July 2025 Newsletter

ROC Newsletter July 2025

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.

July Newsletter

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

Cindy Dotson

Barbara Grant

Abigale Morrow

Tammy Isaac

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 Grumpy’s Bike Shop! Grumpy’s is our newest local bike shop, 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.

 

 

ROC 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: July 15th at 5:30 p.m.

Where: Barley’s in Spindale

July Events

Get outside with ROC! Check below for some of our special events happening this month.

Waterfall Hike at Catawba Falls

Join ROC for a guided hike of beautiful Catawba Falls! Catawba Falls is one of our iconic waterfalls in Western North Carolina, with its beautiful cascades, lush vegetation, and easy access. We will hike a total of 3.5 miles, expect a 850ft elevation gain up natural surface trail to the peak, and many steps back down. As always, please dress for the weather and trail conditions, including a rain layer, and bring enough water and food for you and your party.

When: Monday, July 14th at 9AM

Where: Carpool from ROC office (115 N Oak St., Spindale, NC)

Register: Click here!

River Sweep on Section 4 of the Broad River

*If you need to borrow a boat, PFD, and/or paddles, please email krcb@rutherfordoutdoor.org to inquire about availability!
Join Rutherford Outdoor Coalition and the Broad Riverkeeper for a river sweep from River Rd to Gray’s access! This is a water-based clean-up on a 7-mile stretch of river that is beautiful, tree lined, and easy to paddle, with a few fun class I-II rapids.

Please bring your own boat, paddle(s), and lifejacket (PFD), and bring lunch, snacks, sunscreen, and plenty of water!

When: Saturday, July 26th at 9AM

Where: Location provided upon registration

Register: Click here!

Broad River Happenings

221 and 221A Grand Openings

Join Rutherford County for the ribbon cutting on the newly completed Broad River Paddle Trail access at 221-A—part of a 4-mile stretch of improved river access between US 221 and 221-A. This project represents years of planning, collaboration, and investment through TDA’s Rutherford Bound initiative, and we’re thrilled to celebrate this accomplishment.

Please join us as we celebrate on Friday, July 11, 2025:

221-A River Access

5285 US Highway 221-A

Mooresboro, NC 28114

Ribbon Cutting – 11:00 AM

Food & Festivities – 11:30 AM

This new stretch of the paddle trail is a testament to what’s possible when communities come together to invest in shared spaces that promote health, adventure, and connection to the natural beauty of our region.

 

 

Broad River Long Float with MountainTrue

Join your Broad Riverkeeper and Rutherford Outdoor Coalition for a long, fun paddle on two sections of the Broad that have just opened up for recreation! We’ll start at the Coxe Road access and paddle 14 miles. The first section of the river is upstream of the confluence with the Green River, so is relatively narrow and shaded with some trees to maneuver around. Once the Green enters the Broad, the river is much wider and has more flow and no obstacles, with a few fun class I-II rapids. We will stop for lunch and a swim along the way. With an average speed of 2-3 mph, total time on the river will be 7 to 8 hours.

Please bring: your boat, paddle, and lifejacket, water, lunch, snacks, sunscreen, sturdy water shoes or sneakers (no flip-flops), and a dry change of clothes. If you want to enjoy the scenery, you are encouraged to bring binoculars as well. (18+ event)

If you need to reserve a boat, please call David at 704-300-5069 to confirm PFD (life jacket) size.

When: Saturday, July 12th at 9:00 AM sharp*

Where: Coxe Rd River Access

Register: MountainTrue.org/Events

 

 

Riverside Sweeps with YouthWorks

Broad River clean-ups continued this month! ROC is thrilled to be working in partnership with dedicated crews from YouthWorks this summer. These groups most recently helped clean up hurricane debris by the river and in the creek at River Creek Campground. After Helene, the creek was filled with all kinds of debris including a generator, metal tires, and even a grill. With many thanks to hours of hard work, the creek is now much cleaner and healthier as it feeds into the Broad.

The crews pictured here came from Kansas City, Massachusetts, Ohio, and places all over the country to serve our county. Join us in thanking them for their great work and for helping clean up the Broad River watershed!

River Sweep on 221 to 221A

The Broad River is a little cleaner! We teamed up with MountainTrue’s Broad Riverkeeper last month to lead a river sweep on Section 10 of the river, using the newest public accesses that were just completed in June! The group hauled out tires, a pool ladder, plastic barrels and buckets, and many other kinds of hurricane debris from the river, making this cleanup a huge success.

Section 10 is wide and clear of any major blockages, and it’s ready for paddling! If you’re looking for a leisurely paddling trip with a few fun class I and II rapids, this section is perfect. We hope to see you getting outside on our beautiful river!

