Hanging Rock State Park Master Plan

HANGING ROCK STATE PARK EXPANSION Master Plan

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Project Team / Acknowledgments

Roy Cooper

North Carolina Governor

North Carolina House of Representatives

Kyle Hall District 91

North Carolina Senate

Shirley B. Randleman

District 30

NC Division of Parks and Recreation Natural and Cultural Resources

Mike Murphy Director

Carol Tingley

Adrian O’Neal

Brian Strong

Deputy Director

Chief of Operations

Chief of Planning and Natural Resources

David Head Planning Program Manager Christy Rosas Parks Planner Scott Crocker Trails Program Manager Smith Raynor Trails Planner

Jon Blanchard

Natural Resources Manager Justin Williamson Environmental Review Coordinator John Amoroso

GIS Pete Colwell Land Protection Specialist Sean McElhone Regional Superintendent Robin Riddlebarger Hanging Rock State Park Superintendent Sam Koch Hanging Rock State Park Ranger Jason Anthony Hanging Rock State Park Ranger Austin Paul Hanging Rock State Park Ranger Mary Gri n Hanging Rock State Park Ranger Ray Brundege Hanging Rock State Park Ranger Gary Pippin Hanging Rock State Park Ranger Josh Hemric Hanging Rock State Park Ranger Sean Wiseman Hanging Rock State Park Maintenance Mechanic Sandra Patterson Hanging Rock State Park O ce Assistant

Hanging Rock State Park Advisory Committee

Luann Bridle

Skip Staples Ashley Johnson

Community Groups

Friends of Sauratown Mountains

Piedmont Land Conservancy

obs landscape architects - Design Consultants

Bill Garrity Louis Wood

Brian H. Starkey, PLA Principal / Landscape Architect

Lauren E. Dickson, PLAProject Landscape Architect

Jon Blasco Project Planner

Michael Alderman Project Planner

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Contents

Letter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iii

Project Team / Acknowledgments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v

Table Of Contents. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .vii

Map Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . x

Chapter One: Process & Site Analysis 1

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1

Park Needs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5

Planning Process. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Summary of Phases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6

Phase One - Information Gathering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6

Phase Two - Preliminary Planning & Design. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6

Phase Three - Draft Master Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6

Phase Four - Final Master Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6

General History. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Vade Mecum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7

Moores Springs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8

Existing Building and Structure Inventory. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8

Existing Buildings and Structures - Vade Mecum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9

Existing Buildings and Structures - Moores Springs . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Natural Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19

Vegetation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19

Endangered Species . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20

Topography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Hydrologic Patterns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20

Cultural Features. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Buildings and Structures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Cemeteries. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Outdoor Spaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22

Surrounding Land Use . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22

Roads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23

Utilities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Regulatory Requirements / Designated Nature Preserve. . . . . . . . . . . 23 Development Opportunities and Constraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23

Chapter Two: Community Engagement 24

Phase One Community Engagement Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Soup In a Bowl. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Vade Mecum Open House. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Public Meeting #1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25

Meetings with Stakeholders. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Survey and Meeting Results. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Phase Two Community Engagement Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Public Meeting #2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Press Release. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Concept Master Plans Survey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Phase Three Community Engagement Summary . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Public Meeting #3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29

Draft Master Plan Survey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29

Chapter Three: Final Master Plan 31

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Property Distinctions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Recommendations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Overall Plan. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Existing Buildings/Structures on the Moores Springs Property. . . . . . . 34

Existing Buildings/Structures on the Vade Mecum Property. . . . . . . . 35

Moores Springs Property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39

Moores Springs - Ed Booth Road Area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40

Moores Springs - Former Campground. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

Vade Mecum Property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44

Vade Mecum - East. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

Vade Mecum - West. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

Vade Mecum - North . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .50

Vade Mecum - Central Campus. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

Phased Implementation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

Phase One . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

Phase Two . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

Phase Three. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

Phase 1/Moore Springs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .55

Phase 1 / Vade Mecum. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

Phase 2 / Moores Springs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

Phase 2 / Vade Mecum. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

Phase 3 / Moores Springs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

Phase 3 / Vade Mecum. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66

Estimates of Probable Cost. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

Estimates of probable construction costs per phase . . . . . . . . . . . 69

Map

Overall Site Context Map . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Overall Master Plan. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

Moores Springs - Ed Booth Road Area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Moores Springs - Former Campground. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

Vade Mecum - East . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

Vade Mecum - West. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

Vade Mecum - North. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

Vade Mecum - Central Campus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .53

Overall Phase One Plan. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

Overall Phase Two Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .63

Overall Phase Three Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .67

CHAPTERONE

ANALYSIS

Introduction

In 2014, North Carolina State University transferred two tracts of land to Hanging Rock State Park in Stokes County. e newly added properties, historically known as Vade Mecum and Moores Springs, add approximately 750 acres to the state park. e property is north of the current park boundary and a small portion touches the Dan River. Historic use of the property included resorts, camps, and the home of a traveling circus.

e overarching goal of the master plan is to de ne an appropriate level of future development on the property to accommodate demonstrated needs in response to stakeholder input and the mission of the NC Parks and Recreation Division. It also is important that the proposed development compliment the recreational opportunities currently o ered at Hanging Rock State Park and address de ciencies in order to better accommodate visitors and lengthen their stay in Stokes County.

Mission Statement of the North Carolina Division of Parks and Recreation:

e North Carolina Division of Parks and Recreation exists to inspire all its citizens and visitors through conservation, recreation and education.

Conservation: To conserve and protect representative examples of North Carolina’s natural beauty, ecological features, recreational and cultural resources within the state parks system;

Recreation: To provide and promote safe, healthy and enjoyable outdoor recreational opportunities throughout the state; and

Education: To provide educational opportunities that promote stewardship of the state’s natural and cultural heritage.

Hanging Rock State Park is approximately 7,900 acres and provides a variety of recreational activities to visitors:

•Education and Events: Rangers hold regularly scheduled educational and interpretive programs about Hanging Rock State Park.

•Camping: 73 tent, trailer & 5 group primitive campsites.

•Cabins: 10 family vacation cabins accommodating up to six people each. Two cabins are handicapped accessible.

•Hiking: More than 20 miles of wooded passageways form a network of trails.

•Existing Mountain Bike Trails on the Moores Springs Property: Four trails o er 8.4 miles of intermediate riding—Land of the Lost, Major

Tom, Original Loop, and North Side trails. Hiking is also allowed on mountain biking trails.

•Picnicking: Two picnic areas o er 15 grills each and 60 picnic sites in total. ree existing picnic shelters (one is accessible).

•Rock Climbing: Cook’s Wall and Moore’s Wall, a series of cli s up to 400 feet high and extending almost two miles, provide opportunities for experienced climbers. Climbing within the park requires a permit.

•Swimming: Tucked into the hills is an inviting 12-acre lake, formed by the damming of Cascade Creek. (Summer months only).

•Boating and Fishing: Fishing is permitted year round on the lake for bass, sun sh and cat sh. Anyone over 16 years old must have a NC shing license. Visitors can sh from the shore, the wheelchair accessible pier or from a rental boat.

•Paddling: access on the Dan River.

View from the top of Hanging Rock

Hiking trail to the top of Hanging Rock

Existing family vacation cabins

LEGEND

VADE MECUM

MOORES SPRINGS PROPERTY

HANGING ROCK STATE PARK

FALLS

PARK MAIN ENTRANCE

MOORES SPRINGS & VADE MECUM BOUNDARIES

HANGING ROCK STATE PARK BOUNDARY

HANGING ROCK STATE PARK PROPERTY

POINT OF INTEREST DAN RIVER

TORY’S

MOORE’S KNOB

CENTER

ROCK

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Park Needs

Hanging Rock State Park is one of the most visited State Parks in the North Carolina Parks system with over 650,000 visitors due to proximity to triad area, in 2016, a 9% increase from 2015. Ever increasing demand has put stress on existing facilities and because of the high demand for camp sites and cabins, the park turns away visitors looking for accommodations, particularly from spring thru fall.

While one of the goals of the master plan is to identify opportunities to compliment recreational opportunities at Hanging Rock State Park, there is also a need to increase the capacity of the park to accommodate overnight visitors.

Planning Process

e master planning process was conducted over a twelve month period. It was structured to allow stakeholder input throughout all phases of the project. Community engagement was conducted by hosting public meetings where information was presented for consideration and input was sought from the community and other stakeholders. e community also had the opportunity to provide feedback through a project website, online and written surveys.

Stakeholders consulted during the process include:

•NC Division of Parks and Recreation sta

•Hanging Rock State Park Advisory Committee

•Park Rangers

•Stokes County o cials

•Stokes County Planning Sta

•Friends of Sauratown Mountains

•Piedmont Land Conservancy

•Citizens of North Carolina (local and statewide)

•Piedmont Land Conservancy

•NC State Legislature Representation

•Stokes County Arts Council

•Mountain Bike Groups

•Equestrian Groups

Initial Meetings

- Community, Stakeholders, Park Staff - Needs & Preferences - Initial Observations - Gather background data

Phase 1- Information Gathering & Assessment - Site Observations

- Research & Data Gathering - Basemap Development - Define Opportunities & Constraints - Site Analysis Mapping - Document Regulatory Requirements - Define Goals and Objectives - Program Development

Community Meeting #1 - Review Site Analysis Mapping - Summarize Historical Documents - Summarize Regulatory Requirements - Review Opportunities & Constraints

Phase 2 - Preliminary Planning & Design

Found in the Appendices

- Preliminary Concept Design Options - Meetings with staff & stakeholders - Review Community Meeting #1 input

Community Meeting #2 - Review Concept Design Alternatives - Summarize each alternative plan - Gather feedback from community

Phase 3 - Draft Master Plan - Client Meetings

- Summarize Community input - Finalize park program - Draft Master Plan Document - Design Charrette

Community Meeting #3 - Review Draft Master Plan - Summarize feedback - Gather feedback from community

Phase 4 - Final Master Plan - Engage staff, stakeholders & community - Achieve approval from owner - Develop Final Master Plan Document - PAC Presentation

Summary of Phases

Phase One - Information Gathering

e rst step in preparing the master plan was to gather information about the Moores Springs and Vade Mecum properties. e project team researched the natural features and cultural history of the properties and conducted numerous on-site investigations. e team also surveyed the community at several public events and through a project website; interviewed park sta , rangers and other stakeholders, including county o cials and local representation in the State Legislature.

Phase Two - Preliminary Planning & Design

Phase Two focused on the identi cation of potential program elements and recreational opportunities as well as the preparation of alternative concepts for future improvements. ese concepts accommodated the program and illustrated options for their placement on the land.

With the site analysis information and initial stakeholder feedback from Phase One, three potential development options were de ned. Relevant to the overall property were variations on the trail network and supporting infrastructure. In all three options, the trail system was developed to keep equestrian and mountain biking separate and limit the crossing of these two types of trails. All trails within Hanging Rock State Park allow hikers and both the proposed mountain biking trails and equestrian trails would allow hiking.

Phase Three - Draft Master Plan

With the results from Public Meetings and online surveys, the design team began the process of preparing one overall concept option and a single option for each vignette area. e team then conducted a day long charrette at the Hanging Rock Visitor’s Center meeting separately with park rangers and sta , representatives from the Friends of Sauaratown Mountains and members of the Park Advisory Committee.

Phase Four - Final Master Plan

Following the design charette, the design team prepared the nal master plan based on comments from Stakeholders, the Community, and the NC State Parks Sta . Minor editorial revisions were made to the draft master plan to create the nal master plan.

