Agenda - 11-17-2015 - 4a - Presentation - N.C. Mountains to Sea Trail (MST) Statewide Master Plan

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6 Orange County Comprehensive Parks and Recreation Master Plan CHAPTER 10-Goals, Objectives, and Recommendations 10 Portions of the MST have already been built on and strong support for completing the trail by some publicly owned lands around the state, and through of the trail proponents.The State has begun a master the use of other trails and connecting greenways. planning effort which will help refine the proposed Other segments have not been built, and this has led trail segment. to the identification and promotion of The County should facilitate the creation of this seg- alternate routes over the last 25 years - to allow ment and work diligently to undertake a thorough hikers to traverse the state using roadways and other review of the possible routes through the corridor temporary corridors until the actual trail could be between the Haw River and OWASA Cane Creek built. Many of these uncompleted segments are in lands, and between the OWASA Cane Creek lands the eastern Piedmont region, including Orange and the Upper Eno Preserve. The master plan pro- County. cess should include public meetings and discussions Orange County's segment of the trail includes a with landowners about the realities of a natural sur- planned section through Eno River State Park and the face path through this area, and address security and Town of Hillsborough's Riverwalk along the Eno other concerns raised. The County may wish to as- River. This includes sections of trail through sume trail oversight in these areas if amenable to Occoneechee Mountain State Natural Area (part of landowners for consistency. Long-distance trails such Eno River State Park) and through private historic as the MST require "way stations"or nodes along the properties along the Eno River. Orange County's route where some very basic level services are avail- Upper Eno Nature Preserve is in close proximity to able (parking, signage, campsite, potable water). The Occoneechee Mountain and would also host a County and OWASA should look at the possibility of portion of the trail. (Map 7-2 in Chapter 7 on page 7- creating such a way station at the Cane Creek and 6 shows the planned MST corridor through Orange Seven Mile Creek access areas (on land owned by the County.) two entities) and developing parking and trailheads on a select few public roads. Since primitive camping, As shown in Figure 7-2, the remainder of the MST in water and sanitation facilities are critical for hikers, Orange County is proposed for a corridor that the County should identify locations within County connects the Upper Eno Preserve southwest to parks along the route where overnight camping is OWASA-owned lands at Cane Creek Reservoir before allowed. following Cane Creek to its confluence with the Haw River at the County line, connecting with Alamance Orange County should find a solution to the MST cor- County's Haw River Trail (which is also the MST). ridor,whether on private lands, public roads or some This segment may be one of the more-challenging in combination of the two — so that this important the state, in that it requires a way to cross from the statewide recreational facility is planned and Neuse River basin (Eno River and tributaries) into the eventually constructed in harmony with nature. Or- Cape Fear River basin (Cane Creek, Haw River). As ange County should not become the "gap" in the such,this section of the trail must travel "cross coun- North Carolina Mountains-to-Sea Trail. try," up and over the ridgeline separating these two i basins, which does not have a natural feature to a distinguish it. At present, this southwestern segment of the planned trail is only a one-mile-wide "swath" on a map, an uncharted section that will need clarification and refinement. The possibility of finaliz- ing plans for this segment has generated considera- ble concern by some property owners in the vicinity 10-9