Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, September 26, 1994                   TAG: 9411090011
SECTION: SPORTS                    PAGE: B6   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: BILL COCHRAN OUTDOOR EDITOR
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Long

EXPLORE

That's one of the features Jim Baldwin, the park's chief naturalist, likes best about the area.

"The important aspect of the park is how the two fit together, the natural history and the cultural aspects, how one has shaped the other."

It is the cultural aspects of the park, which opened in July, that have gotten most of the headlines: the early 1800s farmstead, the the weaving loom in the Hofauger house, the one-room school house, the Dominique chickens, the Ossebaw Island pigs.

So what does Explore have to offer the outdoorsman who wants to probe beyond the zig-zagging chestnut rail fences?

Baldwin, whose interest in the outdoors dates back to youthful hunting and fishing excursions with this his grandfather, believes it has plenty for the hiker, fisherman, horseback rider, bird watcher, primitive camper and mountain biker. If not now, in the future.

"We are being honest about this; we are on our shakedown cruse trying to figure what it is that we need to do and how to accomplish that," he said.

A six-mile trail system has been developed, with plans to expand that to 20 miles. Visitors won't find the challenges or God-like views of a McAfee Knob or Dragon's Tooth, but the trails afford pleasant, close-to-home tramps through the woods and along the river.

"Many of the trails are old logging roads that have been brushed out and connected with short sections of switchbacks," said Rupert Cutler, executive director of the park. "I think it is the kind of hiking that a family with kids would do."

The Foresters' Trail, located near the park entrance just off Rutrough Road, is nearly a mile loop developed by volunteers of the Society of American Foresters. It weaves the story of logging and forestry management, and how these practices impact wildlife. One station demonstrates efforts of the American Chestnut Foundation to restore chestnut trees to ridges and hollows where the stately species marched across the landscape, 80 to 100 feet tall, 4 to 5 feet in diameter, before blight wiped it out.

Autumn is a good time to hike Explore. The sourwoods already are begining to blush with color, and Baldwin believes there is the kind of hardwoods diversity that will brighten the landscape with dashes of red and orange from maples, and clean, soft yellow of beech.

Bird life, from ospreys to scarlet tanagers, add streaks and splashes of color, sound and motion to the natural setting.

But will people pay to hike?

With the exception of the Foresters' Trail, trails at Explore are reached only after forking over the parks entry fee : $4 for adults, $2.50 for students. The park is open 9 to 5 each Saturday, Sunday and Monday through the end of October.

With the Appalachian Trail only a few ridges away, and the trail-laced Jefferson and George Washington national forests and Blue Ridge Parkway nearby, hikers in the region are accustomed to unstructured, tariff-free activity.

Cutler realizes that, as does Baldwin.

"The problem is going to be with us for a while, at least into next year, with our trail system being part of the fee area," said Baldwin. "We are trying to work out a way for that not to continue."

In the early stages of the park, it is difficult to separate the trail system from the Blue Ridge settlement, which has been attracting about 1,000 visitors each weekend cycle, Cutler said.

"What I would do if I was a Roanoke Valley resident would be to buy a $25 annual membership to the park, or if you want to cover your whole family, a $45 membership," said Cutler.

A bonus for hikers at Explore is the park's interpretive program. A naturalist like Baldwin can point out a wildlflower that might have escaped your notice, name its Latin binomial and tell you why it is there.

There are guided hikes at 10 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.

"What we do is pretty much determined by who is there and where they want to go," said Baldwin.

A favorite spot is along the Roanoke River, but if you are an angler you will look with covetous eyes at fishing opportunities that are off-limits this year.

Explore covers about three miles of the river, from the Blue Ridge Parkway at Niagara Dam down to the backwaters of Smith Mountain Lake at Back Creek. Each spring, striped bass, walleye and white bass, bearing bulging bellies and the ardor to spawn, migrate upstream, and there also are native bass, catfish and sunfish. But Explore officials have discouraged fishing.

"Fishing has been a difficult question for us to deal with," said Cutler, himself an angler. "We have tried to minimize conflicts between construction work and fishermen. I believe I can say that we are about to reopen the river to fishing. By next spring, we probably will have a small daily or annual fee system for fishermen."

Baldwin would like to see a catch-and-release regulation enforced, but that would require action by the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries. The department already has proposed state fishing regulations for the next two seasons.

Canoeing opportunities are expected to be developed shortly, with portage facilities around Niagara Dam and a takeout at the park. The river has some fast, technical water that should be of special interest to canoers and kayakers during spring flows.

Cutler and Baldwin also see good potential for horseback trails, some of them linking trails in the Jefferson National Forest. And there is no reason several of the park's trails can't be made available to mountain bikes, Baldwin said.

"We are taking the approach and the attitude that we are going to be user friendly with as many groups we can accommodate for recreational purposes," Baldwin said.

At Explore

Oct. 15-16: Fall foliage hikes at 11 a.m., 1 and 3 p.m.

Nov. 12-13: Animal tracking seminar, a winter night hike featuring night vision goggles, and optional overnight camping