General History

e Moores Springs and Vade Mecum properties have a varied and rich history. e properties are an integral part of the character, history and story in Stokes County. Drawing from the popularity of mineral springs at the turn of the century, both properties were home to several resort hotels drawing visitors from across the state well into the 1930s. After life as a popular resort, the Vade Mecum property was home to several camps including camps to serve the needs of disadvantaged and impaired children, an Episcopal camp and Camp Sertoma. e Moores Springs property was home to the Moores Springs campground providing campers recreational experiences and fond memories for more than 40 years.

Vade Mecum

Vade Mecum (which means “come with me” in Latin) opened in 1901. Before opening as a resort, the property was a winter home to a traveling circus in the 1890s. It was then owned by John Sparks, who, along with Cicero Tise and CA Jenkins, later became involved with the development of the property as a resort. According to local folklore, circus animals, including tigers, stayed on the property during those winter months.

During the early 1900s Vade Mecum was a famous mineral springs resort where people came to spend their summers and enjoy the curative powers of the mineral water from the springs. e water from the mineral springs was sold throughout America and the Vade Mecum water even took the highest honors at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in New Orleans in 1904.

Open house hosted by the Friends of Sauratown Mountains

Sunset Point - cleared area along P East Road

e property is home to the former Camp Sertoma which includes Cheshire Hall, a hotel that dates to 1902; a chapel from the 1940s; Tise Hall, a gymnasium; an outdoor swimming pool; the Vade Mecum spring house; and several cabins. Between 1900 and 1930 the property was home to three di erent hotels. Two of the hotels burned down, the rst in 1908 and the second in 1920. Cheshire Hall, which was considered the south wing of the rst hotel and the second hotel built, still remains, although it is in need of repair. e rst hotel once stood where Tise Hall currently stands and the third hotel building once stood where the chapel currently resides.

Following its use as a resort, the property was used for several camps for various groups, as well as for numerous community events. e property became the home of Camp Cheshire, which was operated by the Episcopal Diocese and Easter Seals from the early 1930s until 1971. e property was purchased in 1981 by North Carolina State University for its 4-H program with involvement from Sertoma clubs, which operated on this site until 2013.

During its time as a resort Diamond Lake was built by damming Vade Mecum Creek. e dam has since been breached and the lake drained, however, the dam and remnants of a water wheel remain. e original spring house remains on the property as well as evidence of a dance oor that spanned across the creek, using the cooling e ects of the owing stream to cool dancers in the summer.

Moores Springs

e Moores Springs property was home to the former Moores Springs campground. Prior to becoming a campground, the property included a hotel and the Moore Family Residence. Moores Springs Resort was in operation by 1870 and the hotel was built around 1900. e hotel later burned in 1926. Several cottages, that survived the re were later adapted into the long one-story building that became the Moores Springs Dining Room, this structure no longer remains on site. e original octagonal spring house remains on the property.

In 2013 NC State University closed the Camp Sertoma and Moore Springs properties. e Stokes County Board of County Commissioners attempted to identify a local group that could continue operations for an interim period but that attempt was unsuccessful. Prior to its closing North Carolina State University also timbered a majority of the northern portion of the Vade Mecum property.

Existing Building and Structure Inventory Introduction

Information for the buildings and structures is based on interviews with North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources (NCDNCR) sta as well as the “Hanging Rock State Park Feasibility Study of VadeMecum Concessionaire Operations” performed by the University of North Carolina Greensboro for the North Carolina Division of Parks and Recreation.

Prior to implementation of any master plan recommendations, a more detailed inventory and analysis should be completed of buildings to be repurposed to determine the necessary renovations and feasibility of the suggested use.

All of these structures were in existence prior to the Division acquiring the property.

Successional forest on the Vade Mecum Property

1. Spring house

Located on the Vade Mecum Property, this spring house was used to house and access the mineral springs.

Good

Gym (Tise Hall)

Located on the Vade Mecum Property in the area

used as Camp Sertoma. is gym was used for events, performances, and as a gym.

3. Hotel (Cheshire Hall)

Located in the former Camp Sertoma, this hotel was originally used to house people who came to vacation in Stokes County for the mineral water. It was also used to house people attending Camp Sertoma and the kitchen and dining room were used as the dining hall for camps.

Condition: Poor

4. Chapel

Located in the former Camp Sertoma, this chapel was used as a community space, as chapel during the Episcopal church camps, and rented as a venue for weddings.

Condition: Good

5. Caretaker’s Residence (old post o ce)

Located up the hill from Camp Sertoma, this building was used as the residence for the camp caretaker and prior to that as a post o ce.

Condition: Poor

6. Cabins - Group one

Located along the entry drive. e rst set of cabins that you come upon when entering the site. Total of three. Named: Wilmington, Tarheel, and Yadkinville. Condition: Good.

7. Cabins - Group two

Located along the gravel entry drive. Named: Dogwood, Challenger, White Oak, Raleigh, Old Salem

Condition: Poor

8. Cabins - Group three

Located along the gravel entry drive.

Condition: Poor

9. Horse Motel

Located along Moores Springs Road on the Vade Mecum Property. is building was used to house horses.

Condition: Poor

10. Activity Houses

Located along the gravel drive just before you come to the chapel adjacent to the current small parking area.

Condition: unknown

11. Nature Center

Located along Moores Springs Road adjacent to the Horse Motel. is building was used to house classes by the local community college, as a craft building, and as a nature center.

Condition: Good

12. Pavilion Store Room

Located adjacent to the gym and hotel. Was used as a concessions stand and craft room during Camp Sertoma.

Condition: Poor

13. Spring house bridge

Located adjacent to the spring house. Used to cross the creek and access the spring house.

Condition: Good

14. Diamond Lake Dam

Located adjacent to the spring house.

Condition: Has been breached

15. Pool

Located behind the Gym on the Vade Mecum Property.

Condition: Poor

16. Amphitheater A

Located adjacent to the spring house.

Condition: Good

17. Outdoor Chapel / Amphitheater B

Located behind the Gym (Tise Hall).

Condition: Good

18. Amphitheater C

Located behind the meeting cabins.

Condition: Poor, covered in poison ivy

19. Ropes Course

Located on Vade Mecum adjacent to the Nature Center.

Condition: Poor

20. Pedestrian Bridge

Located adjacent to the ropes course.

Condition: Good

21. Metal Bridge

Located behind the Gym and down the hill. is bridge is adjacent to Amphitheater A.

Condition: Unknown, Needs to be evaluated structurally

22. Maintenance building

Located along Moores Springs Road adjacent to the Nature Center and Ropes course area.

Condition: Good

23. Water Tower

Located near Moores Springs road north of the Horse Motel.

Condition: Unknown

24. Military Outpost

Located on the northern portion of the Vade Mecum property.

Condition: Poor

25. Ropes Course Storage Shed

Located adjacent to the high ropes course

Condition: unknown

26. Caretakers Residence Shed

Located adjacent to the caretakers residence. Currently storing tools and lumber.

Condition: Poor

Moores Springs Spring House

Located near the former Moores Springs campground. Originally used to house and access the mineral spring.

Good, further structural

Pedestrian Crossing of Cascade Creek

on the Moores Springs Property adjacent to

Moores Springs campground store.

building

3. Camp Store

Located on the Moores Springs Property adjacent to the creek and concrete dance oor.

Condition: Good.

4. Old Toilet Building

Located near the old Camp Store. Used as a toilet when the old campground was in operation.

Condition: Poor. Does not meet current building code and requirements.

5. Bike Shack

Located on the Moores Springs Property South of Moores Springs Road where the current mountain bike trailhead is located.

Condition: unstable

6. Tobacco Barn

Located near the Bike Shack and current mountain bike trailhead parking. Was used as a tobacco barn. Condition: Unknown

7. Campground Bridge

Located along the entry drive into the old Moores Springs campground. Was used to access the campground.

Condition: Poor

8. Concrete dance oor

Located adjacent to the stream and near the old camp store. is is a concrete pad that was poured right along the stream bank and used to host dances.

Condition: Concrete is in good condition but is located within the oodplain. Current construction practices limit impervious surface within the oodplain because it inhibits the regions natural ability to manage excess water and increases ooding. Pavement within a oodplain also decreases the quality of the water and increases contaminants within our streams and rivers.

Natural Features

Natural features, including vegetation, topography, hydrologic patterns and viewsheds, were inventoried through GIS mapping and site observations.

Vegetation

While most of the woodland and vegetative cover is typical to this region of North Carolina there are plant communities that are signi cant because of their composition and / or because they are not typical to the region.

ese include the Rich Cove Forest and locations of endangered species identi ed by the heritage program. ere are two pockets of the Rich Cove Forest on the Moores Springs property. One is in the southwest corner of the property near the intersection of Moores Springs Road and P East Road. e other is on the eastern side of the property, north of Moores Springs Road. e Rich Cove Forest is a common plant community in North Carolina, however, it is not normally found this far east of the Blue Ridge escarpment. (See the analysis maps in Appendix A)

ere is also a pocket of Piedmont Bottomland Forest located on the Vade Mecum Property that is signi cant. Some of the best examples of this type of forest are located along the Dan River and this is the only pocket of this type of forest located within Hanging Rock State Park. (See the analysis maps in Appendix A)

Image of successional forest on the Vade Mecum Property

Image of a Wehrle’s Salamander - photo by Todd Pierson / Amphibians and Reptiles of North Carolina

Other plant communities of interest are small areas of Carolina Hemlock Forest located on the Vade Mecum property along a tributary of Vade Mecum Creek on an east facing slope, as well as in several pockets on the Moores Springs property, particularly along the edge of the Dan River.

Endangered/rare species of Fauna and Flora include:

•Wherle’s Salamander(E)

•James Spineymussel (E)

•Roanoke Hogsucker (R)

•Alabama Grape Fern(R)

•Mountain Cammelia(R)

•Ringed Witch Grass(R)

•Plum Moss (R)

•A Liverwort (R)

Topography

A wide range of topographic conditions are characteristic of the area. Onsite slopes are steep in some areas, exceeding 40%, and gentle in others. Gentle slopes are particularly found in the low lying areas along creeks as well as along ridge lines. A general topography plan indicates high points and areas where slopes are gentle (See Appendix A). A slope analysis plan was also developed to show where these various slopes occur on the site. (See the analysis maps in Appendix A)

Hydrologic Patterns

Cascade Creek owing out of Hanging Rock State Park proper ows under Moores Springs Road and traverses the Moores Springs property, ending at its con uence with the Dan River. e low lying former campground area is prone to some ooding but the creek does not carry any 100-year oodplain with it into the site. e Dan River, however, does have a oodplain associated with it. (these hydrological patterns can be seen on the hydrology maps in Appendix A)

While there are several small areas on the Moores Springs property designated as successional forest, large areas on the Vade Mecum property are also designated as successional following a timbering operation conducted in 2014.

Endangered Species

Areas of endangered / rare species habitat are associated with rock outcroppings along the river’s edge on the Moores Springs property and a second area is associated with outcroppings in the meadow near Cascade Creek.

e Vade Mecum property includes Vade Mecum Creek and two other tributaries that ow north across the property. Vade Mecum creek and contributing tributary were previously damned to create Diamond Lake. e dam has been breached and the lake drained but the form of this 20 acre former lake is recognizable based on vegetation and landform. e 100-year oodplain runs through the site along Vade Mecum Creek to a point along the western property boundary. (See the analysis maps in Appendix A)

View from high point on Vade Mecum

Vade Mecum creek

Cultural Features

e history and cultural features of these properties and their importance to the community is deep and varied. Cultural features relating to the former resorts and camps include buildings and other structures, which include dams and bridges, as well as remnants of former structures and spaces. Cultural features also include previous land use and surrounding land use, outdoor spaces, cemeteries, utilities and roads.

