I’d been exploring the park for about three years before I learned the history behind the park’s two sides, my Reedy Creek side and the Crabtree Creek side off of Glenwood Avenue. Umstead, it turned out, had been two separate state parks: Crabtree Creek Recreation Area and Reedy Creek State Park, the latter formed in 1950 with 1,000 acres as a separate park for African-Americans. 

1950 was also the year that the first state park facility in Virginia opened for African-Americans. In 1948, Maceo Conrad Martin, of Danville, Va., tried to enter nearby Staunton River State Park, one of seven state parks in Virginia at the time, and was denied entry because of the color of his skin. He took the Virginia Department of Conservation and Development to court, arguing that state parks weren’t abiding by the law of the day by providing “separate but equal” facilities for African-Americans. That lead to the opening of Prince Edward State Park for Negroes in Prince Edward County. That park also had a white counterpart: Goodwin Lake Recreational Area.

(South Carolina was a bit ahead of its time. According to the South Carolina State Parks website, “As early as 1938, African American leaders worked to secure access to state parks. Their efforts resulted in the establishment of separate recreation areas for black citizens. These included portions of Lake Greenwood, Hunting Island and Huntington Beach state parks. The system also included segregated African American parks at Pleasant Ridge, Campbell’s Pond and Mill Creek.)

Efforts continued through the 1950s to create more facilities open to all. A second suit was brought in Virginia in 1951 by a group of African Americans denied entry to what was then Seashore State Park (now First Landing) in Virginia Beach. Those plaintiffs sought a continuance, however, based on the potential implications of a lawsuit rising through the courts, Brown vs. Board of Education. When the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on May 17, 1954, that segregation of pubic schools was unconstitutional, the implications were clear: segregation of any public facilities was unconstitutional. Including state parks.

Despite the ruling, public institutions continued to fight integration. Rather than integrate, the Prince Edward County Schools simply shut their doors for several years. The Virginia Department of Conservation and Development considered doing likewise, or to lease their parks to private contractors who might be exempt from the ruling. The situation didn’t begin to change significantly until passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin (and eventually, sexual orientation and gender identity). In Virginia, Prince Edward State Park for Negroes and Goodwin Lake Recreational Area were merged, and in 1976 became Twin Lakes State Park. In Raleigh, in 1966, Reedy Creek and Crabtree Creek were merged and became William B. Umstead State Park (named for a conservation-minded former governor).

This bit of history has a particular resonance today. Our state parks have played a particularly vital role in helping us stay safe and healthy: in North Carolina, a record 19.8 million people visited the state’s 41 state parks and recreation areas in pandemic-plagued 2020, and other public land managers report record attendance as well. In a year when the outdoors has been a safe refuge for so many, it’s hard to imagine being denied that escape based on the color of your skin. 

At least, it should be hard to imagine.

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Learn more on the GetHiking! Southeast Podcast

This week on the GetHiking! Southeast Podcast we talk about the desegregation of Virginia State Parks with both Melissa Baker, Director of Virginia State Parks, and Veronica Flick, a Virginia State Parks manager who until recently was at Twin Lakes State Park. Give a listen here.

The post Before State Parks were open to all appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

We just got back from a week-long trip and it was killer. We covered 73 miles on foot, averaging 10.4 miles per day. According to my Fitbit, we climbed 369 floors, or about 53 floors a day (for perspective, that’s just a few floors shy of the Bank of America Center in Charlotte). As outdoor adventures go, it was physically challenging: that New York City can really wear you out.

When we decided to spend a week in New York, my main goal (among many) was to visit Central Park. A half mile wide and two-and-a-half miles long, this 843-acre urban park is testament to what good city planning early on can accomplish. According to the Central Park Conservancy, which manages the park, about 38 million people visit the park each year, or, on average, 104,000 people every day. 

When it was conceived in the 1840s, Central Park was seen as a way for New Yorkers to escape the crush of urban life. One of the key features of the Greensward Plan eventually chosen for the park was that it effectively shielded park-goers from the city that lay beyond its borders. (Ironically, this massive clearing is now one of the best spots to view the towering midtown Manhattan skyline.)

