Roanoke Rapids Lake Park Will Offer Fishing and Swimming
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The Roanoke Valley is filled with beautiful scenery‚ and some of it soon will be more accessible to the public.
Construction is scheduled to begin by early 2006 on Roanoke Rapids Lake Park‚ which city officials believe will become the most visited park in the valley once it opens in the latter part of the year. The park encompasses 17 lakefront and wooded acres at the western terminus of the Roanoke Canal Trail – just a few miles from downtown Roanoke Rapids.
“We have 13 parks in our system that offer fine recreational opportunities‚ but Roanoke Rapids Lake Park will be our most popular because of its proximity to the water‚” says Chris Wicker‚ director of the Roanoke Rapids Parks and Recreation Department. “Besides offering an accessible fishing pier and the best sunset vantage point around here‚ it will have a public area for swimming – which is not available on other big lakes in this area.”
Dominion North Carolina Power‚ a unit of Dominion Resources‚ donated the land for the park and will pay for much of its development.
The utility company also is establishing a park on Lake Gaston that is scheduled to open in 2007 and feature multiple fishing access points.
“We want to enhance recreation and fishing in this area‚ and believe that building more parks is the best way to do it‚” says Bryant Brooks‚ senior manager of external affairs for Dominion North Carolina Power. “Recreation attracts thousands of tourists to Roanoke Valley‚ so these two additional parks will bring even more vacationers to this part of North Carolina.”
Besides parks‚ recreation opportunities available in the valley include whitewater canoeing and kayaking‚ hiking along the Roanoke Canal Trail‚ and world-class fishing on the Roanoke River and Lake Gaston.
“There are also a number of quality indoor facilities for recreation‚ including the T.J. Davis Recreation Center‚” Wicker says. “It is equipped with two gyms‚ an indoor walking track‚ outdoor walking track‚ large outdoor pool and multipurpose rooms.”
Perhaps the fastest growing recreational pursuit in Roanoke Valley is bicycling‚ with smooth country roads and lakeside settings providing an ideal backdrop. Routes of 25 to 100 miles have been mapped for cyclists to pursue.
“Cycle North Carolina came through here two years ago‚ and Bike Virginia will be bringing 2‚000 bicyclists to Roanoke Rapids for two days in June 2006‚” Wicker says. “[They] will be visiting our area attractions and staying in 500 of our hotel rooms.
“It is a credit to our community that a Virginia bicycling group is coming to North Carolina for two days of biking. It just shows how important recreation is to the Roanoke Valley.”
Story by Kevin Litwin
Photo by Brian McCord