Buildings and Structures

On both properties there are Spring Houses dating from the early 1900s. e Spring Houses appear to be in good condition. In addition, there are several buildings on the Vade Mecum property and additional buildings at Moores Springs. (See maps on pages 9 and 16)

Sacred buildings include Cheshire Hall (Hotel), the Chapel and Tise Hall (Gymnasium). Other buildings on the Vade Mecum property that could be potentially repurposed include several cabins, meeting cabin / nature center and the horse barn (Horse Motel)

At Vade Mecum, several of the existing buildings are considered sacred by the community, and some are potentially eligible for historic designation. For purposes of this report a sacred building is de ned as a building that should be preserved for its historical value, as similar as possible to its historic appearance and use. A building identi ed for re-purposing is a building that has some value and should be retained; however, it does not have to serve its traditional function. e building could be used for some other purpose.

On the Moores Springs property, in addition to the spring house, a campstore and a toilet building are located at the former campground. e toilet building is in poor condition and should be removed. Across Moores Springs Road from the campground is an old tobacco barn and the “Bike Shack”. e adjacent area is currently being used as a parking area for mountain bike trails.

A hotel, built in 1898, once stood in the meadow on the Moores Springs property before burning in 1925. Also located at Moores Springs was the Moores

Spring House at Moores Springs

Cheshire Hall (Hotel) at Vade Mecum

Tise Hall (Gym) at Vade Mecum

Cemetery at the intersection of P East Rd and Moores Springs Rd

Springs Dining Room, which was demolished in 2015. Other built structures that are valuable to the history of the properties are the dams at both Moores Springs and Vade Mecum, and several existing amphitheater spaces at Vade Mecum.

Cemeteries

Other signi cant cultural features include cemeteries at the intersection of Moores Springs Road and P East Road. On the Northeast and Southeast corners of the intersection are small cemeteries with gravesites. A small cemetery also resides on a ridge in the northern section of Vade Mecum.

Outdoor Spaces

Outdoor spaces which are important to the history of these properties include:

• e outdoor chapel at Vade Mecum

•Former campground at Moore Springs

•Areas around the dams on both properties

•Former location of the Moores Springs Hotel

Existing River Access

Surrounding Land Use

Generally, land surrounding the property is held by private land owners and largely is undeveloped, with the exception of limited residential uses. Private land holdings separate Vade Mecum and Moores Springs from the main part of Hanging Rock State Park. e Piedmont Land Conservancy owns two parcels north of Moores Springs and along the western edge of the Dan River. is property has access to Dan George Road.

Other signi cant aspects include access to the river and a potential connection to the Mountains to Sea Trail. River access is possible at the Moores Springs property. While Hanging Rock State Park has current access to the river o Flinchum Road, access at Moores Springs could provide a river trip experience that puts in and takes out on State Park property.

e Mountains to Sea Trail passes through Hanging Rock State Park but is disconnected from the subject property using roads west of the park. ere are opportunities to connect the trail through the Vade Mecum property. Various Mountains to Sea trail connections were explored.

Roads

e property is divided by three state owned roads. P East Road and Dan George Road run north to south and Moores Springs Road, generally running east to west, bisect the property. ese roads provide multiple opportunities for access, but also require clear designation for places where trails might cross them. It is also noted that sight distances, particularly at the intersection of P East Road and Moores Springs Road, are limited.

Other roads that provide access to the property are Ed Booth Road on the eastern edge of the Moores Springs property.

Utilities

On the Vade Mecum property the cabins are served by individual septic systems. e gym, hotel, and chapel are all served by a single septic system. e system includes a pump and lift station behind the hotel and the eld is located across the creek and on top of the hill on the north side of the property. Water service is provided from a well and water tank located on the property.

At Moores Springs the restroom was served by a septic system between Cascade Creek and Moores Springs Road. e condition of the septic system and well is unknown.

Regulatory Requirements / Designated Nature Preserve

e most signi cant requirements applicable to the property are those placed on it by a North Carolina Nature Preserve designation created in 2000 known as Moores Springs Nature Preserve, which covers most of the Moore Springs property. e only areas not covered by this designation are the low lying former campground area along Cascade Creek from Moores Springs Road to the Dan River and 2 other small areas. One area is east and adjacent to the campground area on the west facing slope. e other is on the eastern side of the property near Ed Booth Road. (See the analysis maps in Appendix A)

In total the designation includes 114 acres of primary nature preserve and 248 acres of bu er. e primary area quali es as an outstanding natural area under statutory criteria for nature preserve dedication. e bu er area, which contributes to the management and protection of the primary area, consists of lower quality, less continuous mostly forested habitat for more wide ranging species. While there are no local regulatory requirements that are applicable inside the boundaries of the park, the land is still subject to riparian bu er and state requirements regarding development within ood prone areas as well as state building codes.

Currently there are no o cial federal, state or local historic designations associated with any of the structures or buildings present on the property.

Development Opportunities and Constraints

Based on the site analysis that was conducted, development opportunities and constraints became clear. Steep slopes and areas with endangered species or unique vegetation types presented serious constraints to development, allowing only the potential for trails. Gentle slopes and successional forest types o er the best opportunity for development. A large majority of Moores Springs property is located within the DNP, which also extremely limits development potential, allowing for trails only. e following maps represent development opportunities and constraints. (See the analysis maps in Appendix A)

CHAPTER TWO

Phase One Community Engagement Summary

Soup In a Bowl

During phase one of the process, two community events were held that were attended by the planning team. e rst was the Soup in a Bowl event on November 19, 2016 hosted by the Stokes Arts Council and held at the boathouse in Hanging Rock State Park. At this event members of the team made attendees aware of the upcoming master plan process and solicited initial ideas. Written surveys, asking about recreational preferences and potential activities at Vade Mecum and Moores Springs, were provided to and lled out by attendees. Additional trails, more accommodations (cabins and tent camping) and river access were the top choices. irty-three completed surveys were collected.

Vade Mecum Open House

e second event was a Vade Mecum open house sponsored by the Friends of Sauratown Mountains held on January 28, 2017. e event attracted an estimated 1,200 visitors. is event opened the Vade Mecum property to the public for the rst time in several years and attendance far exceeded expectations. At this event members of the team received input from attendees and further investigated the property. e design team manned a table at the event where there was a constant stream of community members. Many stories and requests were heard during this event from the community. Some community members even brought photo albums to show past images of the property.

e same written surveys provided at the Soup In a Bowl event were provided to and lled out by attendees at the Vade Mecum open house. Forty-four surveys were completed. e results of this survey were very similar to the initial survey, with the addition of strong support for community and event space.

See Appendix A for a charts and a summary of the surveys received from these two events.

Soup in a Bowl Community Event

Open House at Vade Mecum

Public Meeting

Public Meeting #1

On April 26, 2017, the rst public meeting was held at the Arts Place of Stokes in Danbury. While lightly attended, valuable feedback was received from attendees. Eleven community members attended the open house. At this meeting the planning team presented information about the property’s character, natural resources and historic signi cance. Analysis maps of the properties were hung on the wall, allowing attendees to view the information at their leisure. e design team was on hand to answer questions, guide the visitors through the process and listen to concerns or other feedback.

As part of the meeting, the community was asked to participate in evaluations of the existing structures throughout the property as well as provide initial ideas about appropriate land uses, based on development opportunities and constraints gleaned from the site analysis mapping. For the building evaluation exercise, each attendee was given a sheet of orange sticky dots and they were asked to vote on a total of 24 buildings and other structures. For each building, attendees were given the following choices:

Sacred: Building should be preserved for its historical value, as similar as possible to its historic use and appearance.

Valuable / Re-purpose: Building has some value and should be retained, however, it does not have to serve its traditional function. e building could be used for some other purpose.

Don’t Care: You don’t feel strongly one way or the other about the building or feature.

After the attendees completed the building evaluations, they were asked to comment on options for land use for the two properties. Vade Mecum and Moores Springs were broken up into ve areas each, with the areas based on distinct features, such as creeks, roads and topography. Each attendee was given 25 colored dots, ve of which were red. Green dots were to be used for Moores Springs while blue and yellow dots were to be used for Vade Mecum. ese dots represented “Yes” votes, while the red dots represented “No” votes. Participants were asked to place their dots on a matrix that correlated to the land use maps. Categories in the matrix included:

•Hiking-only trails

•Mountain bike / hiking trails

•Equestrian / hiking trails

•Preserve forest (no trails)

•Tent camping

•Group Camping

•Community Event Space

•Picnicking Area

•Playground

•River Access Area (Moores Springs only)

•Equestrian Facilities & Accommodations (Vade Mecum only)

•Overlook with Parking (Vade Mecum only)

Fewer dots than boxes in the matrix were intentionally given to participants. is was intended to make the participants think through the options and prioritize their decision making.

e same information and exercises presented at the public meeting were made available on the project website, which will be discussed further later in this section. Due to limitations of the survey software, online participants were not given the same voting restrictions, nor were they give any “No” votes. Due to the low turnout at the public meeting and the limitations of the polling software, the “No” votes were thrown out and only viewed as anecdotal information. Everyone was given the opportunity to provide additional comments. e online survey ran for three weeks and the combined results are tallied in the following graphics.

Between the public meeting and the online survey, 127 survey responses were collected. e building evaluation followed the team’s conventional thinking with most respondents indicating that the hotel, chapel, spring houses and the Diamond Lake Dam are “sacred”. Most other buildings, including the cabins, horse barn and gym, were designated as “Valuable / Re-purpose”, while the amphitheaters and pool were identi ed as “Don’t Care”.

Not surprising in the land use exercise, trails and accommodations (camping and cabins) topped the voting for all areas. Preserve forest, picnicking and community space were other popular choices.

Meetings with Stakeholders

During phase one, meetings with various stakeholders also were conducted. ese included:

•Park rangers, current and former park sta

•Hanging Rock State Park Advisory Committee

•County Commissioners

•County Manager

•State Legislature Representatives

•Stokes County Planning

Survey and Meeting Results

e community input and discussions with various stakeholders provided valuable input. e hotel, gym, chapel and spring houses were deemed “sacred”. It was clear that the community wanted to keep these buildings above all else. e community also indicated they saw an opportunity to re-purpose many of the buildings on the property, which was no surprise. e biggest surprise from the results of this phase was the overall lack of attachment to the pool behind the gym. Despite some support, the pool received very few “sacred” votes, with the majority suggesting they did not care what happened to it.

e community’s preferred land uses included hiking and camping as the most requested uses and these remained strong themes throughout the entire process.

ere was a moderate response towards preservation of the land. Similarly, equestrian trails received moderate support.

Phase Two Community Engagement Summary

Public Meeting #2

During Phase Two of the process, one public community meeting was held at the public library in Walnut Cove. Meeting attendance far surpassed attendance at the rst public meeting. e community was invited to review plans and express their preferences through an evaluation survey. Written surveys were provided and lled out by attendees. Community members and stakeholders were also able to review, select preferred options and complete surveys on the project website from June 30, 2017 to July 16, 2017.

During Phase Two, periodic meetings were held with various stakeholders. ese included:

•Park rangers and sta

•Friends of Sauratown Mountains

•Park Advisory Committee

Also critical to capturing community feedback was the utilization of social media.

