This Land, Your Land

The state's purchase of land around Rumbling Bald Mountain will expand Chimney Rock State Park by more than 20 percent, the Asheville Citizen-Times reports.

The N.C. Council of State agreed Tuesday to pay the Nature Conservancy $4.2 million for 1,222 acres at Rumbling Bald, which is just north of Chimney Rock in the Hickory Nut Gorge.

The tract includes Rumbling Bald Mountain, with its a massive rock face visible from Lake Lure, steep cliffs, granite domes and a mature hickory forest, Nature Conservancy in North Carolina spokesman Debbie Crane told the newspaper.

The state established Chimney Rock State Park in 2007 after buying the Rutherford County tourist attraction from private owners in 2005, and has continued to add adjacent land to it. The park now comprises more than 5,700 acres.

The master plan for Chimney Rock State Park calls for development of three day use areas in phases over the next 20 years. The Rumbling Bald area, which is popular with rock climbers, is to be developed in phase three.

Trails leading to the highest peaks of Chimney Rock State Park will close December 5 until next spring for upgrades, the Asheville Citizen-Times says.

The Outcroppings Trail, which leads from the parking lot to the top of the iconic Chimney Rock; and the Skyline Trail, which leads from the Chimney level to the Opera Box, Devil’s Head and Exclamation Point will close so stairs can be replaced.

The elevator to the top of the chimney and the Sky Lounge deli at the top of the elevator have been closed and renovated since last April and will remain closed until spring.

The rest of the park remains open.

State Parks spokesman Charlie Peek told the newspaper that the work has cut into visitation at the park resulting in a fall from 215,000 visitors in 2010 to 158,600 in 2011 through the first three weeks of November.

The work is part of a $4 million capital improvement project in the park that began last winter.