But, as I quickly discovered, it’s not just Central Park. That early success spawned a commitment to parks and their restorative powers: today, New York City has more than 1,700 parks across its five boroughs. In Manhattan, it seems, you can’t walk more than three blocks without hitting a park. Some are small pocket parks only big enough for a playground. Some are big enough to accommodate a game of touch football or Frisbee. In Central Park, you can train for a marathon. We wound up plotting our routes between main attractions — the New York Public Library, Grand Central Station, Greenwich Village, among others — by how many parks we could walk through along the way. 

What helped us rack up our miles was being able to go carless. Every morning I walked a mile through our Brooklyn neighborhood to get coffee at a Russian market, then meander my way back. New York’s incredible public transit system took us close to everywhere we wanted to go: take a train to downtown Manhattan, walk five or six miles, take the train back. 

And those 53 floors a day? Mostly from descending or ascending to catch a train. (And extra credit on our travel days, when we had about 60 pounds of luggage in tow.) Those trains and the buses, especially at rush hour, provide one of the best core workouts imaginable: you’re standing, the train is swaying and bucking at 30 mph — you better believe your core gets a workout. And, when our New York City days came to an end, we were rewarded with the best night’s sleep you can imagine.

When we returned in today’s wee hours after our 7-day NYC adventure I was spent. And I was glad to have a looming weekend to recover: just 21 miles backpacking the coast’s Neusiok Trail — with nary a stair or a hill in sight.

The post NYC: One Rewarding Adventure appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

Tuesday, North Carolina voters go to the polls to vote on, among other things, a sweeping $2 billion bond package. About $75 million of  Connect NC would go to North Carolina’s State Parks.

Today on the Great Outdoor Provision Co. blog we give an overview of that funding and talk to former State Parks Director Lewis Ledford for his take on how the funding would continue a job started in 1993 by a watershed $35 million State Parks bond package. You can find that story here.

Here’s a look at the 45 State Parks projects that would receive money through Connect NC.

Triangle

• Eno River State Park – Visitor Center: $2,830,500
• Falls Lake State Recreation Area – Beaverdam Community Building: $789,750
• Jordan Lake State Recreation Area – Campground/Electric Hook-ups: $3,000,000
• Lower Haw River State Natural Area – Bynum Day Use Development: $203,250
• Raven Rock State Park – Campground Expansion: $1,125,000
• William B. Umstead State Park – Community/Education Building: $1,725,000

Triad

• Hanging Rock State Park – Vade Mecum (Camp Sertoma) Improvements: $2,100,000
• Haw River State Park – Land Acquisition: $1,500,000
• Mayo River State Park – Land Acquisition: $750,000
• Pilot Mountain State Park – Visitor Center: $4,481,850

Charlotte

• Crowders Mountain State Park – Expanded Parking and Improved Access: $750,000
• Lake Norman State Park – Family & Group Camp Improvements: $2,307,000
• Morrow Mountain State Park – New Rental Cabins: $1,537,500

Piedmont

• 

  Carvers Creek State Park – Long Valley Farm Day Use Dev/Farm Seat Renovations: $5,700,750

• Deep River State Trail – Public Access Development: $1,281,000
• Kerr Lake State Recreation Area – Multiple Renovations: $3,750,000
• Medoc Mountain State Park – Education/Community Building: $1,383,750
• Weymouth Woods Nature Preserve – Land Acquisition: $428,250

Coast

• Carolina Beach State Park – Campground Improvements: $855,000
• Fort Fisher State Recreation Area – Bathhouse/Visitor Center Renovation: $1,125,000
• Fort Macon State Park- Cannon Project: $135,000
• Goose Creek State Park – Family Tent & Trailer Campground & Cabins: $1,477,500
• Hammocks Beach State Park – Boat Ramp Development: $1,125,000
• Jockey’s Ridge State Park – Visitor Center & Exhibit Hall: $751,500
• Pettigrew State Park – Visitor Center/Museum: $2,830,500

Coastal plain

• 

  Cliffs of the Neuse State Park – Campground Improvements: $692,400

• Dismal Swamp State Park – Land Acquisition: $$990,750
• Jones Lake State Park – Campground Improvements: $651,750
• Lake Waccamaw State Park – Tent & Trailer Campground: $1,506,000
• Lumber River State Park – Wire Pasture Public Access: $2,628,750
• Merchants Millpond State Park – Campground Improvements: $870,750
• Singletary Lake State Park – Visitor Contact Station: $575,250