Press Release

While social media was the main avenue for marketing the Phase 2 community meeting, plans and drawings, and the survey, the design team also wrote a press release prior to the second public meeting. e press release was distributed to various news outlets by the NC Department of Parks and Recreation. Prior to the community meeting, the project and meeting were promoted on two TV newscasts: Fox 8 in High Point, NC, and WFMY News 2 in Greensboro, NC. ree TV newscasts prepared stories following the public meeting: WFMY News 2 in Greensboro, NC, Spectrum News of Winston-Salem, and WXII News 2 of Winston-Salem. All three news outlets posted a link to the project website with their online stories, as well as showing the website URL on the screen during the broadcast.

See Appendix B for more information about the Social Media outreach and press releases. e press release also was published in several publications serving communities near Hanging Rock State Park.

Concept Master Plans Survey

At the second community meeting, feedback on the plans and drawings was solicited from the community through a survey. Attendees had the opportunity to vote on their favorite ideas and provide additional written feedback. In an e ort to reach the wider Hanging Rock community who could not attend the meeting, an online survey closely matching the survey at the meeting was created and posted to the project website. e surveys asked viewers to vote on their preferred overall option:

•A – Emphasis on day use activities with equestrian facilities and tent camping

•B – Emphasis on mountain biking, major event space, and a variety of accommodations

•C – Emphasis on hiking-only trails with limited accommodations

Following the overall options, viewers were asked to vote on a series of vignettes. ree vignettes were developed for each of 7 areas. Each vignette was linked to either option A, B, or C through the prescribed programmatic elements of the respective overall option. While community members had the opportunity to speak with design team members and park sta at the public open house, those participating in the online survey were given the opportunity to provide additional feedback on each option and each series of vignettes. e survey was open for 17 days and received 499 responses. 31 responses were received from the community meeting. See Appendix B for graphics that combine the results from the second community meeting and the online survey.

e community did not show much support for Option C – a hiking-only focus with very limited development - in any situation. Where results becomes less clear is in the division between Options A and B, whether looking at the overall options or the vignettes. While Option B – an emphasis on mountain biking, event space and accommodations - took the most votes in nearly every category, the di erence between A and B was minimal, represented by a 32% di erence on the high end and a 5% di erence on the low end.

Phase ree Community Engagement Summary

With the results from Public Meeting #2 and the online surveys tabulated, the design team began the process of preparing one overall concept option and a single option for each vignette area for consideration by the stakeholders and the community. (As a rst step in that process, a presentation of the phase two draft concepts was made to the Friends of Sauaratown Mountains and the Park Advisory Committee.)

Following that the team conducted a day long charrette at the Hanging Rock Visitor’s Center meeting separately with park rangers and sta , representatives from the Friends of Sauaratown Mountains and members of the Park Advisory Committee.

For a full list of comments per meeting, see Appendix C. An overview of comments received from these three sessions are as follows:

•At the Moores Springs campground there was interest in walk-in camp family camp sites.

•Important to separate the river access from the campground. River access needs a road in order to meet the expectations of the community

• e campground will need a bridge and a 10’ wide path in order to allow for emergency access and maintenance

•Moores Springs would be gated

•Prefer the gym as event space, community space, recreation hall and the chapel as event space for weddings.

•Important to keep group camping away from the river. Potential to attract a rowdy crowd

•Prefer not to have group camping in Vade Mecum West adjacent to Moore Springs Road.

•Prefer not to have mountain bike trails on Vade Mecum

•Liked the idea of making Vade Mecum for hiker and horse trails

•Locate and do not disturb cemeteries on Vade Mecum

•Concern was expressed about potential noise from events, and safety issues associated with more tra c on P East given the limited sight distance at the intersection with Moore Springs Road

•Camping on Moores Springs would satisfy the community’s immediate needs

•Put cabins in areas that are already developed, don’t disturb areas to build cabins

Following the charette, plans were revised and the draft master plan was made available for further community input at an Open House held at the Hanging Rock State Park Visitor’s Center on Saturday September 16, 2017 from 10:00AM -2:00 PM. Plans were placed on the project website providing continued opportunity for community input from September 16, 2017 though October 2, 2017.

Design Charrette

Design Charrette with Park Staff

Public Meeting #3

e third and nal public meeting was held at the Hanging Rock State Park Visitor’s Center on a Saturday September 16, 2017 in an attempt to gain a broader response to the plans. e previous public meetings had been held during weeknights in nearby towns, which drew mostly local residents. One of the goals of the third meeting was to gather feedback from a wider range of park users.

e design team displayed the draft master plan in the lobby of the visitor’s center on the morning of September 16, 2017, and was available to answer questions and provide additional information. Tra c through the visitor’s center was steady for the four hours the team was stationed there. However, not many people stopped to review the draft master plan. Most of those that did stop to see the plans were visiting the park for the sole purpose of the community meeting. As a result, the comments from the average park visitor were few with only 6 total surveys collected. It is unknown how many visitors might have provided comment through the website.

As with the other phases, social media was used to promote the Saturday morning community event and the online survey. See Appendix C for further details on Social Media outreach and Community Involvement for this phase.

Draft Master Plan Survey

As with the previous phases, a survey to gauge the public’s acceptance of the draft master plan was posted online. Over the course of the two weeks the survey was available, 86 responses were collected. e overall plan, as well as the individual vignettes, received support from the community. e comment we heard the most was a desire for more bike trails, which was due to an organized and vocal mountain bike community.

e draft master plan received support from the community, Park rangers and sta . Only minor changes were made for the nal recommendation.

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CHAPTERTHREE

Introduction

e nal master plan identi es recommendations for improvements and proposed facilities that re ect community and stakeholder input, are compatible with the operational and management requirements of a state park, and compliment current recreation opportunities at Hanging Rock State Park. e master plan illustrates a balance between providing access and recreational opportunities while protecting and interpreting the property’s natural and cultural history to the greatest extent possible.

While this land has many stories and has hosted many owners and uses, the addition of the property and its buildings to Hanging Rock State Park comes with speci c requirements to operate within the mission of the North Carolina Parks and Recreation Division including conservation, education and recreation. While it is critical to tell these stories and preserve the resources found on this property, it is also necessary to develop the property in a manner that is in keeping with the next chapter of its life as a state park.

Minor revisions to the draft master plan prepared in Phase 3 were required for the nal Master Plan

PLAN

Property Distinctions

While both the Vade Mecum property and Moores Springs property are considered a single addition to Hanging Rock State Park, share similar histories, and are equally cherished by the community they also are distinct.

e primary di erences between the two properties are

• e number and signi cance of buildings and facilities at Vade Mecum

• e impact of recent timbering operations at Vade Mecum.

• e rich cultural history at Vade Mecum and the property’s various uses over the years

• e river access and history of camping at the Moores Springs property

Similarities in topography, vegetation and similar water courses along with the history of the mineral springs and associated resorts, naturally unites these two properties.

Recommendations

Recommendations for improvements and proposed facilities are illustrated by the Overall Master Plan and Vignettes for critical areas within the property. e following describes the overall approach to the properties and highlights speci c facilities or recommendations for improvements.

Hotel at Vade Mecum

Gym at Vade Mecum

e existing structures on Vade Mecum present challenges in preservation, future use and operations. e most challenging are the hotel and gymnasium. While the master plan cites potential restoration costs and identi es future uses for these buildings it is recommended that a further evaluation of these two buildings as well as the three cabins identi ed for restoration be completed in order to better understand the speci c costs associated with various levels of stabilizing, restoring and using the buildings as a integral part of the park program.

e timbering operations have left a sizable portion of Vade Mecum denuded, eroded and in need of environmental restoration and reforestation. In addition it is recommended that streams running through both properties would bene t from some stabilization and restoration.

Overall Plan

e overall plan addresses the further development of the trails network, supporting access, and parking. ree types of trails are proposed by the overall plan. ese include mountain bike trails, which are available for use by hikers, equestrian trails, also available to hikers and hiking only trails.

e continuation and further development of the existing mountain biking trail network suggests an additional 7.5 miles of trail, bringing the total to nearly 16 miles. Two miles of this network is on Vade Mecum but stays east of the creek. It is important that this type of trail not extend west of the creek, where a di erent experience is promoted by the master plan. Sixteen miles makes this property a regional destination for mountain bikers. It is recommended that various skill levels of bikers be accommodated in the nal design of the trail.

Access and parking facilities are distributed across the property with a total of 305 parking spaces at six separate locations. At each of these parking areas restroom accommodations are recommended.

Parking areas shown on the overall plan serve bikers/ hikers, campground areas, horse trailers, day use visitors to the park as well as parking for events.

Successional Forest at Vade Mecum

Existing Trails on Moores Springs

Stream at Moores Springs

In addition to mountain bike trails, the overall plan accommodates equestrians with seven miles of trail on the Vade Mecum property. is trail system could be integrated and connected to the Mountains to Sea Trail / Sauratown trail west of Vade Mecum. Equestrian trails do not share access with or come in close proximity to Mountain Bike trails.

A hiking only experience is also provided in the overall plan (see pg 37). In addition to trails immediately serving existing and proposed buildings, a 5.5 mile long hiking only trail is located and identi ed by the overall plan as the Spring House Trail. is trail connects the spring house at Moores Springs to the spring house at Vade Mecum. In addition, the trail extends to the Moores Springs Dam Area and provides access to the primitive campsites at Moores Springs. Hiking only trails total 7.8 miles but hiking is also permitted on mountain bike and equestrian trails.

Continuity of trails requires designated crossings of public roads at seven di erent locations (see pg 37):

•For hikers, on Moores Springs Rd. near the new drive for the Moores Springs area

•Mountain bikers currently cross Moores Springs Road under the existing bridge

•Another crossing links mountain bike trails north of Moores Springs Road to those south of Moores Springs Road

•An equestrian crossing on Moores Springs Road across from the existing barn

•A crossing on Dan George Road and P East Road for both hikers and mountain bikers

•A future crossing west of the property may be needed for full connectivity to the Mountains to Sea and Sauratown trails

Prior to each road trails come together to de ne a single crossing point.

Future hiking trail connections to existing Hanging Rock State Park property and the Mountains to Sea / Sauratown trails are also identi ed by the overall master plan.

P East Road

Intersection of P East Road and Moores Springs Road

Toilet

Shack

Barn

Building/Structure

Mecum

MOORESSPRINGSRD.

Mecum Property

HALLRD.

/ Structure Recommendation

Course

Bridge

HANGING ROCK STATE PARK | MOORES SPRINGS & VADE MECUM MASTER PLAN

Tower

Outpost

Course Storage ShedFurther

Residence

Trail Totals

•Mountain biking trails / 16 miles total

•Equestrian trails / 7 miles

•Hiking only trails / 8 total miles

Parking

•305 car spaces

•100 spaces at Moores Springs Dam / Ed Booth Road Area

•76 spaces at Moores Springs Campground

•22 spaces at Vade Mecum East

•40 spaces at Vade Mecum West (doesn’t include event over ow parking)

•15 spaces reserved for cabins at Vade Mecum Central Campus

•52 spaces for day use and hotel at Vade Mecum Central Campus

•5 horse trailer spaces at Vade Mecum East

•10 horse trailer spaces at Vade Mecum West

Legend

New Hiking-Only Trails

New Mountain Biking & Hiking

Existing Mountain Biking & Hiking Trails

New Equestrian & Hiking Trails

Existing Equestrian & Hiking Trails

Vignette areas

Parking Crossing

Signi cant Building

MECUM

POTENTIAL

POTENTIAL

LEGEND

MECUM

OVERALL PLAN

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Moores Springs Property

Future use of the Moores Springs property centers around mountain biking, river access and camping as well as day use.

Existing trails for mountain biking are rede ned and extended including connections with trails south of Moores Springs Road. Other trails are proposed for hikers to access the Spring House, nature play area, picnic areas as well as camping areas.

