The N.C. Division of Parks and Recreation is developing a master plan for Haw River State Park. The master plan is a blueprint for long-term development of facilities and recreation opportunities and for protection of important natural resources. It is meant to be an organic document that evolves as the park matures.
Swanson and Associates, P.A. of Carrboro is the design consultant and will have considerable input from division staff, including the park's superintendent and ranger staff and division specialists in land protection, natural resource management, design and development and trails. Swanson and Associates recently updated the master plan for South Mountains State Park in Burke County. (That plan is on this Web site, linked from the South Mountains State Park page.)
Haw River's plan will explore ways that recently acquired land can complement the existing Summit Environmental Education Center and further its mission. Yet, it's important that the new state park have its own identity and traditional recreation opportunities.
Public involvement in this process is important. A public meeting outlining the overall concepts of the proposed plan was held Oct. 20 and elsewhere in this section you'll find maps in PDF format of conceptual plans for the area, for the state park as a whole and for The Summit.
The documents will be available for public review until December 18, 2009. We welcome all comments about the plan itself or about the state parks system in general.
The Summit Environmental Education Center at Haw River State Park - Draft - pdf
Haw River State Park - Draft - pdf
Frequently Asked Questions - pdf
Or, email your comments to: Dpr.masterplancomments@ncdenr.gov
Or, mail your comments to:
Haw River State Park Master Planning
N.C. Division of Parks and Recreation
1615 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27699-1615
Questions: Please contact Elizabeth Chesnut at (919) 715-0079.