This Land, Your Land

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.