Martinsville Bulletin, Inc.
P. O. Box 3711
204 Broad Street
Martinsville, Virginia 24115
276-638-8801
Toll Free: 800-234-6575
New trail will open today at reservoir
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
By BULLETIN STAFF REPORTS -
Rock Ridge Trail, the newest multi-use trail in Henry County, officially will open today at the Beaver Creek Reservoir.
Representatives of the Dan River Basin Association, the city of Martinsville and The Harvest Foundation will mark the trail’s opening with a ceremony at 1 p.m. It is open to the public.
Rock Ridge Trail is phase II of the two-part Beaver Creek Trail system project and was completed in partnership with Harvest, Martinsville, The Lester Group and the DRBA, said Brian Williams, DRBA program manager. The first phase, the PHCC loop trail, was finished in 2010.
The two-part project was funded by a $50,000 grant from Harvest, Williams said. A bit less than half of the money went toward preparing the Rock Ridge Trail, which was completed by Switchbacks Trail Design of Floyd.
Clarence Harbor of Martinsville constructed an informational kiosk.
The new trail is across the lake from the PHCC loop trail. Rock Ridge Trail’s trailhead is off Boat Ramp Road near the picnic shelter on the public access side of the reservoir, according to a news release. The trail begins just off the right-hand side of the road at the kiosk and continues through the woods, eventually bordering the lake and then looping back up to return to the road near the kiosk, the release said.
Another part of the trail begins across the road from the kiosk, continues down the hillside and follows the lakeshore. All told, the trail is about one mile long, Williams said.
He called the trail “an easy to moderate hike through beautiful hardwood forest passing by interesting rock outcroppings and along the lakeshore of the reservoir.”
Beaver Creek Reservoir, also known as the Martinsville Reservoir, is a source of drinking water for the city of Martinsville.
The trail is open to hiking, mountain biking, running and nature viewing, the release said. Visitors are asked to help keep it clean.
The Lester Group and the city of Martinsville donated easements for the trail. The project was developed by DRBA in partnership with the Martinsville Water Resources Department, the release said.
.jpg "104")
