Seaforth is the swimming access at Jordan Lake State Recreation Area, sitting on a peninsula on the south side of US 64 in Chatham County, about 26 miles west of downtown Raleigh and roughly eight miles east of Pittsboro. North Carolina State Parks operates the recreation area on the B. Everett Jordan Reservoir, a 14,000 acre lake built and still owned by the US Army Corps of Engineers. Seaforth is one of several separate accesses on this lake and it is not interchangeable with Ebenezer Church, Parkers Creek, Vista Point, Crosswinds or Poplar Point. Each of those has its own gate, its own entrance road and its own beach, so directions or conditions reported for one will not get you to another.

The swim beach at Seaforth is sand, runs roughly north to south along the shore of the peninsula, and is a short walk from the parking lots rather than a hike. The official park map for the Seaforth Day-Use Area shows two beach segments, a marked swimming area, a boat ramp, a park office, restrooms, a playground, picnic areas and a picnic shelter. OpenStreetMap records the same layout and adds sand volleyball courts and a drinking fountain between the lot and the water. The Seaforth Pond Trail, an easy 1.4 mile loop, runs back through woods behind the beach and is the only hiking trail at this access. There is no campground here. Camping on Jordan Lake is at other access areas.

North Carolina State Parks collects a day use entrance fee at the Seaforth gate, charged per vehicle. It is $10, or $5 for drivers 62 and older, veterans and active duty military showing ID, and $20 for a bus. The amount does not change with the day of the week, but whether you pay does. The fee is collected on weekends and holidays in April, May and September, and every day from Memorial Day through Labor Day. Outside those windows the day-use gate is free. A seasonal parking pass covering Jordan, Falls and Kerr lakes runs $60, rising to $70 for 2026 passes. Gate hours shift by month, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. in midwinter out to 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. from May through August, and gates lock at closing.

The live condition worth checking before you drive out is the algae. Jordan Lake is a nutrient-impaired reservoir whose summer algal community is dominated by cyanobacteria, and state researchers have measured microcystin, anatoxin-a and cylindrospermopsin in its water. In late June 2022 dogs became sick and some died after swimming near the Farrington boat launch, and the Department of Environmental Quality found blooms at roughly half a dozen monitoring sites around the lake and told the public to avoid green or discolored water. DEQ repeated that guidance ahead of the 2026 season. Seaforth Beach itself is sampled weekly from early May into early September. No bloom advisory was posted for Seaforth as of late September 2026, but conditions here turn within days in hot, still weather, so check the DEQ Fish Kill and Algal Bloom Dashboard the morning you go and skip the swim if the water at the beach looks bright green, blue or scummy.

No lifeguard is posted at the Seaforth swim area. State Parks describes the beach as accessible and keeps loaner life jackets at the water, but swimming is unsupervised and rangers patrol rather than guard. This is a nutrient-rich reservoir, so the water is generally murky rather than clear and underwater visibility is poor.