Crowder's Mountain State Park is getting $2 million for improvements.
NC giving Charlotte-area state park $2M for improvements
by: Matthew Memrick
RALEIGH, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — Crowder's Mountain State Park is getting $2 million for improvements.
Last week, the North Carolina Parks and Recreation Authority, which oversees the Parks and Recreation Trust Fund (PARTF), recently approved $13.7 million to fund 11 capital improvement projects for North Carolina state parks, according to N.C. Division of Parks and Recreation officials. The group approved the investments at its first quarterly meeting last week.
Climber falls 70 feet while taking photos at Crowder's Mountain, fire officials say
"These much-needed park improvement projects will bring several of our state parks facilities at some of our most visited parks up to modern standards to improve our visitors' experiences in the parks," said N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources Secretary D. Reid Wilson. "We remain grateful to the General Assembly and Governor Roy Cooper for providing significantly increased investments in the Parks and Recreation Trust Fund over the last two years, a clear recognition of the importance of our state parks to the people and economy of North Carolina."
The millions the park will get will go toward overlook and trail improvements.
Photo credit Crowders Mountain Facebook Page
"Due to the overwhelming visitation in the past several years, Crowders has experienced severe erosion, trampling of natural resources, especially on trails to overlooks and overlooks," NC Department of Department of Natural and Cultural Resources public information officer Katie Hill said. "The funds approved for the overlooks and trails will address some of these issues."
Hill added that the state park would hire a design team to determine the best fixes for those issues. Some of the trails came before the area was a state park.
"These sections are not sustainable or were otherwise poorly designed for high use," Hill said. "Rerouting some of these sections will reduce damage to natural resources, reduce erosion, and reduce off-trail steps."
Hill also said the reroutes will need to be designed and there is no completion date.
The park is over 5,200 acres in western Gaston County, with three hiking trails and one vehicle access trail. On clear days, hikers can see Charlotte from its summit. There's also two hiking trails that lead to the pinnacle and four additional trails.
Camper Found! Man finds camper stolen from Camping World in Gastonia
North Carolina State Parks manages more than 258,000 acres of iconic landscape within North Carolina's state parks, state recreation areas, and state natural areas. It administers the N.C Parks and Recreation Trust Fund, including its local grants program, a state trails program, North Carolina Natural and Scenic Rivers, and more, all with a mission dedicated to conservation, recreation, and education. The state parks system welcomes more than 22.7 million visitors annually.
Memphis PD chief was Durham's PD chief: What we know
Best nontraditional Valentine's Day gifts
DePape says 'You're welcome' for attack on Pelosi
FOLLOW QCN ON TWITTER
Tweets by Queen_City_News
Driver pleads guilty, no prison time after deadly …
Body found in Burke Co. that of missing man: sheriff
'Heartbreak': Baby found dead next to railroad tracks
Woman wrongly arrested in NC drive-by shooting case
Law firm representing Wilks responds to Reich hiring