Murphy – The town has received a $500,000 matching grant from the state to improve a primitive section of the Murphy River Walk trail along the banks of the Hiwassee River.
The N.C. Department of Natural & Cultural Resources, Division of Parks & Recreation, approved the town’s Great Trails State Program application for the grant.
“The recreation monies will help us build a boardwalk on our River Walk trail to keep the primitive loop along the Hiwassee River open year-round,” Town Manager Chad Simons said.
“The Department of Natural & Cultural Resources is pleased to have the Town of Murphy partnering with the Division of Parks and Recreation to promote the development and management of North Carolina as the Great Trails State,” said Pamela Cashwell, secretary of the department.
This greenway follows the Valley River and the Hiwassee River surrounding downtown Murphy. The 4-mile walking trail includes a center loop at the confluence of the two rivers.
Since conceived in 2002, the River Walk has seen completion of all phases of the basic trail construction between Konehete Veterans Park and the L&N Depot. A volunteer River Walk project team continues its work with a host of ongoing maintenance, landscaping, interpretive signage, directional signage and additional construction projects along the trails.
Ecology classes for school students are held on the trail, as are student group work days for hands-on experiences.
The Murphy River Walk is managed and maintained by Town of Murphy the Konehete Veterans Park portion, which is maintained by Cherokee County employees.
It was created as a public and private partnership with various groups, including the Town of Murphy, Cherokee County, Tennessee Valley Authority, N.C. Department of Transportation and Hiwassee River Watershed Coalition. The trail is owned by the town but sits on TVA land.