Access into this area will require that the drive be relocated, due to inadequate site distance. A new vehicle bridge will also have to be installed to cross Cascade Creek.

River access is provided at one location east of Cascade Creek as it ows into the Dan River. is access point will be served by a drive and turn around where paddlers can drop their kayak or canoe and easily portage to the access point near the con uence of the creek and the river.

Camping at Moores Springs includes family walk in tent sites and primitive camp sites. e family campground is close enough to parking for campers to carry their gear and also includes a shower house. Primitive camp sites are located on the ridge east of the creek. Also recommended is the closing of the vehicle pull o area on Moores Springs Road near the dam. Proposed trails from the newly de ned parking area will provide visitors access to the dam and other walking trails.

Dan River

Existing trails at Moores Springs

Creek crossing

Moores Springs - Ed Booth Road Area

master plan illustrates the following improvements in this area:

parking

facilities (2)

total parking spaces

area

trails

existing pull o on Moore Springs Road

Tobacco Barn

Moores Springs - Former Campground

e master plan illustrates the following improvements in this area:

•78 total parking spaces

•Restroom

•Renovation of Spring House

•River access drive / drop o

•Family walk in camping / shower house / 14 sites

•Primitive camping (on ridge / not shown in vignette) / 10 sites

•New vehicle bridge across Cascade Creek

•Hiking trails

•Picnic areas

•Picnic Shelter

•Pedestrian Bridges (3)

•Maintenance Building

Rock Outcropping at river access

Stream crossing at Cascade Creek

Existing vehicular bridge

Hotel

Vade Mecum Property

Future Use of the Vade Mecum property centers around events, day use, a variety of overnight accommodations and trails with numerous educational interpretive opportunities.

Opportunities for events are accommodated by the adaptive reuse of the chapel, gymnasium and hotel as well as outdoor amphitheaters on the central campus. Parking accommodations for events are provided primarily by the lot and meadow at Vade Mecum West as well as other parking areas.

Day use visitors to this area are accommodated by a network of trails that link various points of interest including buildings as well as other historic areas and features throughout Vade Mecum. Parking for day use visitors is located in several areas and include the designation of accessible parking near buildings. In addition access to central campus includes road improvements to the existing Camp Sertoma Drive to permit two way vehicular tra c.

Existing cabins

Overnight accommodations include the potential for overnight stay at the hotel, family camping, primitive camping and cabins including the restoration of three cabins and the introduction of additional cabins on the ridge between Vade Mecum West and East. e family campground includes a shower house.

Spring House

Existing dam and water wheel

Trails on Vade Mecum include hiking, equestrian and mountain bike trails.

Interpretive educational opportunities include both natural resources and historic features. Among those opportunities are endangered species near Palisades rock and the cultural history of various existing features including the central campus buildings, spring house and former dance oor, former Diamond Lake and dam, cemetery and other points of interest. It is recommended that structures and the dam be preserved. ese features can be reached by both hiking and equestrian trails and should include a place for interpretive signage.

Other recommendations for the Vade Mecum property include accommodations for equestrians both at Vade Mecum West with trail head parking and around the existing horse barn with overnight horse trailer parking and horse paddocks.

In addition, allowance is made for the expansion of the existing maintenance area including the relocation of the access drive to the area and the conversion of the nature building to a camp store.

Much of the area associated with Vade Mecum North and east to P East Road requires reforestation. e exception to that is the area where the existing septic eld is located.

Palisades Rock

Cleared area along P East Road

Vade Mecum - East

e master plan illustrates the following improvements in this area:

•Cabins (9)

•Family camping / Showerhouse / 20 sites

•Equestrian facilities / reuse old barn

•Day use / trailhead parking

•Horse trailer parking (5)

•Adaptive reuse of the Nature Center building as a camp store / restroom

•Consolidated entries / removal of existing maintenance area drive

•Expansion of maintenance area

Existing

Existing horse barn

Existing Nature Center building

Vade Mecum - West

master plan illustrates the following improvements in this area:

parking (40 spaces)

trailer parking (10 spaces)

ow parking in the meadow

access into

Vade Mecum - North

master plan illustrates the following improvements in this area:

camping / 15 sites

camping / 4 sites

campsite expansion

preservation

Vade Mecum - Central Campus

e master plan illustrates the following improvements in this area:

•Repurposing of Gymnasium and Chapel as event space

•Restoration of the existing hotel

‐Short term: history museum, cafe, gift shop, artist/maker spaces and meeting space withing the hotel

‐Long term: Hostel accommodations within the upper two oors of the hotel

‐Accessibility Improvements

•Restoration of three cabins

•Additional three cabins (new construction)

event space

(69 spaces)

building

•Interpretive elements & spaces

improvements to Camp Sertoma Road

Existing hotel

Existing stone wall adjacent to creek and spring house

Existing Gym

Phased Implementation

e long term and full vision illustrated by the master plan will require many years to implement. Recommendations for improvements are identi ed and illustrated by the master plan have been prioritized into three phases.

e implementation of recommendations found in this master plan will take more than 10 years and will be dependent on available funding form the state as well as possible grants and the work of volunteers.

For purposes of this master plan, the implementation of facilities and recommendations is identi ed under three phases. Each phase includes facilities and improvements on both the Moores Springs property and the Vade Mecum property under overarching objectives.

Following is a brief description of each phase with associated priorities:

Phase One

e primary objective of the rst phase is to stabilize select and signi cant buildings and structures, make the property accessible to visitors for day use and improve the ability of the property to support events. e time period associated with Phase One improvements is 0-5 years.

Phase Two

Phase Two is focused on the continued implementation of trails and the introduction of camping facilities. e time period associated with Phase Two is 5-10 years.

Phase Three Phase ree includes additional accommodations including the restoration of the hotel, cabins and camping along with supporting infrastructure. e time period associated with Phase ree is 10 years and beyond.

MOORESSPRINGROAD

ED BOOTH ROAD

Phase 1 / Vade Mecum

•Stabilize, hotel, gym, horse barn and 3 cabins

•Restore Spring House

•Evaluate/construct pedestrian bridge at Spring House

•Renovate rst oor of hotel (welcome, history and gift shop)

•Renovate gym

•Site accessibility improvements to Gym and Chapel

•Restroom facility

/ parking improvements

•Hiking Trails

metal bridge

signage for the spring house, dam, natural features, gym, and hotel

military shack

pool

cabins not remaining and reforest

Caretaker’s Residence

stage

Existing horse barn

Hotel

Existing

Entry drive improvements and parking at Vade Mecum are included in Phase 1 For full vignette, see page 53.

Event spaces at Vade Mecum are included in Phase 1. For full vignette, see page 53.

Restore the Spring House at Vade Mecum

PROPOSED OUTDOORSTAGE

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PHASE 1:

–STABILIZE HOTEL, GYM, CABINS TO REMAIN, AND BARN –RESTORE SPRING HOUSE

–RENOVATE GYM –RENOVATE FIRST FLOOR HOTEL –INTERPRETIVE SIGNAGE: SPRING HOUSE, HOTEL, GYM, DAM & NATURAL FEATURES

–REMOVE POOL –EVALUATE SPRING HOUSE BRIDGE –REPAIR METAL BRIDGE –PARKING –REMOVE CABINS NOT REMAINING –OUTDOOR STAGE

PHASE 1: –DRIVE IMPROVEMENTS

PHASE 1: –STABILIZE BARN

PHASE 1:

–DEMO CARETAKERS RESIDENCE

MOORESSPRINGROAD

EXISTING SAURATOWN TRAIL

HANGING ROCK STATE PARK EXPANSION

Springs &

Mecum Master Plan

–RESTORE SPRING HOUSE

–MOUNTAIN BIKE TRAIL CONNECTION

–TRAIL CONNECTION FROM PARKING TO SPRING HOUSE

–REPLACE VEHICLE BRIDGE –RELOCATE DRIVE

CASCADE

PHASE 1:

–PARKING –RESTROOM –HIKING ONLY TRAILS –INTERPRETIVE SIGNAGE FOR TOBACCO BARN & DAM

–IMPROVED TRAIL CONNECTION UNDER BRIDGE

PIEDMONT

DAN

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Phase 2 / Moores Springs

Phase 2 / Vade Mecum

PHASE

HANGING

PHASE

CAMPING

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ED BOOTH ROAD

Phase 3 / Vade Mecum

–CAMPGROUND

HOUSE

HORSE BARN

CAMPING WITH RV HOOKUPS

NATURE BUILDING

HANGING

LEGEND

PHASE

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Estimates of Probable Cost

Probable construction costs have been formulated for implementation of each phase identi ed by the master plan. Implementation will also require additional sta ng. e cost of personnel as well as equipment to perform maintenance and establish supporting programs is not included in the estimates.

Construction costs presented are based on current (2017) costs incurred for similar facilities in other state parks and not adjusted over time to account for in ation. It is noted that while costs are included for all identi ed improvements, some of these improvements could be carried out by volunteer e orts or current sta . Speci cally these include trail building and portions of camping facilities particularly the primitive camping opportunities.

e estimates are considered to be conservative and include a 25% contingency. More accurate estimates and costs will be determined as part of the design process based on site speci c and detailed existing conditions information.

Additionally, the costs associated with stabilizing and restoring existing structures are being further investigated by a team of architects and engineers.

ese estimates will include the hotel, gymnasium and existing cabins to remain.

Other costs typically associated with construction projects that are not covered by these estimates include the following:

•Geotechnical / soils investigation

•Contaminated soil remediation

•Rock removal

•Surveying

•Mobilization

•Permitting ( environmental, building and erosion control )

•Archaeological investigations

•Percolation tests

•Removal or abandonment of existing septic elds

•Cost adjustments for in ation

Estimates of probable construction costs per phase

PhasePropertyProbable Cost

Phase 1Moores Springs$2,200,000

Phase 1Vade Mecum$5,960,500

Phase 2Moores Springs$3,100,000

Phase 2Vade Mecum$3,600,000

Phase 3Moores Springs$860,000

Phase 3Vade Mecum$9,400,000

Total$25,120,500

HANGING ROCK STATE PARK EXPANSION MASTER PLAN Appendices

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Table Of Contents. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iii

Appendix A: Phase One 1

Site Analysis Maps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1

Natural Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1

Cultural Features. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Moores Springs Vegetation Map . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3

Vade MecumVegetation Map. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5

Moores Springs Natural Features Map. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7

Vade Mecum Natural Features Map. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9

Moores Springs Topography Map. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Vade MecumTopography Map . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13

Moores Springs Slope Analysis Map. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Vade Mecum Slope Analysis Map. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Moores Springs Hydrology Map. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Vade Mecum Hydrology Map. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Moores Springs Cultural Features Map . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23

Vade Mecum Cultural Features Map. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Moores Springs Dedicated Nature Preserve Map . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Community Engagement. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Park Program Survey. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Building Evaluations Exercise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Building Evaluations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35

Land Use Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39

Land Use. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

Moores Springs Land Use Options Map . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Vade Mecum Land Use Options Map . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45

Website . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

Moores Springs and Vade Mecum Vignette Areas. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

Appendix B: Phase Two 49

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .49

Overall Plan Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .49

Option A: Overall Plan. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

Proposed Program Features. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

Community Survey Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .50

Land Use Option A. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

Option A Vignettes - Moores Springs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

Moores Springs - Ed Booth Rd Area. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

Moores Springs - Former Campground. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

Moores Springs - Ed Booth Rd Area. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

Moores Springs - Former Campground. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

Vade Mecum - Sunset Point . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .55

Vade Mecum - West . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .56

Vade Mecum - Central Campus. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

Option B: Overall Plan. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

Proposed Program Features. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

Community Survey Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .58

Land Use Option B . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

Option B Vignettes - Moores Springs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

