New half-mile sidewalk trail through garden and alpine forest.
View from new observation deck.
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Just in time for the annual rhododendron blooming Roan Mountain Recreation Area reopened in June 2011 after $700,000 in renovations funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) for renovations to the facilities and roads. The Appalachian Trail runs along the ridges in this area, so it is a wonderful hike across the grassy peaks with amazing views. See our Roan Mountain Guide.
The dilapidated 1960s restroom facility near the Cloudland parking lot was replaced with a new 8-unit accessible restroom facility. The existing half-mile trail system servicing the observation deck in the Rhododendron Garden is now a concrete sidewalk, completely wheel-chair friendly. The observation deck was replaced and the main paved road leading to the Cloudland parking lot was resurfaced to increase rideability and visitor safety.
It reopens just in time for the annual Rhododendron Festival. The festival was started 60 years ago and celebrates the blooming of the rhododendron on Roan Mountain with related events in the nearby town of Bakersville, NC. . There is a $3 per vehicle user fee.
In addition to the facility work, there has been ARRA-funded vegetation restoration work on the grassy balds at Roan Mountain. The work involved mowing, weed-eating, and the use of chainsaws to control trees, shrubs and blackberries from encroaching on the sensitive species native to the area. High-elevation grassy balds represent a very rare plant community and Roan Mountain contains some of the most extensive and pristine grassy balds in the Southern Appalachians. The native, sensitive vegetation now inhabits only a small fraction of its former area. This project includes national forest lands in North Carolina (Pisgah National Forest) and Tennessee.
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