Carvins Cove Trail Plan - Roanoke

Carvins Cove Natural Reserve
2010 Trail Management Plan
Executive Summary
This Trail Management Plan is the result of the Roanoke Parks and Recreation
Department’s initiative to implement the 2007 Carvins Cove Natural Reserve Park
Management Plan. The Park Management Plan identified multi-use trail activities as
the most popular recreational uses at the Cove and recommended development of a
trail management plan.
The Parks and Recreation Department coordinated with trail volunteers, trail users,
Pathfinders for Greenways, and Roanoke Valley Greenway Commission to develop this
trail plan. In 2009 volunteers assessed the physical conditions of all the official trails
and evaluated their sustainability. In addition, a task force evaluated the potential of
the Carvins Cove trail network to provide a wider array of benefits for all visitors.
The vision for the trail program is to retain all the official trails and to expand the trail
network in order to have a trail system that provides trails and loops for users of
different skill levels and modes of travel. Many of the official trails will be improved
through maintenance and minor rehabilitation. New trails will be developed, reviewed
on a case by case basis for sustainable alignment, compliance with easements, benefits
to users, long term health of the forests and streams, and resources for construction
and maintenance. Shared use trails will be the norm, but single use trails will be
available in circumstances where resource protection or safety requires. The quality
and sustainability of trails at the Cove will be high, with both easily accessible and very
remote opportunities.
Management of the trails system within Carvins Cove has been and will continue to
have a resource-driven operational mission. Due to the scarcity of general funds for
operations and/or capital development, the collective resources found within our 600+
member volunteer system will assist, support, network, provide labor for, and provide
grant support for trail maintenance, management, and construction. Volunteer
responsibilities will be expanded to supplement City resources, with volunteer
direction from Pathfinders for Greenways, working in cooperation with the Parks and
Recreation Department. Specific trail improvements are recommended in this
document, and guidelines for implementation and recommended practices for
management are included.
“Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out that going to
the mountains is going home; that wildness is a necessity; that mountain parks and
reservations are useful not only as fountains of timber and irrigating rivers, but as fountains of
life. “
John Muir
v