Moores Springs - Ed Booth Rd Area. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

Moores Springs - Former Campground. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

Vade Mecum - Sunset Point . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .62

Vade Mecum - West . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .63

Vade Mecum - East. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

Vade Mecum - North . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .64

Vade Mecum - Central Campus. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

Proposed Program Features. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66

Community Survey Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .66

Option C: Overall Plan. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66

Land Use Option C. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

Option C Vignettes - Moores Springs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

Moores Springs - Ed Booth Rd Area. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

Moores Springs - Former Campground. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

Option C Vignettes - Vade Mecum. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

Vade Mecum - Sunset Point . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .70

Vade Mecum - West . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .70

Vade Mecum - East. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

Vade Mecum - North . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

Vade Mecum - Central Campus. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72

Vignettes - Consistent In All Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .73

Moores Springs - Primitive Camping. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73

Moores Springs - Dam Area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .73

Phase Two Community Engagement. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .74

Survey. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76

Appendix C: Phase Three 79

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .79

Design Charette with Park Rangers / Staff. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79

HARO Park Advisory Committee (PAC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79

Friends of Sauratown Mountains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80

Social Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81

Map Index

Moores Springs Vegetation Map. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Vade MecumVegetation Map. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Moores Springs Natural Features Map . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7

Vade Mecum Natural Features Map . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9

Moores Springs Topography Map . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11

Vade MecumTopography Map. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Moores Springs Slope Analysis Map. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Vade Mecum Slope Analysis Map . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Moores Springs Hydrology Map. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Vade Mecum Hydrology Map . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Moores Springs Cultural Features Map. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Vade Mecum Cultural Features Map. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Moores Springs Dedicated Nature Preserve Map. . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Moores Springs Land Use Options Map. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Vade Mecum Land Use Options Map. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

Moores Springs and Vade Mecum Vignette Areas . . . . . . . . . . . 49

Land Use Option A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

Land Use Option B . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

Land Use Option C . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

APPENDIX A

Site Analysis Maps

e maps on the following pages support Phase one of the master plan and were completed and presented to the community as a part of that phase.

Natural Features

e following are analysis maps of the natural features for both the Vade Mecum and Moores Springs properties. ese maps support the information presented in the master plan report in Phase One.

Cultural Features

e following are analysis maps of the cultural features for both the Vade Mecum and Moores Springs properties. ese maps support the information presented in the master plan report in Phase One.

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OAK-HICKORY

CAROLINA HEMLOCK

OAK HEATH

PIEDMONT/COASTAL

PIEDMONT

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VADE MECUM PROPERTY

VEGETATION

MESIC FOREST (PIEDMONT SUBTYPE)

MONTANE OAK-HICKORY FOREST (BASIC SUBTYPE)

COVE FOREST

MONTANE OAK-HICKORY FOREST (ACIDIC SUBTYPE)

SUCCESSIONAL

CAROLINA HEMLOCK FOREST

MESIC MIXED HARDWOOD FOREST

PERMANENTLY DISTURBED

PIEDMONT LEVEE FOREST (TYPIC SUBTYPE)

MONTANE ALLUVIAL FOREST

ELEVATION SEEP

DRY MESIC OAK-HICKORY

CHESTNUT OAK FOREST (DRY HEATH SUBTYPE)

ACIDIC COVE FOREST

DRY MESIC BASIC OAKHICKORY FOREST

OAK-HICKORY FOREST

PIEDMONT BOTTOMLAND FOREST

CLEARCUT

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MOORES SPRINGS PROPERTY NATURAL FEATURES

LEGEND

MAJOR ROCK OUTCROPPING

APPROXIMATE LOCATION OF ENDANGERED / RARE SPECIES

- Wehrle’s salamander (E)

- James Spinymussel (E)

- Roanoke Hogsucker (R)

- Alabama grape fern (R)

- Mountain Camelia (R)

- Ringed Witch Grass (R)

- Plume Moss (R)

- A Liverwort (R)

RICH COVE FOREST

- A common plant community type, but one nearly absent this far east of the Blue Ridge Escarpment

CAROLINA HEMLOCK FOREST

SUCCESSIONAL FOREST

MOORES SPRINGS & VADE MECUM BOUNDARIES STREAMS

100’ STREAM BUFFER (EACH SIDE)

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VADE MECUM

FEATURES

CAROLINA HEMLOCK FOREST

FOREST

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MOORES SPRINGS PROPERTY

TOPOGRAPHY

LEGEND

HIGH POINT

HIGH GROUND Gentle - moderate slopes associated with ridge lines and higher elevations

LOW LYING AREAS Gentle - moderate slopes along creek corridors

SPRINGS & VADE MECUM BOUNDARIES

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VADE MECUM PROPERTY

TOPOGRAPHY LEGEND

HIGH

LOW LYING

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SOUTH DOUBLE

CAMP STORE

DANCE FLOOR

MOORES SPRINGS

HOTEL LOCATION

OF MOORE

MOORES SPRINGS PROPERTY CULTURAL FEATURES

LEGEND

CEMETERY

FORMER CAMPGROUND AREA

FORMER CAMPGROUND ROAD

MOORES SPRINGS & VADE MECUM BOUNDARIES

STREAMS

GEORGE

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VADE MECUM PROPERTY

FEATURES

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MOORES SPRINGS PROPERTY

DEDICATED NATURE PRESERVE

LEGEND

MOORES SPRINGS & VADE MECUM BOUNDARIES

STREAMS

DEDICATED NATURE PRESERVE - PRIMARY AREA - 114 acres - Notable site for rare and endangered species as well as high quality natural communities - Trails within the primary area - principal visitor activities shall be nature education, walking, research, & observation - no res

DEDICATED NATURE PRESERVE - BUFFER AREA - 248 acres - minimal disturbance allowed - principal visitor activities shall be nature education, walking, research, & observation - no res

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Community Engagement

e following graphs and charts summarize the information gathered during the community engagement portion of Phase One: Information Gathering.

Park Program Survey

e following summarizes the responses to the program surveys received at both the Soup in A Bowl event and the Vade Mecum Open House event.

Inside Stokes County,

King

Walnut Cove

Danbury

Stokes County

Quaker Gap

Lawsonville

Pinnacle

Tobaccoville

Germanton

Outside Stokes County, NC

Winston-Salem

West eld

Clemmons

High Point

Greensboro

Sandy Ridge 2 East Bend 1 Stuart

Brevard 1 Oak Ridge 1 Lexington 1 Kernersville 1 Belews Creek 1 Apex 1 Yadkin County 1 Davidson County 1 Summer eld 1 Francis 1

What kind of recreational activities

Other

of the comment responses were for Hiking.”

Walking Cabins Plant / animal identi cation Beach Water Activities Back-packing H2 Camping Camp for Special Needs Farmers Market Playground Gol ng

Community Events Art eatre

Easy Hiking

Motor Cycle Riding History of Community Paddling Dancing Gardening Sports Tubing

Overnight hotel accommodation Photography Listening to Music Cleaning Trails Church Event Farmers Market Trail Running Eating Out

“Community, Activity and Events

Accommodation

RESPONSE SUMMARY

Historical, Restoration (15%); Trails (11%);

most

COMMUNITY, ACTIVITY & EVENTS

Arts, Music & Entertainment, Event Rental, Community, Family accessible, Community Centre, Gym for Dancing, Year round Programs, Zip Lines, Education (Natural Healthcare, Conservancy, Recycling)

HISTORICAL, PRESERVATION

Historical Presevation (Interactive, maintain historic charm) Refurbish cabins (with kitchenettes, rent while doing hotel / B+B. ‘sponsor a room’ Restore Hotel (open and working), Chapel / Hotel (Weddings), Restore Lake, Bridge at Booth Loop (To Tory’s Den Trail), Historical education, Bath House

TRAILS

Hiking, Mountain bike expansion, Horseback riding, Walking, Connections

ACCOMODATION

Cabins, Overnight Accommodation, Hotel (Small boutique hotels), Hotel, Hostel, Bed and Breakfast, Cabins (connected to Hanging Rock State Park)

OUTDOOR CAMPING

Camping (more camping areas, larger), R/V or Camper Sites, (Vade Mecum - Needs bridge so it can be accessed, Moore Springs Campground Access, water and electric hookups)

ENVIRONMENTAL

Environmental Sustainability Centre, Educational, Conservation, Environmental stewardship, Recycling Gardens, Waterways

OTHER

Aesthetic (Rural / agricultrual nature of county, rustic), Housing, Volunteering, Family Retreats with Meals (Hotel kitchen), menit , eddin s, dditional sta , oilets, tter medicinal ardens, nner cit ids meet nat re, i in it do s

FOOD AND DRINK

Stores and Restaurants, Fresh Local food

ACCESS & PARKING

Park Access for Public, Easy access, Parking

SWIMMING POOL

Public Swimming Pool (restoring the pool)

RIVER ACTIVITIES

River Related Activities (Kayaking, Canoing, Tubing, Swimming), River Access,

CAMP PROGRAM

Camps, Art & Painting retreats, Summer arts program

(25%); Community, Activity and Events (23%); Outdoor Camping (14%); and Accommodation (11%)were the most popular comment responses.”

RESPONSE SUMMARY

TRAILS

Greenway trails, Hiking, Mountain bike, Horseback riding, Motor cycle / ATV, ADA Accessible trails, Walking

COMMUNITY, ACTIVITY & EVENTS

Community Centre (Gathering Place), Arts, Music & Entertainment, Event Rental (music, theatre, festival), Education, Events, Zip Lines, Fitness, Golf Course, Outreach, Picnic areas, Disc Golf, Public Parks, Stable - Horses to lease, Amphitheater, Rock Climbing

OUTDOOR CAMPING

Camping (more camping areas, larger), R/V or Camper Sites, Primitive, Tents

ACCOMMODATION

Cabins, Lodging (close to park), Affordable Overnight Accommodation, Hotel (Small boutique hotels), Resort (Eco Resort with Farm to table Restaurant), Retreats, Conference Centre

RIVER ACTIVITIES

Kayaking, River Related Activities, River Access, Canoeing, Tubing, Swimming

FOOD AND DRINK

Restaurants, General store

SWIMMING POOL

Public Swimming Pool (keeping the pool)

CAMP PROGRAM

Camps that groups can rent weekly, Special Needs Camps, Daycamps for adults

HISTORICAL

Historical Preservation (Vade Mecum Property), Hotel Restoration

OTHER

Shopping (Crafts), Guidance/direction, Signage, More farms, Bike Rack, Dog friendly

Building Evaluations Exercise

For each building, attendees were given the following choices:

Sacred: Building should be preserved for its historical value, as similar as possible to its historic use and appearance.

Valuable / Re-purpose: Building has some value and should be retained, however, it does not have to serve its traditional function. e building could be used for some other purpose.

Don’t Care: You don’t feel strongly one way or the other about the building or feature.

Evaluation De nitions

Sacred: Building should be preserved for its historical value, as similar as possible to its historic appearance.

Valuable / Re-purpose: Building has some value and should be retained, however, it does not have to serve its traditional function. The building could be used for some other purpose.

Don’t Care: You don’t feel strongly one way or the other about the building

structure.

Land Use Options

Sacred / Historical Appearance Valuable / Repurpose

Don’t Care

Attendees to Community Meeting #1 were asked to comment on options for land use for the two properties. Vade Mecum and Moores Springs were broken up into ve areas each, with the areas based on distinct features, such as creeks, roads and topography. Each attendee was given 25 colored dots, ve of which were red. Green dots were to be used for Moores Springs while blue and yellow dots were to be used for Vade Mecum. ese dots represented “Yes” votes, while the red dots represented “No” votes.

