Destination McDowell - Tourism Master Plan

Page 18

2.1 REGIONAL CONTEXT This section examines the County’s local geography, primary transportation corridors, and natural resources (see Map 01: Regional Context, page right). McDowell County is located in both the Mountain and Foothills regions of Western North Carolina and includes the high peaks of the Blue Ridge and Black Mountains. The County’s diverse topography ranges more than 4,600 feet from the Eastern Continental Divide along its western border to the centrally located Catawba River and the South Mountains located on its southeastern boundary. The Eastern Continental Divide extends along the crest of the Blue Ridge escarpment and includes the Pinnacle, a 5,665 foot peak and the highest point in the County. The South Mountains rise to an elevation of 2,980 feet and

Approximately seventyfive percent of the county is forested, largely on private conservation lands or within the boundaries of the Pisgah National Forest, which alone makes up roughly one third of the land area of the County.

serve as a transition zone between the Foothills and Piedmont regions. The headwaters of numerous creeks and trout streams feed the Catawba River which begins here, contributing to the outstanding water resources of the Catawba River Basin. The Catawba flows easterly across the County until it reaches Lake James and continues east and south to the Atlantic Ocean. A much smaller, more southwestern part of the County contributes to the Broad River Basin. McDowell County is bounded by Buncombe County on the west and Burke County to the east. Yancey, Mitchell, and Avery Counties all touch its northern border and Rutherford County is found along its southern boundary. Interstate 40 bisects McDowell County from east to west and US Highway 221 provides the primary north to south transportation route. US Highway 70 runs parallel to I-40 and connects the City of Marion and the Town of Old Fort. Asheville and Morganton are located only 30 minutes from the center of the County and Hickory, Brevard, and Boone are within an hour’s drive. Approximately seventy-five percent of the county is forested, largely on private conservation lands or within the boundaries of the Pisgah National Forest, which alone makes up roughly one third of the land area of the County. The Blue Ridge Parkway follows the ridge of the escarpment along the northern boundary of the County for approximately 34 miles and passes through the community of Little Switzerland. The Mountains-to-Sea, Fonta Flora, Wilderness Gateway, and Overmountain Victory National Historic and State Trails traverse the County east to west and north to south creating a developing regional trail network for outdoor adventurers that live in or visit the area.

10 — Discovery & Analysis

DESTINATION MCDOWELL TOURISM MASTER PLAN


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C. Old Fort Trails Project Overview

1min
pages 166-167

A. Destination McDowell Fact Sheet

2min
page 164

EXHIBIT 71: ORCHARD AT ALTAPASS MASTER PLAN

1min
pages 145-147

EXHIBIT 69: LYNN GAP TRAILHEAD

1min
page 142

IMPROVEMENTS AND PEDESTRIAN CONNECTOR

1min
page 141

EXHIBIT 70: MINERALS MUSEUM TRAILHEAD

1min
pages 143-144

MAP 08: LITTLE SWITZERLAND AREA PROJECTS

1min
pages 139-140

EXHIBIT 66: CURTIS CREEK TRAILHEAD

1min
page 136

EXHIBIT 63: NORTH CATAWBA AVENUE RENDERING

1min
page 133

EXHIBIT 62: COMMERCE STREET RENDERING

1min
page 132

AVENUE CROSSINGS

1min
page 115

EXHIBIT 50: GEORGIA STREET CROSSING

1min
page 116

EXHIBIT 48: STATE STREET RENDERING

1min
page 114

EXHIBIT 52: BALDWIN STREET RENDERING

1min
page 118

EXHIBIT 54: MCDOWELL HOUSE RENDERING

1min
page 121

EXHIBIT 51: BALDWIN AVENUE CROSSING

1min
page 117

EXHIBIT 53: MARION STREET CROSSING

1min
pages 119-120

EXHIBIT 46: PEAVINE STUDY AREA

1min
page 112

AND SIGNAGE

1min
page 111

INTERIOR IMPROVEMENTS

1min
page 108

EXHIBIT 36: W. HENDERSON GATEWAY STREETSCAPE

1min
page 102

EXHIBIT 37: WEST HENDERSON STREET STREETSCAPE

1min
page 103

EXHIBIT 41: DREXEL PROPERTY

1min
page 107

EXHIBIT 38: WEST HENDERSON STREET RENDERINGS

1min
page 104

EXHIBIT 40: LOGAN STREET RENDERING

1min
page 106

EXHIBIT 35: MARION STUDY AREA

1min
page 101

MAP 06: MARION AREA PROJECTS

1min
pages 97-100

EXHIBIT 32: OLD FORT GATEWAY SIGN - NCSTEP PLAN

1min
page 90

WONDERLAND

2min
pages 91-92

MAP 05: COUNTY-WIDE WAYFINDING

1min
pages 87-88

EXHIBIT 26: OLD FORT TRAILS PROJECT MAP

1min
page 83

EXHIBIT 25: FRIENDS OF MOUNTAINS TO SEA TRAIL

1min
page 82

EXHIBIT 24: OVNHT CONNECTOR

1min
page 81

ASSOCIATION (OVTA

1min
page 80

SEGMENT 3

2min
pages 77-78

EXHIBIT 19: BLACK BEAR TRAILHEAD

1min
page 75

STATE TRAIL (F3ST

2min
page 74

EXHIBIT 20: US HWY 64 TRAILHEAD

2min
page 76

EXHIBIT 16: PHILLIPS LANDING ENTRANCE SIGN

3min
pages 68-70

MCDOWELL COUNTY

1min
pages 65-67

4.1 County-wide Connections Tourism Area

1min
pages 62-63

3.3 Community Survey

1min
pages 56-57

3.4 Emerging Themes and Guiding Principles

2min
pages 58-61

EXHIBIT 13: PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT

1min
pages 52-53

3.1 Tools of Engagement

1min
pages 48-49

OUTDOOR RECREATION

1min
pages 54-55

3.2 Community Partners

1min
pages 50-51

EXHIBIT 12: MCDOWELL ARTS COUNCIL ASSOCIATION

1min
pages 45-47

EXHIBIT 10: MARION

1min
pages 40-43

EXHIBIT 09: OLD FORT

1min
page 39

EXHIBIT 08: LITTLE SWITZERLAND

1min
page 38

EXHIBIT 06: STATE TRAILS

2min
pages 34-35

RECREATION BUSINESS CASE STUDIES

1min
pages 36-37

EXHIBIT 05: CATAWBA FALLS

1min
page 33

EXHIBIT 04: POINT LOOKOUT TRAIL

1min
page 32

EXHIBIT 03: CATAWBA RIVER

1min
page 31

1.1 Project Background

1min
page 10

EXHIBIT 02: PISGAH NATIONAL FOREST

1min
page 30

2.3 Previous Planning Efforts

6min
pages 22-25

1.4 Plan Organization

1min
pages 14-17

1.2 Project Goals

1min
page 11

2.4 Asset Inventory

3min
pages 26-28

1.3 Planning Process

1min
pages 12-13

2.1 Regional Context

2min
page 18
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