Hanging Dog – A proposal to take a recreation area in Cherokee County and turn it into a 1,200-acre state park would cost more than $20 million, so state officials are looking for alternatives.
State Rep. Karl Gillespie (R-Franklin) notified county officials of the results of an evaluation of the proposal conducted by the N.C. Department of Natural & Cultural Resources. The idea was to lease Hanging Dog Campground from the U.S. Forest Service for inclusion in the state park system.
“I firmly believe, as do many Cherokee County officials and constituents, that adding Hanging Dog to our state park system would not only benefit the constituents, but also significantly enhance the economic impact of the region,” Gillespie said in a Dec. 11 correspondence. “Developing a local state park that can serve our community effectively is of vital importance, and it would bring countless recreational and economic benefits.”
Natural & Cultural Resources released a report stating that costs to develop a state park at Hanging Dog would be $20 million for capital improvements, $1 million for equipment costs and $1.04 million per year in operating costs, including personnel.
“DNCR released an analysis that seemly dismissed the feasibility of Hanging Dog as a new state park, stating that ‘the Division of Parks & Recreation feels this would not be an ideal location for a new park unit.’ ”
Natural & Cultural Resources supports finding and developing a state park in far-western North Carolina. Officials said an alternate location for such an investment could be identified with Gillespie’s support.
“My office has repeatedly asked the department to provide alternative site suggestions located in our district,” Gillespie said. “After waiting for several months, DNCR is now stating that ‘there is a little delay in securing permission from the owner of a property we would like to visit. As a result, our staff’s next in-person visit to Cherokee County will be in early 2024.’ ”
Gillespie said his office expects to see alternative site suggestions in the near future.
“We have also made it clear to DNCR that should a feasible site in our district not be provided, that we strongly believe that Hanging Dog should be reconsidered,” Gillespie said. “Overall, the intent of my office is to gather enough support, legislatively, to ensure that we can successfully advocate for a new state park in our district.”
The N.C. Division of Parks & Recreation manages more than 258,000 acres of state parks, state recreation areas and state natural areas. It administers the N.C. Parks and Recreation Trust Fund, including its local grants program, as well as the state trails program, North Carolina Natural and Scenic Rivers and more, all with a mission dedicated to conservation, recreation and education. The state parks system has more than 22.7 million visitors annually.
To meet the division’s mission, it is continually looking to identify opportunities to provide distinctive outdoor recreation opportunities to better meet the recreational demands of a growing population, fill in geographical gaps, provide connectivity between units and protect underrepresented natural communities. One of the areas where the division has a significant geographical gap in recreational opportunities is in the far-western part of the state.
The facility
The Hanging Dog facility offers year-round access to Hiwassee Lake. It includes a boat launch available from June through October, a fishing pier, picnic facilities and a large pavilion. There are also vault toilets on site.
The Trail of Tears is within the Hanging Dog Recreation Area, affording an excellent opportunity to interpret history and highlight these unique cultural resources, according to the report. Other activities include a 1-mile hiking trail, an 8-mile mountain biking system, and campsites.
The campsites were closed in 2014 due to declining use and increased costs. They reopened in 2016 and 2017 on a trial basis before being closed permanently. There is an estimated $160,000 in deferred maintenance on the aging site.
A major challenge is that low lake level periods leave the campsite well away from lake waters much of the year.
Closure of the campground meant that the forest service has no overnight camping in Cherokee County, whereas surrounding counties have multiple options.
The challenges
The biggest challenges hampering development of Hanging Dog as a state park were:
- Foremost, the extreme fluctuation in water level limits the year-round recreational opportunities of site. These fluctuations are extremely limiting to the amount and type of water-based activities State Parks could offer.
- Due to the remote location of Hanging Dog Recreation Area, the state would have to make significant funding investments to appropriately operate it as a new park unit.
- Re-opening and operating the campground would be challenging due to the deferred maintenance, length of time the facilities have been closed and the lack of room to expand the campground operations.
“All these factors led to the conclusion that the Hanging Dog Recreation Area has several strengths; however, the weakness of the site ultimately outweigh the benefits of developing it as a new state park unit where state funding could be used effectively and efficiently,” according to the report.
“The Division is committed to finding and developing an appropriate park location in the far western portion of the state,” the report concludes.
“We believe the citizens of this area will be better served by a location that is an appropriate state park unit and efficiently and effectively uses state dollars to benefit our citizens and their visitors.
“We will stay committed to this goal and will continue to explore opportunities in this region of the state.”