The North Carolina Division of Parks and Recreation is seeking ideas for its work in completing a master plan for the long-awaited Mountains-to-Sea State Trail. Under development since the 1970s, the trail promises to be a state treasure of sustainable tourism.
The 1,000-mile trail will link Clingman’s Dome in the Great Smoky Mountains to Jockey’s Ridge State Park on the coast. Nearly two-thirds of the trail is designated for use, with a portion of the “planned” section passing through Lenoir and Craven counties just south of the Pitt County border. The trail offers opportunities for hiking, biking, paddling and horseback riding through some of the state’s most scenic areas.
“As we move toward completion of the Mountains-to-Sea State Trail, it’s important to have a guiding document that will focus our efforts for a project that has captured the public’s imagination since it was proposed in the 1970s,” state parks director Mike Murphy said in a news release. “The master planning process will attract partners and volunteers to the concept, and we’re eager to gather ideas from local governments and citizens.”
The state parks system is spending $120,000 from the N.C. Parks and Recreation Trust Fund to develop the detailed master plan by late this year. The completed plan is to chart a path toward official designation of remaining portions of the trail by setting priorities for completing subsections.
Officials expect the plan to unify regional planning efforts, identify potential new partners and funding strategies, and establish guidelines for signs and publicity.
This year’s push to complete the trail is good news for hikers and other nature lovers as well as for state tourism — particularly in those communities closest to the trail.
In mountain communities that host the Appalachian Trail, hikers routinely trek into towns to pick up mail, supplies, and to find lodging. Having a continuous trail across North Carolina will attract similar traffic and foster development of new tourism business.
Citizens can get involved in the planning effort by visiting the state Division of Parks and Recreation’s website, ncparks.gov. The Mountains-to-Sea State Trail website, ncmountainstosea.org, offers updates on the planning process, with regional stakeholder meetings to begin in the spring.
Such a large trail project is a major undertaking involving many components of state and local governments. Establishing a master plan for completing this effort is the right path, so to speak. May 2015 be the year this worthy goal reaches its destination.
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