WNCOutdoors.info Blog

We’ve added the Jackrabbit Mountain trailhead to both MTBikeWNC and HikeWNC. Although the trail system was designed with mountain biking in mind, it’s a pleasant place to hike as well, being close to the campground and lake. For mountain bikers, though, the experience here couldn’t be better. Purpose-built for mountain bikes as a “stacked loop” trail system, an easy, central loop (with that name) leads you to junctions with other loops that are harder as they reach out toward the lakeshore.

Overall, none of the trails here are terribly difficult – but there are some areas which require a bit more technical skill and effort to climb. For the most part, these are the kind of fast, flowing, and smooth trails you’d expect for a lakeshore trail system – similar to Tsali or the W. Kerr Scott trail system. And there’s a nice picnic area at the trailhead parking by the lakeshore to round out your trip.

It’s been nearly a year since we attended the grand opening and we wish we could’ve gotten the info out sooner. But for your patience, along with the trail info, we have full GPS maps of all the trails for you to download. Enjoy!

Jackrabbit Mountain Trailhead on MTB WNC
Jackrabbit Mountain Trailhead on HikeWNC

We’ve published a change to the GPS maps, which enables tool tips as you hover over trails and markers. It’s hard to label trails on a dynamic map like you would on a printed one, so we feel like this is a good alternative. Click the highlighted trail to open a window with all the trail details, and download it to your computer or GPS.

We hope you like it, and let us know what other things you’d like to see improved as we continue to build the new maps!

An example hovering over the Camp Alice trail,
in Mt. Mitchell State Park.

On Thursday, January 19, I attended the Trails Strategy Workshop with the National Forests in North Carolina in Mars Hill. Overall, the event was very encouraging and informative. Thanks to Alice Cohen, Trails Strategy Coordinator; Diane Rubiaco, Acting Supervisor; Michael Hutchins, Acting Appalachian District Ranger; Erik Crews; Dispersed Recreation Program Manager; and all the others with National Forest in North Carolina for working late to give us the opportunity to be heard. This is a huge deal, and it’s obvious that the Forest Service is coming around to the idea of getting plenty of input before making big, long-lasting decisions that affect our trails.

It’s great to see the land managers reaching out for public involvement in this way, and they did a great job of bringing everyone onto the same page in understanding what they’re trying to do. Throughout the various sessions in the workshop, they were able to demonstrate what common goals disparate trail user groups all have when it comes to trail system planning. They also quashed the inevitable suspicion that the Forest Service is out to just close as many trails as they possibly can (it was repeatedly emphasized that this was not the case).  There were over 40 people in attendance by my count, representing a variety of groups such as the Carolina Mountain Club (hikers), Pisgah SORBA (mountain bikers), equestrians, private camps, eco-tourism outfits, and many more. They also did a good job outlining the next steps going forward

The upcoming Working Meetings take place from February to September and will focus more on the specifics of what needs to happen in the trail system. Their stated outcomes include pursuing sustainability; establishing links, connectors, and loops; realistically prioritizing maintenance; coming up with criteria for consideration of future trail system change requests by the public; increasing volunteer contributions and efficiency in the face of dwindling budgets; and monitoring progress in implementing the plan. Although the meetings are open to the public, the Forest Service has asked organizations to send one representative each to keep the groups at a reasonable size, which seems like a good idea given how energized people get about this topic (as they should).

So although I’m not with any established group of the kind mentioned above, what I’d like to do is ask to be a representative for WNCOutdoors.info and its users. I know a lot of our visitors are those who live in the area but perhaps aren’t affiliated with any particular group or can’t attend meetings, and also those who visit from outside the immediate area but have a stake in the future of the trails system here. Please send me email, leave comments on the blog or our Facebook or Google+ pages, tweet to us on Twitter - just send us your input as to what you’d like to see happen to the trails in the National Forests in NC! I’ll try to bring those considerations to the table and ensure that every angle is explored as this important strategy is developed.

Likewise, I look forward to sharing more information back with everyone about what we learn might come out of this. I’ll also be encouraging the Forest Service to continue to be transparent and consistent in disseminating official information (such as potential new trails, change of trail designations, trail closures, and trail map data) as quickly as possible. They’ve been doing a great job at this so far, especially with their new web site (and the Trail Strategy Page), but we want to ensure that this continues so we can pass the information along to you in a way that matters most: boiled down to just the information you need to plan your next hike or ride!

There was a great article in the Smoky Mountain News Wednesday about the Forest Service non-motorized trails planning project. A couple of the public input workshops have already been held; I plan on attending the one in Mars Hill this Thursday evening (Jan. 19, in the Peterson Conference Room, Mars Hill College). Regardless of the outcome of the project, it appears some changes to the National Forest trail system may be upcoming – however, it also looks like the end result could be largely influenced by public input, which is great.

Whatever happens on the ground, our input to the Forest Service will be to encourage rapid and accurate dissemination of information (such as changed trail designations, trail closures, or upcoming trail work) so we can in turn keep you informed. They’re doing a much better job of this in recent years (especially on their new web site), so I think it’ll be much easier to stay informed through this round of changes.

See you at the meeting Thursday!

Happy New Year! Just in time to ring in 2012, we’ve added some new maps in the Mount Mitchell area, including a general map of the whole park and surrounding trails,  and a map each covering the Camp Alice/Commissary, Old Mitchell Trail, and Mount Mitchell Best Hikes. Each contains downloadable layers for display in your GPS or Google Earth.

Right now, Mount Mitchell State Park isn’t reachable by car due to road closures on the Blue Ridge Parkway. But the park is still accessible via the Mount Mitchell Best Hike which leads all the way to the peak from the lower elevations where the roads are open. It’s a strenuous trek, and be prepared for some cold, snow, and ice on the trail. But if you’re looking for a more wilderness-like hike and a secluded experience on the highest summit in the Appalachians without throngs of summer tourists, this is the time of year to do it!