Carvins Cove Trail Plan - Roanoke

Carvins Cove Natural Reserve
2010 Trail Management Plan
The Bennett Springs parking lot provides access to the Brushy Mountain end of the
Cove. The parking lot is large enough for horse trailers, but the lot is also extensively
used by mountain bikers. From this parking lot there is one trail – Hi-Dee-Hoe. Hi-
Dee-Hoe intersects within a ¼ mile with Hotel Trail and within ½ mile with Four Gorge
Trail. These three trails get a tremendous amount of use. While Hotel is rated
Easy/Intermediate, Hi-Dee-Hoe is rated Difficult and Four Gorge is rated Intermediate.
Users who are less fit or less skilled often find these trails too difficult. Many bicyclists,
some with children, opt to ride the paved road for one mile to the gate at the end of
Carvins Cove Road where they can access easier trails, such as Happy Valley and
Brushy Mountain.
Timberview Road dead ends at Horse Pen Trail. The parking spaces are posted No
Parking because school buses turn around there. Trail users often park in the limited
space beyond the turnaround on the shoulders of the road in front of the gate. This
access provides connections to Horse Pen, Trough, and Gauntlet Trails.
The Appalachian Trail parking lots are not currently serving Cove trail users, although
they provide access for hikers utilizing the AT above the Cove.
In the past a private landowner at the end of Carvins Cove Road has allowed horse
trailers to park at his barn. This private parking provides the horses direct access to
Happy Valley and Brushy Mountain Trails and thus to a broader network of trails. This
property is currently for sale and cannot be relied on for public parking. Loss of this
shared private parking will lead to substantially more horse parking and trail impacts
at Bennett Springs.
In addition to these access points there are many landowners along Carvins Cove,
Reservoir, and Timberview Roads who have bought their property specifically for its
proximity to the Cove and its recreation opportunities. These neighbors look for
legitimate ways to access the Cove trails without driving to a parking lot.
Table 12 presents parking recommendations to address the needs of trail users.
Bennett Springs parking lot serves many
types of users, as well as being a staging
area for trail work days.
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