Participants were asked to place their dots on a matrix that correlated to the land use maps. Categories in the matrix included:

•Hiking-only trails

•Mountain bike / hiking trails

•Equestrian / hiking trails

•Preserve forest (no trails)

•Tent camping

•Group Camping

•Community Event Space

•Picnicking Area

•Playground

•River Access Area (Moores Springs only)

•Equestrian Facilities & Accommodations (Vade Mecum only)

•Overlook with Parking (Vade Mecum only)

MOORES

LAND USE OPTIONS

LEGEND

A

ACRES: 19 ac

ACRES IN PRIMARY DNP: 0 ac

TOTAL ACRES: 390

FEATURES: RIVER FRONTAGE, SPRING HOUSE, ENDANGERED SPECIES HABITAT, CASCADE CREEK

Low lying flat area bisected by Cascade Creek with gentle access to Dan River. Site of former campground. Existing driveway off Moores Springs Rd.

ACRES: 93 ac

ACRES IN PRIMARY DNP: 30 ac

FEATURES: RIVER FRONTAGE, SPRING HOUSE, ENDANGERED SPECIES HABITAT, CASCADE CREEK, EXISTING MNT. BIKE TRAILS Approximately 1/3 of area designated as Dedicated Nature Preserve Primary Area. Includes 1 Potential Dev. Area.

ACRES: 144 ac

C

B D

ACRES IN PRIMARY DNP: 0 ac

FEATURES: DAM, BIKE SHACK, TOBACCO BARN, CASCADE CREEK, EXISTING MNT. BIKE TRAILS Area south of Moores Springs Rd. Entire area within Dedicated Nature Preserve Buffer Area. Primarily Oak-Hickory Forest.

ACRES: 84 ac

ACRES IN PRIMARY DNP: 50 ac

FEATURES: CEMETERY, SIGNIFICANT TREES ALONG RIDGES, COVE FOREST, MNT. BIKE TRAILS CURRENTLY PLANNED Area features two major ridges running SW to NE. Two primary drainage patterns run to South Double Creek which runs to Dan River.

ACRES: 50 ac

ACRES IN PRIMARY DNP: 39 ac

FEATURES: ADJACENT TO PIEDMONT LAND CONSERVANCY PROPERTY, ENDANGERED SPECIES HABITAT, SIGNIFICANT ROCK OUTCROPPINGS, MNT. BIKE TRAILS CURRENTLY PLANNED

Predominately designated as Primary Dedicated Nature Preserve.

NATURE PRESERVE PRIMARY AREA

DEDICATED NATURE PRESERVE BUFFER AREA

OUTISDE DNP

ROAD BIKE TRAILS

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LEGEND

A

ACRES: 48 ac

FEATURES: BUILDINGS, DAM, CAMP FACILITIES, AMPHITHEATERS

Former Camp Sertoma site, along ridge parallelled by tributaries of Vade Mecum Creek. Driveway access off Moores Springs Rd.

ACRES: 110 ac

FEATURES: SPRING HOUSE, PALISADES ROCK, VIEW

Area north of Vade Mecum Creek. Includes 3 designated potential development areas. Some areas are recently timbered. Includes former shooting range and outpost. Expansive views from high point. Large areas of successional forest.

C

ACRES: 73 ac

FEATURES: HORSE BARN, VIEW POINT, OLD ROPES COURSE, SEVERAL BUILDINGS, ‘LOST CABIN’ Area west of P East Rd. Includes several buildings and major view point. Some area in DNP Buffer Area. Large areas of successional forest.

ACRES: 71 ac

FEATURES: FORMER LAKE

Area south west of Vade Mecum Creek and west of Main Campus. Site of former Diamond Lake.

ACRES: 53 ac

FEATURES: EQUESTRIAN TRAILS

Area south of Moores Springs Rd.

Existing trail connects the Mountains to Sea trail to Hanging Rock State Par.

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32 Followers May 15 REI Promotion begins

Saturday, May 6 (peak)

170 Visitors / 611 Page Views

Friends of Saurtown Mountains

Vade Mecum Tour and Hiking

Website Statistics as of May 31, 2017

Website

As part of the public engagement component of the project, a project website (www. hangingrockexpansionmasterplan.com) was set up to disseminate information to a large audience and to provide an opportunity for the community to give feedback and ask questions. e website, built in Wordpress, was set up with a blog-type home page and static supporting pages. e home page was used to provide updates on the project as well as promote public meetings. e static pages contained a history of the site, a project description and scope, inventory and analysis maps, conceptual and draft plans, and survey results. As new material was developed, it was posted to the website, typically in conjunction with public meetings.

1,274

UNIQUE VISITORS 5,468 PAGE VIEWS

* As of 10am, Wednesday, May 31, 2017

e website went live the day following the rst public meeting. At that point, the analysis maps were posted along with a link to an online version of the exercises that were available at the meeting. Following the second public meeting, the initial concepts with accompanying graphics and a link to an online survey were posted to the website. e same process was followed following the third public meeting where the draft master plan was presented.

Visitors to the website were given the opportunity to view and comment on all of the meeting materials as well as all other content on the site. An email address speci c to the project was setup through Gmail (info@ hangingrockexpansionmasterplan.com), letting visitors reach out to the design team. Visitors also had the option of following the site, allowing them to receive updates whenever new content was added to the site, which occurred on a regular basis.

Visitation to the website uctuated, with the biggest days immediately following community meetings. e further away from community meetings, the more the viewership dwindled. As content was added, an immediate increase in visitors was noted, quickly followed by a decline. To help drive people to the website, the site was promoted at every public meeting as well as through social media. obs regularly promoted the website through their own Facebook page. e design team also promoted the website on the Facebook pages of relevant groups, such as the Friends of Saurtown Mountains, Hanging Rock – Stokes County, NC Tourism and Carolina Climbers Coalition, among others. e Division also promoted the project website on their own social media feeds as well as the State Parks website. Finally, the design team reached out to REI and Bass Pro Shops to promote the website and the project through their community outreach programs to gather an audience from outside Stokes County.

ROCK STATE PARK

THE PROJECT

APPENDIX B

Introduction

Phase Two focused on the identi cation of potential program elements and recreational opportunities as well as the preparation of alternative concepts for future improvements. ese concepts accommodated the program and illustrated options for their placement on the land.

With the site analysis information and initial stakeholder feedback from Phase One, three potential development options were de ned. Relevant to the overall property were variations on the trail network and supporting infrastructure. In all three options, the trail system was developed to keep equestrian and mountain biking separate and limit the crossing of these two types of trails. All trails within Hanging Rock State Park allow hikers and both the proposed mountain biking trails and equestrian trails would allow hiking.

As options were developed, site speci c areas that were able to accommodate the program began to emerge. obs developed speci c vignettes for each of these areas.

ese areas included:

•Moore Springs Dam and Ed Booth Road area

•Moore Springs former Campground and Ridge

•Vade Mecum Sunset Point

•Vade Mecum West

•Vade Mecum East

•Vade Mecum North

•Vade Mecum Central Campus

Overall Plan Options

e entire property was examined for the potential for trails including mountain bike, equestrian and hiking trails. Potential trail connections to link the subject property with Hanging Rock State Park proper were also identi ed. Each option provided trails in various con gurations and length with some existing trail networks being assumed. e existing mountain bike trails south of Moore’s Springs Road and those to the north on the eastern side of the Moore Springs property were designated to remain in each of the three options. Also consistent within each option was the notion of a hiking only trail that linked the Moores Springs spring house to the Vade Mecum spring house, primitive camping on the ridge at Moores Springs, and development of the Moores Springs dam area. Following is a summary of each option for the overall site:

Moores Springs and Vade Mecum Vignette Areas

Option A Overall Plan

Option A emphazised day use activities with equestrian facilities and tent camping on the Vade Mecum property. No camping is proposed on Moores Springs in this option.

Proposed Program Features

Trails:

•Mountain biking trails: existing and proposed at Moore Springs only. ~ 20.7 total miles

•Hiking only trails ~ 5.9 total miles

•Equestrian trails ~ 5.2 miles on Vade Mecum and connection to the Mountains to Sea Trail

Accommodations at Vade Mecum:

•30 Family Tent Sites

•83 Primitive Tent Sites

•Restore 3 existing cabins, 6 proposed cabins associated with equestrian facilities

•One ranger residence (renovate or replace existing structure)

PublicParking

•350 spaces

Recreation Facilities

•Equestrian Facilities: Proposed horse barn on Vade Mecum

•Repurpose existing horse barn for an equestrian vendor

•Maintain existing pool

•Ropes course relocated

•Community Event Space on both Properties

•Dan River Access at Moores Springs

Community Survey Results

Option A was the preferred option of 31% of people who took the survey.

Legend

Point of Interest

Hiking-Only Trail

Mountain Biking & Hiking Trail Cabin/ Accommodation Primitive Camping

Equestrian & Hiking Trail

Family Camping Community Event Space Playground

Picnicking Equestrian Parking Stables

Swimming Pool Access Parking Ranger Residence

River Access Amphitheater

Camping Area Day Use Area

Service Road Road

Equestrian Facilities

Cabins Parking

Rich Cove Forest Piedmont Bottom Land Forest

Signi cant Building

Crossings

MOUNTAINS

PIEDMONT LAND

CASCADE

COVE

POTENTIAL HIKING

POTENTIAL HIKING

COVE

COVE

PIEDMONT

PIEDMONT

OPTION A

USE

OPTION A

USE

OPTION A OVERALL PLAN

POTENTIAL

TRAIL CONNECTION

TRAIL

This page was intentionally left blank

Moores Springs

Option A Vignettes - Vade Mecum

Option A Vignettes - Vade Mecum

Moores Springs - Former Campground

Use & No Camping

Program Features:

•Proposed horse barn - Equestrian Facilities connected to the Mountains to Sea Trail

- 20 spaces

Trailer Parking - 10 spaces

- 6 new cabins associated with Horse Barn

N

Vade Mecum - Sunset Point

Use & No Camping

Program Features:

•Horse barn - vendor runs horse rides around Vade Mecum

Camping - 30 sites

- 36 spaces

Area

Vehicular Bridge

Store and Restroom

N

N

Option A Vignettes - Vade Mecum

Vade Mecum - Central Campus

N

Program Features:

•Pool - renovated with pool house

•Parking - 125 spaces

•Cabins - Group 3 repurposed as nature education buildings

•Hotel - preserved, new cafe, art spaces

•Chapel - gift shop and museum

•Gym - recreational facility

Option B Overall Plan

e emphasis in Option B included an emphasis on mountain biking trails and a variety of accommodations on both properties. No new equestrian trails are proposed in this option.

Proposed Program Features

Trails:

•Mountain biking trails on Vade Mecum ~ 7.2 miles

•Mountain biking trails: existing and proposed ~ 27.9 total miles

•Hiking only trails ~ 4.5 total miles

•Equestrian trail connection on property south of Moores Springs Road

Accommodations:

•30 Family Tent Sites on Moores Springs

•4 Group Tent Sites on Moores Springs

•8 Family Tent Sites on Vade Mecum

•Restore 3 cabins on Vade Mecum

•20 proposed cabins on Vade Mecum

•Hotel restored for Hostel accommodations

•Two proposed ranger residences

PublicParking

•380 spaces

Recreation Facilities

•Pool removed

•Ropes course removed

•Access Road to north side of Vade Mecum

•Community Event Space at Vade Mecum

•Dan River Access at Moores Springs

Community Survey Results

Option B was the preferred option of 60% of people who took the survey.

