Longperch, a fish species native to the Dan River.
A river park project can serve recreation and conservation at the same time when the design accounts for both from the start. Madison River Park did exactly that, giving the Roanoke Longperch, a federally endangered species, migratory access to over fifty miles of river upstream from the former dam, while also creating small whitewater rapids ideal for recreational boating for the thousands of visitors the park was expected to draw each year.
Recreation master planning is the process of designing a public recreation site’s layout, access points, and amenities to serve both visitor experience and environmental goals. For Madison River Park, that meant park planning and design paired with a custom park logo centered on the Roanoke Longperch, along with wayfinding and educational signage connecting the park’s recreational rapids to the broader story of the Dan River’s endangered fish habitat.
Madison sits in Rockingham County in north-central North Carolina, along a historic stretch of the Dan River. That river setting made it a strategic location for a whitewater recreation park designed to draw regional visitors while restoring fish passage along one of the county’s most significant waterways.