Mountains

• Beech Creek Bog State Natural Area – Land Acquisition: $600,000
• Chimney Rock State Park – Rumbling Bald/World’s End Day Use Areas: $1,500,000
• Elk Knob State Park – Land Acquisition: $900,000
• Gorges State Park – Grassy Ridge Campground: $2,505,750
• Grandfather Mountain State Park – Profile Trail Public Access (Phase II): $1,501,500
• Lake James State Park – Visitor Center: $3,021,000
• Mount Jefferson State Natural Area – Land Acquisition: $1,500,000
• Mount Mitchell State Park – Summit Improvements: $600,000
• New River State Park – Land Acquisition: $675,000
• Yellow Mountain State Natural Area – Land Acquisition: $2,250,000
• Stone Mountain State Park – Visitor Center Improvements: $1,338,000
• South Mountains State Park – Clear Creek Campground: $2,250,000

Statewide

• Mountains-to-Sea State Trail, Fonta Flora Trail – Land Acquisition: $4,500,000

  Find more information on these projects here.

The post Connect NC would strengthen, expand State Parks appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

Coast: Bear Island Eco-Hike

There’s a lot going on at Hammocks Beach State Park in the next few days, from a shoreline cleanup on Sunday, to an eco-hike on Monday. At 10 a.m. Monday, take the ferry over to Bear Island and join a ranger to learn about one of North Carolina’s hidden treasures. You will have the chance to explore and enjoy some of nature’s wonders that can only be found during the cooler days of winter. Dress appropriately for a boat ride in addition to the weather. BYOB (binoculars).

Monday forecast: Sunny with a high of 67 degrees.

Vital Stats: Bear Island at Hammocks Beach State Park, Swansboro, Monday, Feb. 29, 10 a.m.-noon. Seating is limited; registration is required, by contacting 910.326.4881

Looking ahead: Dismal’s Day of Service, Dismal Swam State Park, South Mills, March 5, 11 a.m. More info here. http://www.ncparks.gov/nc-state-parks-week

Piedmont: Guided nature walk

Join a naturalist at the Charlotte Nature Museum on a guided educational walk around the Paw Paw Nature Trail. The 100-year-old forest is alive with trees, seasonal wildflowers, and wildlife. During this short hike you will have the opportunity to discover the beauty and diversity of a bottomland forest habitat. Hikes occur on the fourth Saturday of every month.

Saturday forecast: Sunny, around 40 degrees at 10 a.m., high of 53.

Vital Stats: Charlotte Nature Museum, Charlotte, Saturday, Feb. 27, 10:15-11:15 a.m. included with Museum admission. Contact: 704.372.6261, ext. 300. More info here.

Looking ahead: Rumba on the Lumber;10K, 5K, fun run, Lumberton, March 4 – 6 More info here:

Mountains: Lake James State Park

To celebrate N.C. State Parks Week, plan to spend a day exploring a park. At Lake James State Park near Nebo there’s plenty to do: wildlife watching, hiking on an extensive trail system, paddling, mountain biking and more! The Holly Discovery Trail is a nice, easy trek with 18 interactive information stations and fun activities and facts for all ages. In fact, it is a national award-winning interpretive trail. Try this trail and many others this weekend to take part in N.C. State Parks Week.

Weekend forecast: Sunny, high in the mid 60s.

Vital Stats: Lake James State Park, Nebo. Opens daily at 8 a.m., currently closes at 6 p.m., will be open until 8 p.m. starting March 1. Contact 828.584.7728, or visit the park website for more information.

Looking ahead: Valley History Explorer Hike #1: Day long hike on the Riceville-Warren Wilson Trails near Black Mountain. March 12. Advance registration required. More info here.

The post Your Weekend: Celebrate North Carolina State Parks appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

Today’s 90-Second Escape: RDU #BestTown2015

You know the Triangle is a great place to live if you’re an adventure-loving type. But have you ever had trouble convincing friends elsewhere of the fact?
You can actually mountain bike there — on more than 100 miles of singletrack?
There’s a 107-mile trail that runs through town?
Oh, please — you’re telling me you can scuba dive there, as well?
Yup. It’s all true. Here’s 90 Seconds of evidence. And if you’re still not convinced, check out this convincing case we make with our friends at Great Outdoor Provision Co. Then, once you’re informed, exercise your democratic right and vote!
Place your ballot here.

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