Elk Knob State Park
Encyclopedia
Elk Knob State Park is an 1800 acres (7.3 km²) North Carolina state park in Watauga County
, North Carolina
, in the United States
. Opened in 2003, it is one of North Carolina's newest state parks. Elk Knob State Park was established to preserve the natural state of Elk Knob
, the second highest peak in Watauga County. The park is open for year-round recreation and is currently undergoing an expansion of facilities to provide greater recreational opportunities to visitors. Elk Knob State Park is on Meat Camp Road, 5.5 miles (8.9 km) from North Carolina Highway 194
, 9.5 miles (15.3 km) north of Boone
, in the Blue Ridge Mountains
.
it to the State of North Carolina as a nature preserve, and later a state park
. Elk Knob is an amphibolite
peak and is home to the headwaters of the North Fork New River
, a tributary
of the New River, one of the oldest rivers in the world.
Elk Knob State Park is surrounded by several historic mountain communities. Meat Camp, Pottertown and Sutherland were once, according to Dr. Patricia Beaver of Appalachian State University
, "bustling, dynamic communities". Meat Camp was the location of Winebarger Grist Mill, which operated from the 1850s until 2005. Sutherland had a thriving cattle industry. Each community had at least one general store
, post office
, school and church. Faculty and students from Appalachian State have begun a process of preserving the history of the communities by hosting periodic community days, at Elk Knob State Park, where residents of the shrinking communities gather to pass down their history and share photos of earlier days. These gatherings have also given the students and young people of the region a chance to learn about sustainable agriculture
practices that were commonplace throughout the history of Elk Knob.
that is rich in nutrients and supports the growth of rare plants. Elk Knob and Rittle Knob, which are now part of Elk Knob State Park, are ecologically rich sites that host diverse and rare plant species such as Gray's lily
, Rattlesnake root, Flame azalea
, Purple fringed orchid
and Trailing wolfsbane.
Northern hardwood
forests grow at Elk Knob State Park. This type of forest consists of sugar maple
, American beech
, yellow buckeye and Yellow birch
trees. The trees that grow near the summits of Rittle and Elk Knobs have been stunted by the low temperatures, high elevation and high winds. Trees that are just a few feet high can be well over one hundred years old.
The forests of Elk Knob State Park provide a habitat for a number of woodland species including a breeding colony of raven
s, the American Black Bear
, Bobcat
, White-tailed deer
, and Wild Turkey
s. Since the park is largely undeveloped, these species have lived in an environment that has been largely left undisturbed by man. Development that has taken place at the park has been to minimize ecologic damage.
An old road that leads to the summit of Elk Knob served as the park's initial hiking trail, but it is steep and rocky, making it a difficult hike. A less steep and easier to ascend hiking trail was constructed with the help of volunteers, and it was finished September 4, 2011. The old road is planned to be formally closed to hiking, so the process of secondary succession
will be encouraged on the road bed. Upon reaching the summit hikers are can view Mount Jefferson
, Grandfather Mountain
, Mount Mitchell
, and various peaks in Tennessee
and Virginia
.
Camping is usually not permitted at Elk Knob State Park; however, the park has allowed limited camping during the weekend of the National Wildlife Federation
's Great American Backyard Campout.
A small picnic area was provides several picnic tables and grills, along a forested, road loop. Also, a small office area was constructed near the park's entrance.
Watauga County, North Carolina
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 42,695 people, 16,540 households, and 9,411 families residing in the county. The population density was 137 people per square mile . There were 23,155 housing units at an average density of 74 per square mile...
, North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
, in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Opened in 2003, it is one of North Carolina's newest state parks. Elk Knob State Park was established to preserve the natural state of Elk Knob
Elk Knob (Watauga County, North Carolina)
Elk Knob is a mountain in the North Carolina High Country, north of the community of Meat Camp. Its elevation reaches .The mountain is the headwaters of the North Fork New River and feeder creeks to the South Fork New River . The mountain is home to Elk Knob State Park....
, the second highest peak in Watauga County. The park is open for year-round recreation and is currently undergoing an expansion of facilities to provide greater recreational opportunities to visitors. Elk Knob State Park is on Meat Camp Road, 5.5 miles (8.9 km) from North Carolina Highway 194
North Carolina Highway 194
North Carolina Highway 194 is a primary state highway in the state of North Carolina. Primarily in the High Country, it runs from US 19E, in Ingalls, to the Virginia state line, near Helton.-Route description:...
, 9.5 miles (15.3 km) north of Boone
Boone, North Carolina
Boone is a town located in the Blue Ridge Mountains of western North Carolina, United States. Boone's population was reported as 17,122, as of 2010...
, in the Blue Ridge Mountains
Blue Ridge Mountains
The Blue Ridge Mountains are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Mountains range. This province consists of northern and southern physiographic regions, which divide near the Roanoke River gap. The mountain range is located in the eastern United States, starting at its southern-most...
.
History
Elk Knob State Park is named for Elk Knob, the second highest peak in Watauga County, which was under threat of being developed for summer homes during the late 1990s and early 2000s. A group of concerned citizens, led by the Nature Conservancy and land owners, teamed together to purchase Elk Knob and deedDeed
A deed is any legal instrument in writing which passes, or affirms or confirms something which passes, an interest, right, or property and that is signed, attested, delivered, and in some jurisdictions sealed...
it to the State of North Carolina as a nature preserve, and later a state park
State park
State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the federated state level within those nations which use "state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on account of its natural beauty, historic interest, or recreational...
