ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, April 8, 1996 TAG: 9604080070
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-2 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: AUSTINVILLE
SOURCE: PAUL DELLINGER STAFF WRITER
The New River Valley's 57-mile baby is growing.
New River Trail State Park is barely a decade old, but already draws an estimated 100,000 users a year into Pulaski, Wythe, Carroll and Grayson counties to hike, bike, camp or ride horses along its length.
"Last year, I think we had more than that," said Mark Hufeisen, park manager. "It's growing."
About 95 percent of the tourism phone calls the town of Pulaski receives are specific inquiries about the state park, according to Barry Matherly, town economic development director."The most direct inquiries we get are for the New River Trail State Park," said Barry Matherly, economic development director for the town of Pulaski. "Almost exclusively, actually ... About 95 percent of our tourism phone calls are about the trail."
That translates into a lot of tourism potential for the area.
Until recently, the former rail bed had a two-mile interruption near the Shot Tower State Park in Wythe County, where New River Trail headquarters now reside in a mobile home. A property dispute with Neuhoff Farms over that section had been in and out of court.
Finally, the state bought 165 acres to settle the dispute, and boundary adjustments are being worked out. Now,
The state owns everything near Shot Tower State Park, from the old rail bed to the river in Wythe County, Hufeisen said, including the remains of a turn-of-the-century community at Foster Falls. The community includes a train depot, an old hotel, orphanage, iron furnace and farm buildings.
The park plans to open the village to the public near the end of June if renovations are complete. The train depot, to be renovated as close as possible to its original configuration, will become a museum and gift shop by late June.
The New River Trail park office also will move to Foster Falls. The farm buildings will be reconstructed as they existed in the early 1900s. The furnace will be open for viewing eventually.
"So actually, what we're building is a park," Hufeisen said. "We get a lot of calls now from people wanting to go down and see it." They are out of luck, though, until renovations are complete.
Future facilities will include fishing, boating, canoeing, camping and stables. Canoe camping may be a 1997 project.
The state will seek bids from people interested in restoring and operating the old hotel as a bed and breakfast. Bids will also be sought on concessions such as bicycle and maybe horse rentals, perhaps by spring.
Hufeisen said the Neuhoff Farms folk helped map the property. "They were very good people to work with," he said. "We owe them a lot of thanks, because it really went well."
The park had its start in 1986, when Norfolk Southern Corp. donated its abandoned rail right of way, from Dora Junction near Pulaski to Galax and Fries, to the state.
Since then, the meandering park has grown in popularity. It has been featured in magazines and in books such as "Forty Great Rail Trails of the Mid-Atlantic" by Karen-Lee Ryan, published last year.
"So we're kind of out there," Hufeisen said. "I think we've been discovered. ... There are times we can't even drive down here because of the crowds."
Last year's winter snows drew some cross-country skiers. The flat rail beds, averaging 80 feet in width, are good for that, too.
"It's the busiest I've seen it. I've been here almost four years," Hufeisen said. Much of the growth has been among bicyclists. More horses are being hauled from North Carolina into Virginia by trailer to ride the trail.
"We are starting to build primitive campgrounds along the trail," he said. The first of five will be north of the Cliffview southern access.
The 1807 Shot Tower, where molten lead was dropped 150 feet into water to form round shot, is getting more visitors. A small admission charge helps with its maintenance and has allowed improvements, such as restrooms, running water, tours and a parking area.
The northern end of the linear park now stops just outside the town of Pulaski. But it will be extended for another two miles into town to hook up with Pulaski's 1888 train station, now housing the Pulaski County Chamber of Commerce and the Raymond Ratcliffe Memorial Museum. "We know what we want to put in there and we have a proposed route," Hufeisen said. The next step will be buying the necessary property, and the timetable for that is not final. "We're still in the talking stage," he said.
Once the trail is into Pulaski, it could be extended without too much trouble up U.S. 11 on to the Draper Mountain Wayside and Overlook. That facility has been closed for several years because of problems with litter and trash, but Pulaski County is looking into reopening and renovating it.
Park officials have scheduled a senior van tour May 11. If the response to the spring tour is strong, a second tour may be scheduled during the fall color season.
LENGTH: Medium: 90 lines ILLUSTRATION: GRAPHIC: Map.by CNB