The Wilderness Gateway State Trail is a unit of the North Carolina state park system in

Burke Burke is an Anglo-Norman Irish surname, deriving from the ancient Anglo-Norman and Hiberno-Norman noble dynasty, the House of Burgh. In Ireland, the descendants of William de Burgh (–1206) had the surname ''de Burgh'' which was gaelicised ...

Catawba Catawba may refer to: *Catawba people, a Native American tribe in the Carolinas *Catawba language, a language in the Catawban languages family *Catawban languages Botany * Catalpa, a genus of trees, based on the name used by the Catawba and other ...

, McDowell and Rutherford Counties,

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. The State Trail is planned as a

hiking trail A trail, also known as a path or track, is an unpaved lane or small road usually passing through a natural area. In the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, a path or footpath is the preferred term for a pedestrian or hiking trail. The ...

connecting the Town of Valdese, the City of Hickory, the

Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail The Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail (OVHT) is part of the U.S. National Trails System, and N.C. State Trail System. It recognizes the Revolutionary War Overmountain Men, Patriots from what is now East Tennessee who crossed the Un ...

South Mountains State Park South Mountains State Park is a North Carolina state park in Burke County, North Carolina in the United States. Located near Connellys Springs, North Carolina, it covers and includes part of the South Mountains, a branch of the Blue Ridge Mou ...

and

Chimney Rock State Park Chimney Rock State Park is a North Carolina state park in Chimney Rock, Rutherford County, North Carolina in the United States. The park is located southeast of Asheville, North Carolina, and is owned and managed by the state of North Carolin ...

The trail is a collaboration between local governments and the state, with development coordinated by the

North Carolina Division of Parks and Recreation The State of North Carolina has a group of protected areas known as the North Carolina State Park System, which is managed by the North Carolina Division of Parks and Recreation (NCDPR), an agency of the North Carolina Department of Natural and C ...

(NCDPR).

History

The trail started out of interest in creating a state park along the Jacob Fork River and Henry Fork River in Catawba County. On May 17, 2018,

State Senator A state senator is a member of a state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. Description A state senator is a member of an upper house in the bicameral legislatures of 49 U ...

Andy Wells introduced a bill in the

North Carolina General Assembly The North Carolina General Assembly is the Bicameralism, bicameral legislature of the Government of North Carolina, State government of North Carolina. The legislature consists of two chambers: the North Carolina Senate, Senate and the North Ca ...

to create a ''Jacob Fork State Natural Area'' in Catawba County. The bill failed to pass, but support for the concept grew. Over the Fall of 2018, Catawba County, the City of Hickory, City of Newton, and the Town of Long View adopted resolutions in support of a state park along the rivers. Hickory owned of undeveloped land along Jacob Fork, with access to

US 321 U.S. Route 321 (US 321) is a spur of U.S. Route 21. It runs for from Hardeeville, South Carolina to Lenoir City, Tennessee; with both serving as southern termini. It reaches its northernmost point at Elizabethton, Tennessee. Because o ...

, which the city originally acquired for a never realized economic development project in the 1990s. In early 2019, the city donated the property to the

Foothills Conservancy of North Carolina Foothills or piedmont are geographically defined as gradual increases in elevation at the base of a mountain range, higher hill range or an upland area. They are a transition zone between plains and low relief hills and the adjacent topograp ...

to help establish the state park. Foothills Conservancy of North Carolina used the matching value of the city's donation to help them acquire of adjoining land along the river in April that year. The conservancy intends on holding onto the properties until NCDPR is able to acquire them. While the Foothills Conservancy of North Carolina was acquiring land for the state park system, another bill was introduced in the General Assembly to establish the Wilderness Gateway State Trail. Since the

headwaters The headwaters of a river or stream is the farthest place in that river or stream from its estuary or downstream confluence with another river, as measured along the course of the river. It is also known as a river's source. Definition The ...

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. The bill included a directive for NCDPR to study feasible routes for the trail, while also considering ways to improve access from

Interstate 40 Interstate 40 (I-40) is a major east–west Interstate Highway running through the south-central portion of the United States. At a length of , it is the third-longest Interstate Highway in the country, after I-90 and I-80. From west to ea ...

to South Mountains State Park. It requires NCDPR to report on its findings by December 1, 2019. The bill was signed into law on June 3, 2019. In September 2020, Foothills Conservancy of North Carolina received a $1.2 million North Carolina Land and Water Fund Grant to acquire 1,126 acres in McDowell County for the trail.

References

External links

*
Wilderness Gateway State Trail Study
{{authority control State parks of North Carolina Protected areas of Burke County, North Carolina Protected areas of Catawba County, North Carolina Protected areas established in 2019 Hiking trails in North Carolina 2019 establishments in North Carolina