South Mountains State Park is one of the largest state parks in North Carolina, but it will be closed indefinitely after Hurricane Helene washed out foot bridges and tore trees down throughout the park on Sept. 27.
Kris Anne Bonifacio, public information officer for NC State Parks, said crews were first sent to the park in mid-October to try to address some of the downed trees throughout the park, but she said the recovery will take time, potentially months.
Floodwaters from Hurricane Helene washed away a foot bridge at South Mountains State Park.
“They get half a mile of trail done in a day … especially with how many trees we’ve got and that sort of thing,†she said.
She said professional crews could be needed because of the size and number of the trees that fell combined with the way they fell. A higher skill set than the basic chainsaw instruction state parks staff have is required, Bonifacio said.
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Engineers need to assess the foot bridges along the trails. Some were washed away by floodwaters, including the bridge that goes above High Shoals Falls. South Mountains is one of North Carolina’s largest state parks, with about 20,000 acres and 54 miles of trails, Bonifacio said.
South Mountains isn’t the only state park expecting a long-term closure. Chimney Rock, Mount Mitchell state parks and Mount Jefferson State Natural Area remain closed.
A drone photo shows trees blown down at South Mountains State Park after Hurricane Helene tore through western North Carolina in September.
Other state parks in western North Carolina have reopened, at least partially, including Lake James State Park, she said.
Plenty of trails are available to hike there, but the Paddy’s Creek picnic tables and swim beach remain underwater. Bonifacio said staff are hopeful they’ll be able to reopen the swim beach this summer once Duke Energy makes repairs to its dam and the lake drops below flood levels.
She said volunteers came out and helped clean up some of the state parks, including Lake James. That likely won’t be an option for South Mountains State Park until professionals tackle some of the hardest work.
Water covers the Paddy’s Creek swim access at Lake James State Park.
Bonifacio said people want to get back in the parks and parks staff want to reopen the parks as soon as possible, but safety is the top priority.
“When something is closed, it’s because it’s unsafe to be there,†she said. “It’s not just that. (There’s) limited access for emergency response, so if you go out and hike in the middle of a closed park and our staff can’t get to you, the response can take longer than necessary.â€
