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 |
Website | Wilderness Gateway State Trail |
The Wilderness Gateway State Trail is a unit of the North Carolina state park system in Burke, Catawba, McDowell and Rutherford 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, South Mountains State Park and Chimney Rock 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 of North Carolina to help establish the state park. [11] [10] Foothills Conservancy of North Carolina 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 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. [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 3, 2019. [1] [17] [9]
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.
McDowell County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 44,578. Its county seat is Marion.
Gaston County is a county in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 227,943. The county seat is Gastonia. Dallas served as the original county seat from 1846 until 1911.
Catawba County is a county in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 160,610. Its county seat is Newton, and its largest community is Hickory.
Burke County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, its population was 87,570. Its county seat is Morganton.
Valdese is a town in Burke County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 4,689 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton Metropolitan Statistical Area. One of the largest Waldensian congregations in the United States was founded in the town in the late nineteenth century, now known as the Waldensian Presbyterian Church. The town was settled by immigrants from the Cottian Alps in the Piedmont region of Italy.
Hickory is a city in North Carolina primarily located in Catawba County and is the 25th most populous city in North Carolina. It is located approximately 60 miles (97 km) northwest of Charlotte. Hickory's population in the 2022 United States Census Bureau estimate was 44,084. Hickory is the main city of the Hickory–Lenoir–Morganton Metropolitan Statistical Area, which had a population of 368,347 in the 2022 census.
The Catawba River is a major river located in the Southeastern United States. It originates in Western North Carolina and flows into South Carolina, where it later becomes known as the Wateree River. The river is approximately 220 miles (350 km) long. It rises in the Appalachian Mountains and drains into the Piedmont, where it has been impounded through a series of reservoirs for flood control and generation of hydroelectricity. The river is named after the Catawba tribe of Native Americans, which lives on its banks. In their language, they call themselves "yeh is-WAH h’reh", meaning "people of the river."
Western North Carolina is the region of North Carolina which includes the Appalachian Mountains; it is often known geographically as the state's Mountain Region. It contains the highest mountains in the Eastern United States, with 125 peaks rising to over 5,000 feet in elevation. Mount Mitchell at 6,684 feet, is the highest peak of the Appalachian Mountains and mainland eastern North America. The population of the 23 most commonly associated counties for the region, as measured by the 2020 U.S. Census, is 1,149,405. The region accounts for approximately 11% of North Carolina's total population.
North Carolina Highway 10 (NC 10) is a primary state highway in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Originally established as the state's central highway, from Murphy to Beaufort, it now serves to connect the city of Newton with the nearby communities and towns in the foothills region.
The Great Indian Warpath (GIW)—also known as the Great Indian War and Trading Path, or the Seneca Trail—was that part of the network of trails in eastern North America developed and used by Native Americans which ran through the Great Appalachian Valley. The system of footpaths extended from what is now upper New York to deep within Alabama. Various Native peoples traded and made war along the trails, including the Catawba, numerous Algonquian tribes, the Cherokee, and the Iroquois Confederacy. The British traders' name for the route was derived from combining its name among the northeastern Algonquian tribes, Mishimayagat or "Great Trail", with that of the Shawnee and Delaware, Athawominee or "Path where they go armed".
The South Fork Catawba River begins south of Hickory, North Carolina just northwest of the intersection of US Highway 321 and North Carolina Highway 10, at the confluence of the Henry Fork and Jacob Fork located adjacent to the east side of the Jacob Fork Newton City Park. The South Fork Catawba River travels 48.5 miles, passing along the communities of Lincolnton, High Shoals, McAdenville, and Cramerton, to Lake Wylie where its now submerged confluence with the Catawba River lies near the North Carolina and South Carolina border.
The South Mountains are an ancient and deeply eroded mountain range in western North Carolina. They are an isolated remnant of the much larger Appalachian Mountains to the west, and are separated from the Appalachians by the Catawba River valley. The range covers approximately 100,000 acres (400 km²) in Burke, Cleveland, McDowell and Rutherford counties. The South Mountains are the highest and most rugged chain of the isolated mountain ranges which dot North Carolina's Piedmont region. The highest point in the range is Icy knob which rises to 3,000 feet above sea level. The South Mountains are heavily forested with Southeastern mixed forests. Water erosion from numerous rivers and streams has given the mountains narrow ridges and valleys.
Lake James is a large reservoir in the mountains of Western North Carolina which straddles the border between Burke and McDowell Counties. It is named for tobacco tycoon and benefactor of Duke University James Buchanan Duke. The lake, with surface elevation of 1200 ft, lies behind a series of 4 earthen dams. It was created by Duke Power between 1916 and 1923 as a hydro-electric project. It still generates power today and is the uppermost lake on the Catawba River system.
The Hickory–Lenoir–Morganton, NC Metropolitan Statistical Area, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, is an area consisting of four counties, Catawba, Burke, Caldwell, Alexander. It is located in the Catawba Valley region of western North Carolina. Local residents often refer to the area as The Unifour, although this name is largely unknown outside of the region.
Mayo River State Park is a North Carolina state park in Rockingham County, North Carolina in the United States. It covers 2,778-acre (11.24 km2) along the Mayo River, and it adjoins a Virginia State Park of the same name. North Carolina's park is near Mayodan, North Carolina. The park is one of the newest in the North Carolina system, having been authorized by the General Assembly in May 2003.
Catawba Falls is a series of waterfalls on the headwaters of the Catawba River, in McDowell County, near Old Fort, North Carolina.
The Charlotte metropolitan area, sometimes referred to as Metrolina, is a metropolitan area of the U.S. states of North and South Carolina, containing the city of Charlotte. The metropolitan area also includes the cities of Gastonia, Concord, Huntersville, and Rock Hill as well as the large suburban area in the counties surrounding Mecklenburg County, which is at the center of the metro area. Located in the Piedmont, it is the largest metropolitan area in the Carolinas, and the fourth largest in the Southeastern United States. The Charlotte metropolitan area is one of the fastest growing metropolitan areas in the United States.
The Fonta Flora State Trail is a unit of the North Carolina state park system in Buncombe, McDowell, and Burke Counties, North Carolina, in the United States, and it consists of 90 acres (36 ha) of conservation land and 19 miles (31 km) designated multi-use trail. The State Trail is planned as a continuous route for hikers and cyclists from Asheville to Morganton, with a loop around Lake James. The trail is a collaboration between local governments, local land conservancies the US Forest Service, and the state, with development coordinated by the North Carolina Division of Parks and Recreation (NCDPR).
Hickory Nut Gorge State Trail is a unit of the North Carolina state park system in Rutherford, Buncombe, and Henderson Counties, North Carolina in the United States. The State Trail is planned as a continuous loop for hikers around Hickory Nut Gorge. The trail is a collaboration between Conserving Carolina, a regional conservation organization, and the state, with development coordinated by the North Carolina Division of Parks and Recreation (NCDPR) and Conserving Carolina.
Mayo River State Park is a state park of Virginia located in Henry County, along the North and South Forks of the Mayo River. The entrance to the park is located in Spencer. The park is located along the Virginia-North Carolina state line, and it is adjacent to a similarly named park in North Carolina.