The City of Asheville has partnered with MountainTrue to assist the Falconhurst neighborhood in building natural surface trails within the Falconhurst Nature Preserve.
The Falconhurst Nature Preserve is a 7.9 acre parcel of land adjacent to Tanglewood Drive that was deeded to the City of Asheville in 2012 as a conservation easement from the Conservation Trust of NC. The deed restrictions on this conservation easement clearly state that the land must remain undeveloped with very few exceptions. However, natural surface trails are one improvement that is allowed within the agreement.
The trail system will be a couple of loop trails that meander throughout the property. The trails would be constructed and maintained at no expense to the City.
The City of Asheville was granted a public access easement from the developers of the Craggy Park subdivision that allows public access into the otherwise landlocked Falconhurst Nature Preserve.
The nonprofit organization MountainTrue has been working with the City of Asheville and residents of the Falconhurst neighborhood on a trail system within the property. “We are excited to give people the opportunity to explore this hidden gem in West Asheville,” said Chris Joyell, director of the Asheville Design Center, a program of MountainTrue. “Our neighborhood volunteers will prepare the trails this winter, and we encourage folks to hike the trails next spring.”
The City of Asheville will be working on a framework for natural surface trails throughout Asheville during the Greenway Master Plan. The goal will be to identify opportunities to have other neighborhood trails throughout the City.
The Asheville Design Center (ADC) engages Western North Carolina in creative community-based design to promote healthy, thriving and equitable communities. ADC recruits volunteer professionals to work with communities to develop design solutions that enhance our quality of life. ADC is a program of MountainTrue, a nonprofit that champions clean waters, resilient forests and healthy communities in Western North Carolina.
For more information, contact Asheville Greenways Program Planner Lucy Crown at LCrown@ashevillenc.gov or 828-259-5805 or Asheville Design Center Director Chris Joyell at chris@ashevilledesigncenter.org or 828-782-7894.
