Lakes James, South Mountains state park closures likely to be lengthy

“We have no date set for reopening,” said Lakes James Superintendent Nora Coffey in a telephone interview on Wednesday afternoon. “But it is very unlikely that it will be in November.”

Coffey’s words were echoed by those of Amanda Lasley, superintendent at South Mountains. “We have no timeline for reopening,” she said. “Right now, our closure is indefinite.”

All state parks west of I-77 have been closed since the advent of Helene and the state has said none of them will reopen before Nov. 1. For Burke County’s two parks, however, closure will likely continue much longer.

South Mountains State Park, at nearly 21,000 acres, is the largest park in the North Carolina system. Contained within that vast forested area are nearly 50 miles of hiking, biking, and horse trails.

The size of the park and the ruggedness of most of its terrain make a quick and easy opening an impossibility, Lasley said.

“We have lots of trail damage, lots of trees down, and damage to our trail bridges,” Lasley said. “It’s going to take time and it’s going to take resources. We’re in line, along with everyone else, but it will take a while.”

Lasley did report that the N.C. Department of Transportation bridges on the access road into the park are still standing, but they have not yet been examined by the DOT for structural damage.

For now, Lasley is asking the public to respect the park’s closure at both the main access off N.C. 18 and at the Clear Creek Access off U.S. 64 south of Morganton.

“There’s a lot of brush, there’s a lot of debris, it’s simply not safe for people to come in here,” she said. “We are fortunate in that none of our staff has been injured and they are all safe.”

THE LAKE JAMES SITUATION

Lake James State Park, which lies partially in McDowell County, is best known for its summer beach area, fishing piers, and boating access docks. The park also contains nearly 40 miles of hiking and biking trails.

The Fonta Flora State Trail also runs into the park from an access area near the Linville River, traversing nearly 7 miles of forested shoreline and backcountry before emerging near the park’s visitor center which opened in the spring of 2023.

The visitor center was unscathed by the storm, Coffey reported, as was the bridge behind the visitor center which links the park to the Fonta Flora Trail.

Other parts of the park were not so lucky.

“We have a lot of downed trees and a lot of storm damage on our trails,” Coffey said. “Some sections are so bad that we’re going to have to do permanent re-routes.”

Five of the six docks and piers in the park are heavily damaged, Coffey reported, and the small picnic area adjacent to the swimming beach in the Paddy’s Creek section of the park was basically destroyed.

Like Lasley, Coffey asked the public to respect the integrity of the park and not attempt to come inside its boundaries until it officially reopens.

“We are short-staffed,” she said. “We have so much to do that we simply ask everyone, both for their safety and the safety of the park staff, not to come in until we’re officially reopened.”

Hanging Rock State Park in the Sauratown Mountains north of Winston-Salem, and Morrow Mountain State Park in the Uwharrie Mountains northeast of Charlotte, are two parks that replicate, on a smaller scale, the mountainous terrain of western North Carolina.