This Land, Your Land

Boat and canoe rentals will not be available at Morrow Mountain State Park in Stanly County this year, the state Division of Parks and Recreation said Wednesday

Storms that eroded the shoreline and flooding from Lake Tillery have damaged the boathouse, as well as much of the nearby Fall Mountain Trail, which remains closed.

Construction to replace the boathouse should begin later this year, and rentals should resume in 2011.

Elsewhere, docks damaged by winter flooding have been removed from the Ebenezer boat ramp access at Jordan Lake State Recreation Area, although the boat ramps remain available for use.

Boaters that require or prefer the use of courtesy docks should launch from the Robeson Creek or Farrington Point boat ramp areas, which are open 24 hours a day, or from the New Hope access, which is open during normal state park operating hours.

The state parks system will gradually replace all of the existing floating courtesy docks at Jordan Lake with ones that do not rely on permanent pilings.

A pavilion-style picnic shelter, picnic grounds, play fields, a half-mile hiking trail and a ranger contact station open at Mayo River State Park Thursday, the long-awaited opening of the newest park in the state system.

The 1,961-acre state park was authorized by the N.C. General Assembly in 2003. The interim facilities are on a 398-acre site just north of Mayodan on N.C. 220 Business and known locally as Mayo Park, a news release from the Division of Parks and Recreation says.

The pavilion-style picnic shelter (below) and a cooking shelter were designed by renowned architect Antonin Raymond, a protégé of Frank Lloyd Wright who introduced a Japanese style of architecture to the U.S. incorporating natural materials. The pavilion and cooking shelter have been fully restored in wood and natural stone.

Land acquisition for Mayo River State Park continues within a 12-mile river corridor from Mayodan north to the Virginia state line. The state parks system owns about 400 acres contiguous to the state line, which could be developed as a second principal access to the park.