ROANOKE COUNTY –
Another piece of the Greenway in Roanoke County is now secured. Pathfinders for Greenways closed Thursday afternoon, on a more than 200-acre property that will connect the Roanoke River Greenway with Carvins Cove.
Twelve miles of unexplored trails have now been added to one of the most popular mountain biking spots in the Roanoke Valley. The new part of the Greenway will be known as the Hinchee Trail.
Liz Belcher, Roanoke Valley Greenways coordinator, met with 10 News just moments after closing the more than $250,000 deal and part private donation.
"It's great to know that we finally got to this point where we are part owner of this land that will become the Hinchee Trail,” Belcher said.
Named "Hinchee" after the family name of donor Nancy Pace of Roanoke County, Belcher says the 235 acres of land will be donated to Roanoke County from Pathfinders to Greenways to become a county park with two miles of trail leading into Carvins Cove, connecting it to Hanging Rock Battlefield Trial.
"To be able to be on the Hanging Rock Battlefield Trail, East Main Street in Salem is just a couple of miles away, you can head out that way into what really is wilderness,” Belcher said.
"So you will be able to go really from being in the urban area to being in the woods in a very natural area in just a blink of an eye. So it is connecting really all of our urban Greenway network to all our rural, Carvins Cove, mountain bike, horseback riding network,” Belcher said.
Belcher said one of the best parts is that the new trail is right off I-81, providing easier access to the public.
"You can get to the cove without having to get into a car,” Belcher said.
She said the next step will be adding more parking and a public restroom to the area.
Although the purchase is complete, the trail is not yet open. Belcher said the group hopes to open the trail by January of 2019.
Pathfinders for Greenways needs help paying for the purchase. To donate click here.