Thank you to all of these incredible volunteers for helping keep the Broad River clean and healthy for future generations! 🛶

State of the Broad River

ROC staff and Broad Riverkeeper completed sections 1-10 of the Broad River Paddle Trail, documenting debris, damaged banks, and hazards. During these scouts we worked hard to clear paths and hazards to create a more safe and comfortable river experience. The sections we recommend are 221 to 221A and Gray’s Rd to Coxe Rd, while other sections may have multiple hazards or are difficult to access. The following are notes from each scout, note some scouts covered multiple sections.

Our final scout covered sections 7, 8, and 9 (Poor’s Ford Road to access 221). This section was clear of blockages, however, there are some hanging trees, but this section is pretty wide and there is ample room to paddle around. There are some rapids that require quick maneuverability. Debris from the hurricane included some metal roofing, tires, household debris and woody debris piles. Overall, this section was highly ‘paddlable’ requiring little hazard maneuverability.

Things to Keep in Mind: Water level affects hazard orientation, like strainers and/or hanging trees, or cause migration of underwater hazards, like sharp debris clouded by river depth and turbidity. It is advised to stay out of deep sections and inside your vessel as possible debris could be trapped underwater and difficult to see and avoid.

For a more in-depth look at each section please review and save this document: ROC Broad River Paddle Trail Quick Fact Sheet 

Have a report about your trip on the Broad River? Submit a report here, email info@rutherfordoutdoor.org, or call (828) 289-3260.

ROC Trail Updates

ROC and Girl Scout Troop 1945 from Trinity, NC volunteering at Buffalo Creek Park

Our volunteers got busy during this first month of Trail Tamer workdays! We had loads of fun while working hard on all our trails, completing tasks that included brushing trails, raking leaves, backing out trail markers and installing signage, repairing holes in the tread, and removing trees.

With a wonderful group visiting from Indiana with Praying Pelican Missions, we cleared ~60 trees from Weed Patch Mountain Trail!

Then, with Girl Scout Troop 1945 from Trinity, NC, we repaired holes in the Buffalo Creek Park loop trail and cleared away leaves that were causing hazardous conditions.

We also took volunteers out to the Isothermal Community College and Dittmer-Watts trails to brush overgrowth, making the trails much more enjoyable to hike!

What an awesome first month for our Trail Tamers! See you on trail in July!

ROC and a volunteer group from Praying Pelican Missions at

Weed Patch Mountain

Thanks to all our partners and volunteers helping out with this work! Want to join our efforts to maintain, restore, and reopen our local trails? Join our Trail Tamers email list by clicking here, which will also redirect you to our calendar to look for upcoming workdays!

Projects will vary by trail. Contact Maddie at trails@rutherfordoutdoor.org for more information or click here to register for a workday!

Youth Programs Highlight

Dreaming Stone Arts and Ecology Summer Camp

Dreaming Stone’s Arts and Ecology Center’s week-long camp is back! ROC is thrilled to co-sponsor this opportunity for local youth to learn about our ecosystem, and to teach outdoor education classes during the camp. So far, campers have learned about river and pond ecology, leave no trace principles, and more. Learn more about this camp and check out the next one in July below.

Keep Rutherford County Beautiful

Pollinator Garden in Progress

There’s a new pollinator garden in town! Keep Rutherford County Beautiful, Rutherford Outdoor Coalition, and Ruff’ton Roots Community Garden joined forces to create a pollinator garden in downtown Spindale outside of the ROC office. With many thanks to donated plants, grant funding from Keep America Beautiful, and many amazing volunteers, the garden is fully underway.

Through this project we hope to beautify and increase the pollinator habitat in downtown Spindale and along the Thermal Belt Rail trail. Our garden has already welcomed pollinator friends, including birds, bees, butterflies, and a Clearwing Moth!

Want to help with the pollinator garden? Stay tuned for upcoming workdays, or sign up to be a garden waterer! Contact Daphne at krcb@rutherfordoutdoor.org for more information on how to help.

2025 Race Series

Get ready for the next race! Join your fellow runners July 26th for the Meet Me at the Fountain 5K in Forest City. The event is produced by Smith’s Drugs in Forest City and each year they select several local nonprofits to benefit from the race. Based on race histories this could be your fastest 5K course in the race series! They offer a lot of age groups and age group prizes. 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 Jerry at jerry@rutherfordoutdoor.org.

Rutherford Outdoor Coalition

PO Box 1349

Rutherfordton, NC 28139

 828-351-3235

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