April 2025 Newsletter

ROC Newsletter April 2025

Check Events

View Activities

Get Involved

Thank you for being an ROC supporter!

Check out our website for this month’s events, information on the ROC Race Series, local trails, and more.

Visit Our Website

Become A Member

Donate Now

April Newsletter

Welcome to all of our new and returning ROC members and sponsors!

Jennifer Heaslip

Laura Masterson

John Hampton

Betsy Pryor

Len Sralla

Adam Thomas

David Caldwell

Susanne & Buddy Belflower

Frank & Kim Jones

William Griffith

The support we receive from memberships helps us to continue improving local trails, lead group hikes and river floats, and create new outdoor programs. Membership is only $35 for individuals and families, and $100 for businesses. We also offer multiple sponsorship opportunities for businesses to help expand and enhance outdoor recreation in Rutherford County.

Members get discounts at Chimney Rock at Chimney Rock State Park, Barley’s Taproom, Copper Penny, Main Street Coffee, The Scoop, and recently added: Grumpy’s Bike Shop! Grumpy’s is located across the street from the ROC Office on W. Main St. in Spindale. Check them out for all your biking needs and great service!

Click the link below for more details about becoming a member.

Become a Member!

April Events

Get outside with ROC! Join us for trail and river workdays, a wildflower hike, Earth Day Litter Sweep, and more. You can also join our monthly meeting where we will give updates on ROC events and volunteer efforts!

April ROC Trail Workdays

Looking for ways to help our local trails? Join ROC for our April workdays, including a weekend workday on Weed Patch trail! Certified sawyers, completely new trail volunteers, and everyone in between is welcome.

Heart of the Foothills Dog Walk

Walk a rescue dog with ROC and Heart of the Foothills Animal Rescue! Meet at the rescue to pick up the dogs, then drive down the road to the Thermal Belt Rail Trail to walk ~1-2 miles on paved trail. Registration is required to walk a dog, so be sure to sign up below.

When: April 5th at 10 a.m.

Where: Heart of the Foothills

ROC Sponsored First Aid/CPR Class

Learn how to respond to medical situations and perform basic first aid with ROC! We are offering a First Aid & CPR course taught by our own Gabe Isaac. Topics will include CPR, wound care, choking relief, and burn care, among other situations and injuries. There are only 8 spots available, so register today!

When: Tuesday, April 8th & Wednesday, April 9th | 9AM-2PM

Where: Spindale House, 119 Tanner St, Spindale, NC 28160

Broad River Cleanup

Join MountainTrue, Broad Riverkeeper, and ROC for river clean-up efforts following Hurricane Helene. These are riverside clean-ups focusing on removing trash and debris along the Upper Broad River, about 4 miles below Lake Lure.

When: April 13th at 1 p.m.

Where: 5911 US 64 74A Hwy, Lake Lure, NC

Monthly Meeting

Join us to hear about all the latest with ROC – including recent updates, upcoming events, how you can get involved with our mission, and more. All are welcome!

When: April 15th at 5:30 p.m.

Where: Barley’s in Spindale

ROC + Carolina Climbers’ Coalition Workdays on the Upper Boulders Trail!

Help restore the Upper Boulders Trail Access! ROC is teaming up with the Carolina Climbers’ Coalition to try and finish up repairs and reroutes of the Upper Boulders Trail Connector. Help us out as we removed downed trees/root balls, repair the tread, and reconnect trail segments!

When: April 15th & 16th at 9 a.m.

Where: Buffalo Creek Park Parking Lot

ROC Guided Hike: Point Lookout Trail

Check out this awesome view! Join ROC in Old Fort, NC for a hike up Old US-70 that leads to a beautiful overlook. We will be shuttling this hike, so it will total around 3.5 miles with 885ft of elevation gain.

When: April 17th at 9 a.m.

Where: Meet up location will be sent to those who register. We will be carpooling in the ROC van.

Earth Day Litter Sweep

Show your love for our earth by joining ROC for a litter sweep along the Thermal Belt Rail Trail! Trash bags, gloves, visibility vests, and grabbers will be provided, but participants are welcome to bring their own gear. Join us after for snacks, drinks, and an Earth Day craft!

When: April 22nd, 10 AM

Where: ROC Office (115 N Oak, Spindale)

ROC Specialty Hike: Wildflowers at Young’s Mountain!

Let’s look for wildflowers! Join ROC for a guided hike at Young’s Mountain searching for wildflowers, which will also lead to the gorgeous view at the top of the trail! Prepare for a moderately strenuous climb with some difficult and narrow spots.

When: April 29th at 9 a.m.

Where: Club Wyndham Resort in Lake Lure

Spring Litter Sweep: Save the Date!

Help make Rutherford County greener and cleaner this spring! Throughout April 7-30th, neighbors, co-workers, families, and more are leading litter sweeps across the county. Gather your team, pick a clean-up site, and sign up for supplies!

Sign up here, email krcb@rutherfordoutdoor.org, or call 828-338-9649. All supplies are provided by Keep Rutherford County Beautiful.

Broad River Watershed Updates

Riverside Cleanups

Broad River clean-ups kicked off this month! On March 16th and 20th, volunteers showed up to help restore our waterways here in Rutherford County following Hurricane Helene. Over 30 volunteers cleaned up over 2,000 pounds of debris so far during these cleanups. From full trailers of debris to a picnic table in a tree and everything in between, this crew had a big impact on the Broad River.

