HOT SPRINGS – Madison County residents who had expressed dismay at the U.S. Forest Service’s decision to temporarily close Rocky Bluff Campground in Hot Springs received clear information from the Forest Service on Aug. 13.
In late July, the U.S. Forest Service announced that it would temporarily close the Rocky Bluff Campground and its associated picnic area in Hot Springs, raising concerns about the fate of the popular campground.
Rocky Bluff Campground is located about 3 miles south of downtown Hot Springs near the community of Spring Creek. The 1.2-mile Spring Creek Nature Trail circles the campground and meanders alongside the creek and a trout stream. The site is typically open Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend.
However, the US Forest Service has decided to close the campground indefinitely, citing numerous maintenance problems.
Jennifer Barnhart, a ranger with the U.S. Forest Service’s Appalachian District, gave an update on the campground at the Aug. 13 meeting of the Madison County Board of Commissioners.
A Facebook group supporting the Rocky Bluff Campground, “Save Rocky Bluff,” had more than 210 members as of August 13.
“Yes, this is an area that is very dear to my heart if you are from here and have ever spent time at the Rocky Bluff campground,” Barnhart said, adding that the campground was established in 1960.
“It’s a great location. Unfortunately, the infrastructure has become outdated due to many maintenance issues over the years.”
One of the main problems is the cost and infrastructural barriers associated with operating a bathroom, Barnhart said.
“A lot of it is the sites, the roads, the septic system and the water distribution system and the costs that would be incurred to get that back up and running,” Barnhart said. “Last year we even put in portable toilets so people could continue to use the campground. At this point we’re running a deficit. So it’s not a good business plan right now.”
“Nobody can get into the bathroom technology. It’s not safe.”
The campsite once had about 30 pitches.
Barnhart and other U.S. Forest Service officials met with local stakeholders on July 19. During that meeting, the U.S. Forest Service released a document titled “Rocky Bluff Campground Way Forward.”
In the document, the US Forest Service cites “significant deferred maintenance, including broken asphalt, leaks in the water distribution system, and a toilet with broken pipes and a roof beyond repair” as factors leading to its decision to temporarily close the site. It adds that occupancy of the 17 available sites is about 40%, while revenues range from $5,000 to $8,000 annually.
On August 13, however, Barnhart was more direct.
“We want to collaborate and try to figure out what’s best there,” she said.
“But it comes down to pooping and peeing. When people are there, you have to have a bathroom. So that’s the main thing. There’s no money because in the district I work in, there are no paid campgrounds except for Black Mountain Campground, which is run by a concessionaire. And again, it has to be profitable. Rocky Bluff is something they wouldn’t even touch right now.”
According to Barnhart, the trailhead and Spring Creek Trail are still available and open to the public, and local residents can still fish there.
The Way Forward document suggests three general paths the site could take, adding that “each of these paths could offer creative opportunities.”
These options include:
- The Forest Service is decommissioning the campground and converting it into a day-use point where visitors can use the Spring Creek Nature Trail and Van Cliff. The decommissioning is expected to last five years, depending on the availability of decommissioning funds and grants for the trailhead, engineering, and contracting.
- A company invests a large amount of money in the site to perform deferred maintenance and operate it in some way. In this option, the Forest Service retains title to the land, and the time frame would be several years and would likely require coordination with Forest Service engineers and specialists, as well as a special use permit process.
- The site will not be used as a campground and can be used more or less as it is now (no restrooms, minimal improvements). The time frame for this is one year, subject to a special use agreement.
Barnhart said the Forest Service will speak with local stakeholders again in September or October.
“We said, do you want to sit down for a month or so and think about what other options you can think of besides a campground, because just having a campground again is not a solution. But is it something we do in consultation with the county or the city to have a park? It doesn’t have to be a campground, it could be a park,” Barnhart said.
“There are different options. You just have to be reasonable. We will work through those ideas and we are here to talk and communicate about Rocky Bluff.”
GAP restoration project
Barnhart also announced updates on the U.S. Forest Service’s GAP restoration project, with GAP serving as an acronym for the Grandfather, Appalachian and Pisgah Ranger Districts, which span 500,000 acres in the Pisgah National Forest, which includes Madison County.
Barnhart said the Forest Service is currently focused on restoring fire-adapted sections of the Pisgah National Forest to reduce wildfire risk for surrounding communities, including Hot Springs.
“We’re really trying to address the restoration part of the forests here,” Barnhart said. “We’re looking at species composition, ecological processes, functions and structures. If you’re a hunter, you know that oaks and hickories are very important for mass production of species, which isn’t as common right now. So we’re trying to restore what we want to restore.”
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Max Patch
Barnhart also provided an update on Max Patch, where an extended closure is currently in effect on the grassy baldhead known for its 360-degree views of the 4,629-foot peak in Pisgah National Forest on the North Carolina-Tennessee border.
The camping ban was imposed in July 2021 after the area was overrun by hikers and tents leaving trash behind and violating Leave No Trace principles.
In addition to the camping ban, other measures include: .
- No fires.
- The area closes one hour after sunset and reopens one hour before sunrise. Visitors are not allowed during closing times.
- The group size is limited to 10 people.
- Dogs and other animals must be kept on a leash no longer than 1.80 m or in a crate or cage.
- Visitors must stay on marked paths.
The lockdown order has done wonders for the area, Barnhart said.
According to Barnhart, Max Patch officials have seen a massive decrease in Ring of Fire scars and waste.
Painting stone
Barnhart said the U.S. Forest Service is also working with the Cherokee National Forest to prevent graffiti and eradicate poison ivy at Paint Rock near the Tennessee border, which is home to 4,400-year-old pictographs from early Cherokee settlers, some of the oldest known pictographs in the southeastern United States.
“This is an incredible place in the Southeast and one of the oldest in the Southeast that you all have in Madison County,” Barnhart said. “So it’s an incredible place.”
Johnny Casey covered Madison County for three years for The Citizen Times and The News-Record & Sentinel. He received first place for breaking news coverage at the 2023 North Carolina Press Association Awards. Reach him at 828-210-6074 or [email protected]. May 24, 2024.
