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Little River Regional Park Opens
More than four years after its conception, the Little River Regional Park and Natural Area opened to the public on December 5 under a brilliant blue sky and bright warm sun. The scene could not have been more different from the cold, rainy April day in 2000 when many of the same people gathered to announce their intention to create the park. The warmth of spirit that pervaded that dreary day prevailed and a strong partnership of Orange and Durham counties, along with TLC and the Eno River Association, quickly raised just over $1 million from state grants, private donations raised by TLC and ERA, and county taxes to purchase the land. A federal grant of $262,000 helped the counties pay for developing the park facilities, which include more than 14 miles of walking and mountain biking trails, two picnic shelters and restrooms. Volunteers, especially from the Durham-Orange Mountain Bike Association, contributed more than 1,000 hours of service in building the trails. Equestrian trails should also open soon. Several old farm buildings have been restored for park use—a tobacco barn for the maintenance shed and a corn crib for the information kiosk. To visit Little River Regional Park, take Guess Rd. north from I-85 in Durham and look for the park entrance on the right 1.1 miles into Orange County. Call Orange County Recreation & Parks at 245-2660 or Durham Open Space at 560-7956 for more information. Download the Little River Regional Park & Natural Area brochure, including trail map. (2.1 mb pdf file takes about 1-2 minutes to download through fast DSL connection.)
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