A big thank you to Broad Riverkeeper and MountainTrue’s Clean-up Coordinator for their efforts and expertise, and to every volunteer who showed up to help. We are so grateful to serve our river alongside these amazing people!

Join us on Sunday, April 13th at 1pm for the next riverside cleanup: Click here to register!

River Scouts: Section 5

ROC staff hit the river with Broad Riverkeeper last week! Our crew paddled down section 5 from Gray’s Road to Coxe Road to cut out hazardous trees, clear a path, and mark GIS points for hurricane debris removal. There are a number of down trees and debris remaining, as well as contractor crews working around bridges, so please continue to use caution around the river at this time. Stay tuned for river sweeps to come this summer.

Have reports about debris or blockages on the Broad River? Submit a report here or email pictures and a location to info@rutherfordoutdoor.org.

Riparian Tree Planting with Ruff’ton Roots

Ruff’ton Roots, Town of Rutherfordton, and ROC teamed up for a successful riparian tree planting at Norris Park! We planted a variety of trees including red maple, river birch, wild plum, crab apple, tulip poplar, and silky dogwood, with willow and elderberry livestaked on the banks. These native trees will serve to filter runoff, prevent erosion, and benefit our waterways for years to come.

A big thank you to all of those who joined together to plant over 100 trees along these stream banks. It was a beautiful evening with great volunteers, great partners, and a wonderful mission.

Trail Statuses

Dittmer-Watts Nature Trail Park & Lake Lure Green Space: OPEN!

Our local trails near Lake Lure are open for the public!

PLEASE REMEMBER: the Green Space across the street near the Fire Department is still closed! Please avoid this area, as it is still being used for lake operations as they continue to recover and clean up from the storm.

Join us on April 3rd and help maintain these trails! Click here to register!

Thermal Belt Rail Trail: OPEN!

The Thermal Belt Rail Trail is clear of trees and now fully passable. Many thanks to Rutherford County Government, Town of Spindale, Town of Forest City, Town of Rutherfordton, and all who contributed to the re-opening of the trail!

Purple Martin Greenway: OPEN!

The Purple Martin Greenway is clear of trees and open for use. Thank you to Ruff’ton Roots, Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail, Town of Rutherfordton Public Works, and all who helped make this happen!

Isothermal Community College: OPEN!

ROC and volunteers hit these trails last month for a weekend workday, where we built 3 drains and continued work on a diversion on the Orange trail. Thanks to all who were able to help out!

Our next workday is April 1st (today), check back next month for updates on what we accomplish!

Buffalo Creek Park

The trails at Buffalo Creek Park are CLOSED.

There have been multiple landslides and many trees have fallen.

This trail will be closed for the foreseeable future. Check out a more detailed update below and stay tuned as we find a path forward.

Want to help restore the connecting Upper Boulders Trail? Join us on April 15th and 16th! Click here to register!

Weedpatch Mountain Trail

The Weedpatch Mountain Trail is CLOSED.

Due to the high amount of trees and landslides, the trail is impassable. Check out a more detailed update below and stay tuned as we find a path forward.

Want to volunteer at our first Weed Patch workday? Click here!

See updates on local trails

Buffalo Creek Park

& Weed Patch Mountain

ROC and our partners assessing a creek blowout on the Upper Boulders Connector Trail

Our team met with our partners at the Town of Lake Lure, Conserving Carolina, and the Carolina Climbers’ Coalition to discuss possible reroutes on the Buffalo Creek Park Loop. While we are still navigating a full picture restoration of this trail, we now have a better plan for reconnecting some sections and possibly opening them to the public!

Interested in helping complete this project? Join ROC, the Carolina Climbers’ Coalition, and Conserving Carolina’s Rock Crushers on April 15th and 16th to work on repairs and the reconnection of the Upper Boulders Trail to the loop and parking lot! Click here to register!

Weed Patch Mountain Trail, Pisgah Area SORBA & ROC

Exciting news: ROC has started work on Weed Patch Mountain Trail! We teamed up with Pisgah Area SORBA in March and cleared ~80 trees from 2 miles of trail. Thank you so much to our friends at SORBA and the quality work they bring to this project!

Want to help out? ROC is hosting our first volunteer workday at Weed Patch this month! We are asking for volunteers with chainsaw certifications, as well as non-certified volunteers to act as swampers (a safety assistant to someone operating a chainsaw). Anyone can be a swamper! Come be a part of restoring this great trail: click here to register!

Want to stay informed on these opportunities? Join our trail volunteer email list here and be redirected to our events calendar where you can check for upcoming workdays. You can also contact Maddie at trails@rutherfordoutdoor.org for more information.

2025 Race Series

The Races have begun! The ROC 2025 Race Series continues on with the next race being the Purple Martin Greenway Fabulous 4-miler! Starting at Kiwanis Park, the north end of the trail, runners will go the 2-mile length out and back. Click here to learn more about this race and register!

If you’d like to receive the Race Series Newsletter and stay in the loop, click here to automatically join the list. To volunteer with ROC at one of these races, contact Gabe at gabe@rutherfordoutdoor.org.

Run the Race Series

Rutherford Outdoor Coalition

PO Box 1349

Rutherfordton, NC 28139

828-351-3235

Go Back