The completion of the new Black Mountain Trailhead Connector trail is an integral step in the Black Mountain Trailhead Relocation Project, which was established as a beneficial action by both the public and the Forest Service in 2018 during the collaborative development of a District-wide Recreation Plan.
The new .2 mile Black Mountain Trailhead Connector trail connects the new Black Mountain Trailhead parking lot (coming soon) with the Black Mountain and Sycamore Cove trail complex via Thrift Cove Road (FS 5061).
Benefits of this new connector trail include enhanced user access, decreased user conflict and overcrowding, and increased connectivity throughout this trail system.
TPC contracted Trail Dynamics, a local trail building company, to construct the new Black Mountain Trailhead Connector trail. In addition to building the trail itself, Trail Dynamics installed a bottomless arch culvert with accompanying drystone masonry spanning 10 feet over a perennial seep in the trail corridor.
This stone structure will both minimize negative impacts to the water source from trail use and provide an aesthetic and well-constructed entryway into this extremely popular Pisgah trail system.
The new Black Mountain Trailhead Connector trail opened for use in December 2023. The gravel parking remains closed and is scheduled to be paved and striped by the Forest Service in late 2024/early 2025. In the meantime, ample parking is available in the lot directly west of the gravel lot. Once the new parking lot is completed, construction of the new trailhead itself will move forward with support from TPC.
Future steps in the Black Mountain Trailhead Relocation Project include:
- Paving of the new Black Mountain Trailhead parking lot by the Forest Service (spring/summer 2025)
- Kiosk installation by TPC in partnership with the Forest Service
- Decomissioning of the old parking lot
- Stream restoration on Starens Branch, a tributary to the Davidson River
