New Asheville area hiking, mountain bike trails? Conservation group trying to convert camp
A conservation group and other activists are looking to create a new public park in Fairview with hiking and biking trails.
The effort to buy the former Camp Woodson east of Fairview and convert it to a public park has gotten a boost from the state with a $200,000 development grant formally accepted by the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners April 16.
The money will be passed on to the nonprofit Conserving Carolina, which has been working to acquire the approximately 250 acres for more than $1 million from the Presbytery of Asheville since the camp was last used more than a decade ago, Conserving Carolina Director Kieran Roe said April 22.
"This $200,000 that came ultimately from the state through Buncombe County will help us design and construct a trailhead, parking and an initial set of trails for hiking and mountain biking," he said.
Spearheading the long-term push to create the park is Jason McDougald, a former employee of Camp Woodson and current director of Camp Grier in Old Fort.
Camp Woodson last operated as a state supported program for adjudicated youth and closed in 2011. Located off Camp Woodson Road, it has a lake and other camp infrastructure.
McDougald said the property has a "high conservation value due to its location on the Eastern Continental Divide, its south facing aspect, and its abundance of creeks and streams."
"Camp Grier has been working in partnership with Conserving Carolina for over a decade to place the property under a conservation easement that would protect the natural assets while also providing a benefit to the community of Fairview and the youth of Buncombe County," he said.
Conserving Carolina will hold title to 220 acres of property that will be used as a community forest with approximately 11 miles of beginner and intermediate hiking and biking trails open to the public.
Camp Grier has applied for a county Open Space Bond grant that, if funded, would pay for construction of the trails that would be similar to the Gateway Trails in Old Fort that Camp Grier's G5 Trail Collective opened in 2022, McDougald said. Trails would have "green" and "blue" levels of difficulty designed for children, families, and beginner riders, hikers and trail runners. He noted they would be the only mountain bike trials in the southeast of the county. Now most residents must drive to Bent Creek or Old Fort to ride similar trails.
While G5 would play a supportive role in construction, the main work would be done by staff of the Worx Project Campus. They would be based on 30 central acres whose title would be held by Camp Grier, he said.
"The Worx Project will be a career connected learning program for Buncombe County (Schools) and Asheville City (Schools) students during out-of-school times," he said.
The next steps include buying the property, which could require more fund raising, he said. Federal and state money will cover more than half the cost. Of the other funders, they are asking for various conditions, such as permanent conservation.
"We're jumping all of the various hurdles required to get ourselves to a closing on the purchase, which we're hoping will occur this year," he said. "Some of this is out of our control because we were waiting on either the state or federal funders to give us a green light."
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Joel Burgess has lived in WNC for more than 20 years, covering politics, government and other news. He's written award-winning stories on topics ranging from gerrymandering to police use of force. Got a tip? Contact Burgess at [email protected], 828-713-1095 or on Twitter @AVLreporter. Please help support this type of journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: New Asheville area hiking, mountain bike trails? Former Fairview camp
