Morrow Mountain State Park will host a reopening event Sunday, May 19, 2-4 p.m., to celebrate the completion of a major construction project that upgraded the park’s vacation cabins, pool house, concession stand, and hiking and bridle trails as well as added new camper cabins and a splash pad.
The main festivities will be set up at the lower picnic shelter area and the Quarry Trailhead parking area. A shuttle to the other areas of the park, including the campground and the summit, will be provided. Visitors can walk through the cabins and bathhouses. The event will also have a snow cone truck and speeches, which will include an update to the Hardaway archaeological site museum project.
“We know that many people are eager for the park to reopen most of its camping facilities as well as the pool, just in time for the summer,” said State Parks Deputy Director of Operations Kathy Capps. “We hope visitors can stop by on Sunday as we host an ‘open house’ showcasing the improvements and additions.”
The renovation of the vacation cabins includes new windows, new bathrooms, new furniture, and new appliances. Eight campsites were also converted to camper cabins that offer two bedrooms but no indoor living, dining, or bathroom areas. Two of the existing bathhouses at the park were renovated and a new bathhouse was also built.
At the pool, the children’s wading pool was replaced with a new splash pad. The pool house, built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s, also got new plumbing, new counters, and a new ventilation fan. The pool area and splash pad will remain closed during the event, as the park is still awaiting a health inspection visit to greenlight the reopening of these facilities.
Another CCC-built structure is the concession stand located at the summit of Morrow Mountain. For decades, the concession stand has not been used, but it was renovated to add electricity and new counters. A new wheelchair-accessible walkway to the summit concession stand has also been built.
Though separate from the Connect NC Bond project, the park also worked on updating and adding to the park’s hiking and bridle trail system. Now at 54 miles open to hiking and 33 miles open to equestrians, the project utilized sustainable trail design to reduce environmental impact and make the trails safer.
The Connect NC Bond project totaled $9.1 million, with funding supplemented by the North Carolina Parks and Recreation Trust Fund and the State Repair and Renovation Fund. The trail project totaled $500,000, with funding from PARTF and the federal Recreational Trails Program grant.
Contributed/Courtesy photo.
