/ Community Engagement,

Hurricane Helene: Trail Closures and Supporting Our Community

Cascade Lake dam. Photo by Andy Kunkle.

Dear friends, 

Like you, we are heartbroken to see the devastation throughout our communities resulting from Hurricane Helene. I sincerely hope that you and your loved ones made it safely through the storm and that your needs are being met in the aftermath. 

As we cope with the loss and destruction throughout this region, it is heartening to see how neighbors are helping each other, sharing what they can, and working together to meet urgent needs. I hope that you are experiencing this support in your own life. 

I wanted to let you know that, while our staff and AmeriCorps members are impacted in various ways, everyone on our team has come through safe and sound and we are deeply grateful for that. 

As far as our trails, restoration sites, and other projects, as of yet we have not even been able to fully assess the damage. We expect the impacts to be very great, but that is a challenge for another day. At this time, the focus needs to be on ensuring the safety and wellbeing of the people in our communities. 

We also need to announce that at this time, all Conserving Carolina trails are closed, due to impassable roads, unstable slopes, innumerable trees down, and the danger of further treefall. These closures include: 

  • Bearwallow Mountain 
  • Trombatore Trail 
  • Strawberry Gap Trail 
  • Florence Nature Preserve 
  • Wildcat Rock Trail 
  • Youngs Mountain 
  • Norman Wilder Forest 

We will update you as the status of these trails changes. We know that our communities will face many challenges ahead, and that many people are dealing with shock, grief, and loss. Nature is a much-needed refuge and we will do everything we can to meet this and other needs in our communities as we recover from the storm. 

Wishing you well,

Kieran Roe

Executive director

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