Wilderness Gateway Trail | |
---|---|
Length | 0 miles (0 km) |
Location | North Carolina, United States |
Established | 2019[1] |
Designation | State Trail (North Carolina)[1] |
Use | Hiking |
Season | Year-round |
Surface | Natural |
Maintained by | North Carolina Division of Parks and Recreation |
The Wilderness Gateway State Trail is a unit of the North Carolina state park systeminBurke and Catawba Counties, North Carolina in the United States. The State Trail is planned as a hiking trail connecting the Town of Valdese, the City of Hickory, the Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail and South Mountains State Park.[1]. The trail is a collaboration between local governments and the state, with development coordinated by the North Carolina Division of Parks and Recreation (NCDPR).
The trail started out of interest in creating a state park along the Jacob Fork River and Henry Fork River in Catawba County.[2] On May 17, 2018, State Senator Andy Wells introduced a bill in the North Carolina General Assembly to create a Jacob Fork State Natural Area in Catawba County.[3] The bill failed to pass, but support for the concept grew. Over the Fall of 2018, Catawba County[4], the City of Hickory[5], City of Newton[6], and the Town of Long View adopted resolutions in support of a state park along the rivers.[7][8][9]
Hickory owned 160 acres (65 ha)[8] of undeveloped land along Jacob Fork, with access to US 321, which the city originally acquired for a never realized economic development project in the 1990s.[10] In early 2019, the city donated the property to the Foothills Conservancy to help establish the state park.[11][10] The Foothills Conservancy used the matching value of the city's donation to help them acquire 188 acres (76 ha) of adjoining land along the river in April that year.[12][13][14][11][10] The conservancy intends on holding onto the properties until NCDPR is able to acquire them.[12][13][14]
While the Foothills Conservancy was acquiring land for the state park system, another bill was introduced in the General Assembly to establish the Wilderness Gateway State Trail.[15][13] Since the headwaters of Jacob Fork and Henry Fork are in South Mountains State Park, legislators reasoned authorizing a state trail along them would improve public access to the existing state park, while simultaneously permitting the NCDPR to acquire land along the rivers in Catawba County.[15][13][9][16] The bill included a directive for NCDPR to study feasible routes for the trail, while also considering ways to improve access from Interstate 40 to South Mountains State Park.[16][1] It requires NCDPR to report on its findings by December 1, 2019.[1] The bill was signed into law on June 3rd, 2019.[1][17][9]
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