Carvins Cove Trail Plan - Roanoke

Carvins Cove Natural Reserve
2010 Trail Management Plan
Table 13. Recommendations for Improvements to Cost Recovery System
1. Develop a method for buying a permit on-line or at offices of Parks and Recreation Department.
2. Install a self service pay station at parking lots.
3. Establish a trail fund, e.g. an enterprise fund, for Parks and Recreation to receive permit fees from
trail users and dedicate funds to management of the trail network.
4. Establish rates for special use permits for trail concessionaires.
3.4.3 Prohibited Uses
The 2007 Park Management Plan documents concern about illegal motorized vehicles
and unauthorized hunting. While assessing trails and exploring unofficial trails, the
Trail Assessment Team found multiple locations where there is substantial ATV use of
old roads and multiple hunting stands. Trail users also reported encounters with ATV
users. This use appears most concentrated in three areas:
Brushy Mountain to Timberview Road – There are multiple private tracts
bordering the Cove property on Timberview Road and many ATVs parked in
driveways. The aerial photos reveal roads from many of these properties onto
City land. Field work, with GPS units to show boundary lines, confirmed that
there are many instances of trespass, dumping of debris, hunting stands, road
construction, structures, and motorized trail use on City land in this area.
Brushy Mountain to Carvins Cove Road, west of Buck Trail – In this area
adjacent landowners have a network of trails for both legal and illegal uses.
Some trails are used for horse access to Brushy Mountain and Buck Trails.
Other trails are receiving ATV and motorbike use.
The Blue-Line AT Trail and Brickey’s Gap Area – In this area there is legal
motorized vehicular access across the AT to service private property. There is
a hunting cabin on this property and signs of ATVs from there onto the Blue-
Line AT Trail and Cove lands. Many parts of the Blue-Line Trail are on woods
roads, and most of these are receiving vehicular use. In addition to that trail,
there are numerous old roads in the area that are being used by ATVs, and
there are signs of camping and hunting. Much of this use is in a Natural
Heritage area.
While it would be difficult to patrol all these areas, legitimate trail use can be part of a
multi-faceted approach for addressing trespass and undesirable uses.
Table 14. Recommendations for Addressing Prohibited Uses
1. Install Park boundary markers on existing trails and show permitted uses.
2. Work with neighbors and user groups to encourage respect for and legal use of the Cove.
3. Encourage the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (DGIF) Conservation Officers to
patrol within the Cove, particularly during hunting season.
4. Alert DGIF to hunting infractions.
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