Topics Related to Recreation

Gorges State Park in Transylvania County will host its third annual Mountain Monarch Festival on Saturday, Sept. 28 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the park’s visitor center. The festival celebrates the monarch butterfly during its migration and bring attention to the species’ declining numbers.

Veterans with service-related disabilities are now eligible to apply to receive a free Annual Pass to N.C. State Parks.

The North Carolina Trails Program has released the fiscal year 2025-26 grant cycle for the federal Recreational Trails Program.

Crowders Mountain, Gorges, Grandfather Mountain and Lake Norman state parks, as well as Rendezvous Mountain, will reopen at least partially on Nov. 1.

Veterans with service-related disabilities are now eligible to apply to receive a free Annual Pass to North Carolina State Parks.

The North Carolina state parks system welcomed more than 20.1 million visitors in 2023 and ended the year with a total of 262,074 acres.

The Division awarded more than $3 million in grants for 13 projects for state trails.

The Division is hosting a series of public information meetings to seek public input on the future of North Carolina's newest state park.

Several North Carolina state parks, in partnership with the North Carolina chapter of the American Canoe Association (ACA) and the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary, will offer low-cost kayaking instruction at state parks statewide Saturday, May 20. The event is in celebration of National Safe Boating Week, which begins the same day. The event follows a collaboration between the ACA and the state of Tennessee in 2022, which hosted more than 170 participants and earned a Four-Star Award for an innovative program from the Tennessee Recreation and Parks Association. 

The campground at Gorges State Park will have five camper cabins, 14 campsites, and 16 tent campsites, along with a modern bathhouse.