South Mountains State Park slowly rebounds after Helene's destruction

For a traumatic injury, the healing process can take a long time.

And South Mountains State Park most definitely suffered some traumatic injuries when Hurricane Helene raged across Western North Carolina on Friday, Sept. 27, 2024.

More than 5,000 trees were felled across the park’s 21,000 acres, many of them squarely across the park’s more than 40 miles of hiking trails.

The infrastructure supporting the park’s most popular hiking trail — the Falls Loop Trail leading to High Shoals Falls — was completely destroyed, either swept away entirely in spots or so badly damaged as to remain unusable in others.

Three bridges on the Headquarters Trail, which basically bisects the park and is the primary route used by medical and rescue vehicles, were so badly damaged as to be declared unsafe for pedestrian or vehicular use.

Considering the horrific damages inflicted on South Mountains, and with a full recovery still years away, a visitor might expect to find Park Superintendent Lance Huss more than a little glum.

Nope. He’s upbeat, factual, quick to answer all questions, and optimistic about the park’s eventual recovery.

In his freshly pressed uniform with sidearm at his hip, the 47-year-old Huss seems made entirely of muscle and most closely resembles one of the park’s towering oak trees, a tree strong enough not to be felled by any storm.

Here’s are Huss’s answers to questions about the park and its future:

What will have to be done to make the Falls Loop Trail usable again?

Huss: Structural engineers have examined everything. The bridge above the falls is gone. Just gone. The lower bridge, the observation platform, the steps, everything was so damaged or weakened as to have to be replaced. We’re just now in the planning stages. It’s going to take awhile.

What about Headquarters Trail and the two trails that are linked to it, Shinny Trail and Possum Trail. What’s required there?

Huss: All three bridges on Headquarters were severely damaged and will have to be replaced. We have Department of Transportation engineers to assess them. Again, that trail is the key to our emergency response time for the backcountry of the park. Replacing those bridges can’t be done quickly. And, we still have trees to clear and slide damage to repair on each of those trails.

But even with those areas closed, are there still reasons to come to the park?

Huss: There must be. We had 26,265 visitors to the park in May and June. Our family campground is open. The hike to Chestnut Knob is open. It’s a favorite for many. Most of our other longer hiking trails are open. We’re a very popular spot for horse riders and our equestrian parking area and equestrian camping area with its horse barn are open. Five of our backcountry pack-in camping areas are open. There’s still a lot to do here.

How worrisome is the drought and the very low level of the Jacob Fork River?

Huss: I have seen it lower, back in the summer and fall of 2007. But it is very low and obviously, we need rain. An issue is not just that the water is low, but it’s also not up over the rocks which prevents the ripples and the splashing from occurring. That impacts, negatively, the oxygenation of the water, and that impacts and stresses the fish and other aquatic life.

A lot of folks forget, or perhaps simply don’t know, that part of South Mountains State Park lies on the other side of the mountain range just a few miles south of Morganton off U.S. 64. The Clear Creek Access Area. What’s happening over there?

Huss: Right now, Clear Creek is closed to the public. We’re building a new entrance area, a new access road, a 50-space parking lot and a new permanent restroom. The reservoir over there is just beautiful. We have a really nice trail that circles the reservoir and another that’s just a quiet walk in the woods. We’re expecting that work will be complete and that Clear Creek will be open again by early November.

I’ve asked you this before, so I know what the answer is going to be, but any hope for a hiking or equestrian trail linking the two sections of the park?

Huss: No. The slopes are simply too steep to allow a feasible trail unless we went off of park property to do it. Sorry.

Final question: A visitor comes to South Mountains State Park in the summer of 2031. Will everything be back to normal by then, with all trails open and the loop to High Shoals Falls restored?

Huss: (Thinking, smiling for a moment before answering.) I would say yes. But the whole dynamic changes if we get hit by another monster hurricane like Helene during that period.