The Town of Valdese has voted to accept a 5.69-acre land donation from Foothills Conservancy of North Carolina — a major step forward for Children’s Park, a Burke River Trail Connector and the future of the Wilderness Gateway State Trail (WGST).
This land, located at 101 Fat Avenue NE across US 70 from Children’s Park, was purchased by Foothills Conservancy using funding from the North Carolina General Assembly’s Complete the Trails Fund — a program administered through the NC Division of State Parks to support land acquisition for state trails.
What This Means for Valdese
The 5.69-acre tract:
- Expands public open space adjacent to Children’s Memorial Park
- Creates room for future trail development
- Allows for overflow parking for Children’s Park
- Provides space for picnicking and passive recreation
- Strengthens the future route of the Wilderness Gateway State Trail
- Can serve as match toward the Town’s January 2026 Children’s Park grant application
Visitors will be able to cross between Children’s Park and the new property underneath the existing US 70 overpass at the southwestern boundary — creating seamless access without crossing the highway at grade.
Town staff, along with volunteers from Friends of the Valdese Rec and Burke River Trail Association (BRTA), will maintain the property. The volunteers already hosted one workday on February 28 with 5 volunteers with 10 hours of work clearing down trees and preparing the trail corridor. The trail has been flagged by FCNC and will be built by BRTA volunteers.
How This Came Together
This project began quietly in 2022 when landowner Dennis Jaschob approached Beth Heile about protecting his nearly six acres along Micol Creek, just north of Children’s Park.
At the time, the Town was not in a position to purchase the property. But with new state funding available for trail land acquisition through the Complete the Trails Fund, there was an opportunity.
Because the parcel sits on the planned corridor for the Wilderness Gateway State Trail, Beth worked to connect the pieces:
- Conversations with the landowner
- Coordination with Foothills Conservancy
- Identification of Complete the Trails funding
- Door-to-door conversations with neighbors to remove a neighborhood restriction that would have allowed three home sites instead of protected open space
- Alignment with the Town’s long-term Children’s Park vision
Foothills Conservancy purchased the property in December 2022, closed in early 2024, and has now formally offered to donate it to the Town of Valdese for permanent public park and trail purposes.
Projects like this don’t happen by accident. They happen when partners align.
A Shift in How the Burke River Trail Connects
This is also an important moment for the broader Burke River Trail vision.
The Burke River Trail spine will remain primarily along the Catawba River corridor in Valdese — from McGalliard Falls through Valdese Lakeside Park, across Wildcat Way, and toward the Valdese Bluffs area.
Not every town will have the main trail running directly down Main Street. In Valdese, the connection into downtown will occur via the Wilderness Gateway State Trail — serving as a connector between the river spine and the heart of town.
That model — a strong primary corridor with strategic downtown connectors — will be how some of the towns are connected due to geography, property ownership, funding realities, and existing infrastructure.Because the goal is connection — not rigidity.
The Bigger Picture: State Partnership at Work
The North Carolina General Assembly created the Complete the Trails Fund to accelerate state trail development through land acquisition. This Valdese project is exactly the type of partnership the program was designed to support:
- State funding
- Nonprofit land trust acquisition
- Local government ownership
- Volunteer maintenance
- Economic development and outdoor recreation alignment
When completed, the Wilderness Gateway State Trail will span approximately 170 miles, connecting Chimney Rock State Park to South Mountains and through communities like Valdese.
Today, the Valdese Greenway represents one of the only designated miles of WGST on the ground — making this expansion even more strategic.
More Than Land
This isn’t just about 5.69 acres.
It’s about:
- Protecting creek frontage along Micol Creek
- Expanding a beloved children’s park
- Strengthening a state trail corridor
- Creating room for families to gather
- Leveraging state dollars for local impact
- Showing how small towns can think regionally
The Burke River Trail has always been about connection. Sometimes that connection runs along a river. Sometimes it runs under an overpass. And sometimes it starts with a landowner knocking on the right door.
Pictures from the February 28, 2026 Workday:
