After Helene setbacks, Lake James plans summer rebound

Editor’s note: This is the second in a two-part series about Burke County’s state parks. The Feb. 28 edition featured South Mountains State Park.

Lake James State Park, at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains and split between Burke and McDowell counties, has a lot to offer visitors.

Miles of hiking and biking trails, walk-in and drive-up tent camp sites, overlooks that offer panoramic views of the lake, and the towering mountains around it.

But, just as High Shoals Falls is the biggest draw at South Mountains State Park, the biggest attraction at Lake James is the summer swim beach with its accompanying concession stand and bathhouse.

Normal opening date for the swim beach is May 1 of each year, but in 2025 that date was pushed back more than two months. Due to the damage inflicted on the park by the waters of Hurricane Helene, the swim beach did not open until July 3.

Park Superintendent Nora Coffey says she believes the swim beach will be ready for a May 1 opening, but that the beach operation may not be quite “back to normal” due to uncertainty over state funding.

“The state is facing funding shortages for seasonal staff, and we are still unsure how that will affect our swim beach operations,” Coffey said. “Specifically, we’re talking about lifeguards and staff for the concession stand.”

Coffey also noted that more permanent repairs need to be made on the swim beach and in the adjacent picnic area, “but those will likely be pushed off until after this year’s swim season so as to not impact our summer operations.”

The two-month closure of the swim beach certainly impacted the number of visitors to the park in 2025, Coffey noted.

Visitors numbered 539,980 in calendar year 2023. In 2024, when the swim beach had been closed for the season for nearly a month before Helene struck, visitation numbered 531,224.

In contrast, 2025 saw only 392,851 visitors for the entire year.

Unlike South Mountains State Park, where a number of major hiking trails remain closed, all hiking trails at Lakes James, in both the Paddy’s Creek Access and the Catawba River Access, are now open.

This includes the 6-mile stretch of the Fonta Flora State Trail, which winds from the Linville River Access Area on Hwy. 126 to the park visitor center that opened in the spring of 2023.

One major bike trail in the park, the East Wimba Mountain Bike Trail, does remain closed due to damage from Helene.

“Unfortunately, we are at the mercy of regional staff from our trails and resource management section to move this work along,” said Coffey. “They have a backlog of projects due to (Helene) damage at 13 different state parks.

“I don’t have a timeline for this project,” Coffey continued, “and likely won’t have one until later this spring. At this rate, it is unlikely that we’ll see the East Wimba Mountain Bike Trail open by summer.”

As to more long-range projects at the park, Coffey said, “There are still plans to add an RV campground with full hook-ups at Paddy’s Creek at some point in the future. Prior to Helene, I would have said that would be done within the next five years, but now I’d say within the next 10 years is more likely.”

Coffey added that plans for additional trails and upgrades to several existing trails are on the drawing board for the future.

Lake James State Park was founded in 1987 by the N.C. General Assembly, thanks primarily to the support of Rep. Ray Fletcher of Burke County and Rep. Bob Hunter of McDowell County.

The first push to end unrestricted development of lakeshore properties, primarily by Duke Energy, was spearheaded by local environmentalist Paul Braun and a group he founded called “Citizens to Save Lake James.”

The park was tiny when first developed at only 600 acres, but it has steadily grown over the decades and now spans more than 3,700 acres along the lake’s shoreline.