Legend

Point of Interest

Hiking-Only Trail

Mountain Biking & Hiking Trail

Cabin/ Accommodation

Hostel

Primitive Camping

Group Camping

Picnicking

Family Camping Community Event Space Playground

Parking Ranger Residence

River Access

Amphitheater

Camping Area Day Use Area

Service Road Road

Cabins Parking

Rich Cove Forest Piedmont Bottom Land Forest

Signi cant Building

Crossings

POTENTIAL HIKING

OPTION B

MOUNTAIN

EVENT

POTENTIAL

POTENTIAL

TRAIL

OPTION

OPTION B

OVERALL PLAN

MOUNTAIN BIKING, MAJOR EVENT

This page was intentionally left blank

- Moores Springs

Features:

N

Option B Vignettes - Vade Mecum

Program Features:

- 40 spaces

ow parking for large events

biking / Hiking

Restroom

Program Features:

barn preserved as ornamental

- 56 spaces

ow parking for events

- 13 new cabins

Biking/ Hiking Trailhead

Area, Day Use

Store & Restroom

N

Option B Vignettes - Vade Mecum

Program Features:

•Pool - removed, lled in

•Parking - 100 spaces

•Hotel - operated as a hostel, new cafe

- event space

- event space

- Group 3 remains as support facilities for events

amphitheaters - 2 new/2 existing

(Nature Play, Discovery Zone)

N

Option C Overall Plan

Option C included a combination of mountain biking and hiking trails as well as limited accommodations on both properties. No new equestrian trails are proposed in this option.

Proposed Program Features

Trails:

•Mountain biking trails: existing and proposed at Moore Springs only. ~ 14 total miles

•Hiking only trails ~ 11.2 total miles

•Equestrian trails on property south of Moores Springs Road and connection to the Mountains to Sea Trail

Accommodations:

•14 Family Tent Sites on Moores Springs

•16 Primitive Tent Sites on Moores Springs

•Ranger Residence on Moores Springs

•6 Group Tent Sites on Vade Mecum

•Restore 6 cabins on Vade Mecum

•11 new cabins on Vade Mecum

PublicParking

•320 spaces

Recreation Facilities

•Ropes course removed

•Pool removed

•Playground at Moores Springs

•Community Event Space on both Properties

•Dan River Access at Moores Springs

Community Survey Results

is scheme was the preferred option of 8% of people who took the survey.

Legend

Point of Interest

Hiking-Only Trail

Mountain Biking & Hiking Trail

Cabin/ Accommodation

Primitive Camping

Picnicking

Family Camping Community Event Space Playground

Parking Ranger Residence

River Access Amphitheater

Camping Area Day Use Area

Service Road Road

Rich Cove Forest

Piedmont Bottom Land Forest

Signi cant Building

Cabins Parking Crossings

POTENTIAL

TRAIL

PIEDMONT

MOUNTAINS

OPTION C

OPTION

OPTION C

OVERALL PLAN

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- Moores Springs

Option C Vignettes - Vade Mecum

Program Features:

barn

-

Store

Biking

Program Features:

Option

-

Mecum

Program Features:

•Pool - removed, lled in

•Parking - 85 spaces

•Hotel - operated as a hostel, new cafe

•Chapel - gift shop & museum

•Gym - event space

•Cabins - 6 existing remain / renovated as accommodations

N

Vignettes - Consistent In All Options

Moores Springs - Primitive Camping

Program Features:

•Proposed Primitive Camping - 10 sites

•Pit Toilet

N

Moores Springs - Dam Area

Mountain Biking Trailhead

Program Features:

- 48 spaces

Shed

Facility

Trails

Trail Connection to Hanging Rock State Park Proper

Friday, July 14

281 Visitors / 567 Page Views

Tuesday, July 11

280 Visitors / 524 Page Views

* As of 10am, Wednesday, August 9, 2017Website Statistics as of August 9, 2017

Phase Two Community Engagement

Social Media

Social media was an important marketing tool for the promotion of community engagement opportunities throughout the second phase of the project. Facebook was used extensively to promote public meetings, the project website and the online survey that was a major component of the process.

Leading up to the second public meeting, the design team promoted the meeting through its own Facebook account, which had gained many followers interested in the project, and through other groups’ Facebook pages, including:

•Friends of Sauratown Mountains

•Hanging Rock NC (not a liated with the State)

•Hanging Rock State Park (not a liated with the State)

•Hanging Rock – Stokes County, NC Tourism

•Carolina Climbers Coalition

e goal of the marketing was three-fold. e rst goal was to encourage people to attend the community meeting. e second goal was to get people to explore the website and learn more about the project. e third goal was to increase our reach beyond the residents of Stokes County.

Following the public meeting on June 29, 2017, plans and drawings that were presented, along with an online survey to gain additional feedback were posted on the project website. Facebook was used to promote the new material and the survey, using the same methods to promote the meeting. e social media promotions drove large numbers of visitors to the site immediately following the public meeting. Visitorship to the website peaked at 325 visitors the day following the meeting.

With the plans and drawings posted on the website, the marketing was targeted to soliciting feedback from the community through the online survey. Visitors to the website also were able to leave feedback on the plans through the website, independent of the survey. e survey was open for two weeks and social media was used throughout that time to promote the survey.

Survey results and visits to the website were minimal for the rst week after the public meeting. Trying to boost the number of completed surveys, Facebook blasts were made to various groups toward the end of that week. By the end of the weekend, visits to the website and the number of completed surveys had drastically increased. e number of completed surveys had jumped by nearly 150 through the weekend and the number of visitors to the website more than doubled from the weekend prior.

As the survey was coming to a close, the design team did another Facebook blast, attempting to boost the number of completed surveys. We reached out to the same groups as in previous blasts, but we also reached out to other user groups, including the Fat Tire Society of Greensboro (a mountain bike group) and the NC Horse Council. When the survey closed on July 16, 2017, 499 responses had been logged online and an additional 31 responses were collected from the public meeting, totaling 530 responses during the 17 day period.

Visits to the website peaked for a single day at 281 unique visitors with 567 page views. As to be expected, visits to the website were strongest between July 8, 2017 and July 15, 2017, while the survey was active. Once the survey closed, tra c to the website fell o , but picked up slightly when survey results were posted at the end of July.

STOKESCOUNTY

PIEDMONTNC-MOUNTAINS

COASTOUTSIDENC N/A

A: EMPHASIS ON

B: EMPHASIS ON MOUNTAIN

EMPHASIS

FAMILY CAMPING,

APPENDIX C

Introduction

With the results from Public Meeting #2 and the online surveys tabulated, the design team began the process of preparing one overall concept option and a single option for each vignette area for consideration by the stakeholders and the community. As a rst step in that process, a presentation of the phase two draft concepts was made to the Friends of Sauaratown Mountains and the Park Advisory Committee. Following that the team conducted a day long charrette at the Hanging Rock Visitor’s Center meeting separately with park rangers and sta , representatives from the Friends of Sauaratown Mountains and members of the Park Advisory Committee. Comments received from these three sessions included the following:

Design Charette with Park Rangers / Staff

•At the Moores Springs campground there was interest in walk-in camp family camp sites.

•Important to separate the river access from the campground. e west side of Cascade Creek seems to favor walk in camping. e east side is more suitable for river access and day use.

•River access needs a road in order to meet the expectations of the community.

• e campground will need a bridge and a 10’ wide path in order to allow for emergency access and maintenance. is path is preferably not paved.

•Moores Springs would be gated. Further clari cation required regarding location of gate.

•Prefer having the hotel be a history museum, possibly for all of Stokes County, and a gift shop and café.

•Turn the cabins into camper cabins rather than the hotel into a hostel.

•Prefer the gym as event space, community space, recreation hall and the chapel as event space for weddings.

•Prefer removal of the pool and to turn that area into a playground or some other use.

•Important to keep group camping away from the river. Potential to attract a rowdy crowd

•Prefer not to have group camping in Vade Mecum West adjacent to Moore Springs Road.

•Prefer not to have mountain bikers on Vade Mecum. De nitely do not want to see single track mountain bike trails on Vade Mecum, could possibly have a connecting multi-use trail.

•Liked the idea of making Vade Mecum for hiker and horse trails.

•State Parks would typically let an area that was logged naturally succeed. e area that was cleared on Vade Mecum may require additional help to stabilize erosion issues prior to letting it succeed.

•Diamond Lake was a 20 acre lake. If it was brought back as a shing lake some of the rangers believe it would be wildly popular.

•Locate and do not disturb cemeteries on Vade Mecum northern ridge, primitive cemetery on western edge of Vade Mecum property.

HARO Park Advisory Committee (PAC)

•Concern was expressed about potential noise from events, and safety issues associated with more tra c on P East given the limited sight distance at the intersection with Moore Springs Road. Modifying that intersection is di cult due to the two cemeteries located on the adjacent corners. e concerns of noise and safety were also relevant to road illustrated in Option B which provided access to northern portion of the Vade Mecum property. Access road was opposed.

•It was expressed that the logged area should be allowed to naturally succeed and remain natural. e state park service doesn’t traditionally cut down trees to maintain a view shed. e parking lot and overlook proposed o P. East Road would disturb the silent, spiritual nature of the place.

•Concern about the impact of trying to add more mountain bike trails on the property to get to 25 mile “magic number”. It was expressed that there should not be mountain bike trails on Vade Mecum

•Concern was also expressed about horses on Vade Mecum from an environmental perspective including erosion and invasive species

•Camping on Moores Springs would satisfy the community’s immediate needs.

•It was noted that Vade Mecum was not built primarily for Stokes County residents and the open house was the rst time some Stokes County residents were able to see it

•Few hikers are comfortable sharing a trail with bikers or horses

•Hiking becomes more attractive on this property with more services and amenities

•Hiking trails have the least environmental impact

•Put cabins in areas that are already developed, don’t disturb areas to build cabins

•Possibly have an equestrian vendor that teaches people how to ride. Question about whether this activity would be attractive to people?

•Potential opportunity for parking and trail connection at PLC land located north of the Moores Springs property.

Friends of Sauratown Mountains

•Preserve as much of the history as possible. Belief that coupled with the history and story this property tells, this property would be a draw to visitors because of how busy HARO is.

•It would be nice if the Sauratown Mountain Trail / Mountains to Sea Trail extended through Vade Mecum in order to get more of that trail o the road for safety purposes.

•Endorse the idea of a horse vendor on Vade Mecum

•Endorse the idea of Vade Mecum being a stop-over for the Mountains to Sea Trail

•Noted that Moore Springs Manor ( privately held ) on Hall Road will be providing overnight equestrian facilities

•Use the existing infrastructure as best you can to save money

•Proposed hiking trails would allow for a hiking experience that wasn’t as busy as Hanging Rock proper.

Following the charette, plans were revised and the draft master plan was made available for further community input at an Open House held at the Hanging Rock State Park Visitor’s Center on Saturday September 16th from 10:00AM -2:00 PM. Plans were placed on the project website providing continued opportunity for community input from September 16th thru October 2nd.

YES

OVERALL OPTIONS

EMPHASIS ON MOUNTAIN BIKING, MAJOR EVENT SPACE, VARIETY OF ACCOMMODATIONS

Public Meeting #3

e third and nal public meeting was held at the Hanging Rock State Park Visitor’s Center on a Saturday September 16, 2017 in an attempt to gain a broader response to the plans.

A handout explaining the project and the purpose of the meeting was provided to attendees. Also available was a description of each vignette area and a simple evaluation sheet asking the participants whether or not they supported the concept presented. e evaluation sheet also provided opportunities to submit written comments. e handout included the project website URL.

Social Media

Sauratown

Rock