. Elk Knob is an amphibolite
Amphibolite
Amphibolite is the name given to a rock consisting mainly of hornblende amphibole, the use of the term being restricted, however, to metamorphic rocks. The modern terminology for a holocrystalline plutonic igneous rocks composed primarily of hornblende amphibole is a hornblendite, which are...
peak and is home to the headwaters of the North Fork New River
North Fork New River
The North Fork New River is a river in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It rises in Northern Watauga County, and flows northeast to Ashe County where it joins with the South Fork New River to form the New River....
, a tributary
Tributary
A tributary or affluent is a stream or river that flows into a main stem river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean...
of the New River, one of the oldest rivers in the world.
Elk Knob State Park is surrounded by several historic mountain communities. Meat Camp, Pottertown and Sutherland were once, according to Dr. Patricia Beaver of Appalachian State University
Appalachian State University
Appalachian State University is a comprehensive , public, coeducational university located in Boone, North Carolina, United States. Appalachian State, also referred to as Appalachian, App State, or simply App, is the sixth largest institution in the University of North Carolina system...
, "bustling, dynamic communities". Meat Camp was the location of Winebarger Grist Mill, which operated from the 1850s until 2005. Sutherland had a thriving cattle industry. Each community had at least one general store
General store
A general store, general merchandise store, or village shop is a rural or small town store that carries a general line of merchandise. It carries a broad selection of merchandise, sometimes in a small space, where people from the town and surrounding rural areas come to purchase all their general...
, post office
Post office
A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...
, school and church. Faculty and students from Appalachian State have begun a process of preserving the history of the communities by hosting periodic community days, at Elk Knob State Park, where residents of the shrinking communities gather to pass down their history and share photos of earlier days. These gatherings have also given the students and young people of the region a chance to learn about sustainable agriculture
Sustainable agriculture
Sustainable agriculture is the practice of farming using principles of ecology, the study of relationships between organisms and their environment...
practices that were commonplace throughout the history of Elk Knob.
Ecology
Elk Knob State Park's location atop an amphibolite peak has made it a vitally important and ecologically unique area. Amphibolite is a dark metamorphic rockMetamorphic rock
Metamorphic rock is the transformation of an existing rock type, the protolith, in a process called metamorphism, which means "change in form". The protolith is subjected to heat and pressure causing profound physical and/or chemical change...
that is rich in nutrients and supports the growth of rare plants. Elk Knob and Rittle Knob, which are now part of Elk Knob State Park, are ecologically rich sites that host diverse and rare plant species such as Gray's lily
Lilium grayi
Lilium grayi is a medium sized species of the lily family. It is native to Eastern USA and prefers moist, acid soil. The leaves are lanceolate to oblong-lanceolate and carried around the stem in whorls...
, Rattlesnake root, Flame azalea
Rhododendron calendulaceum
Rhododendron calendulaceum , is a species of Rhododendron native to the Appalachian Mountains in the eastern United States, ranging from southern New York to northern Georgia....
, Purple fringed orchid
Platanthera grandiflora
Platanthera grandiflora is a species of orchid occurring from eastern Canada to Wisconsin and the Appalachian Mountains....
and Trailing wolfsbane.
Northern hardwood
Hardwood
Hardwood is wood from angiosperm trees . It may also be used for those trees themselves: these are usually broad-leaved; in temperate and boreal latitudes they are mostly deciduous, but in tropics and subtropics mostly evergreen.Hardwood contrasts with softwood...
forests grow at Elk Knob State Park. This type of forest consists of sugar maple
Sugar Maple
Acer saccharum is a species of maple native to the hardwood forests of northeastern North America, from Nova Scotia west to southern Ontario, and south to Georgia and Texas...
, American beech
American Beech
Fagus grandifolia, also known as American Beech or North american beech, is a species of beech native to eastern North America, from Nova Scotia west to southern Ontario in southeastern Canada, west to Wisconsin and south to eastern Texas and northern Florida in the United States. Trees in the...
, yellow buckeye and Yellow birch
Yellow Birch
Betula alleghaniensis , is a species of birch native to eastern North America, from Newfoundland to Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, southern Quebec and Ontario, and the southeast corner of Manitoba in Canada, west to Minnesota, and south in the Appalachian Mountains to northern Georgia.It is a...
trees. The trees that grow near the summits of Rittle and Elk Knobs have been stunted by the low temperatures, high elevation and high winds. Trees that are just a few feet high can be well over one hundred years old.
The forests of Elk Knob State Park provide a habitat for a number of woodland species including a breeding colony of raven
Raven
Raven is the common name given to several larger-bodied members of the genus Corvus—but in Europe and North America the Common Raven is normally implied...
s, the American Black Bear
American black bear
The American black bear is a medium-sized bear native to North America. It is the continent's smallest and most common bear species. Black bears are omnivores, with their diets varying greatly depending on season and location. They typically live in largely forested areas, but do leave forests in...
, Bobcat
Bobcat
The bobcat is a North American mammal of the cat family Felidae, appearing during the Irvingtonian stage of around 1.8 million years ago . With twelve recognized subspecies, it ranges from southern Canada to northern Mexico, including most of the continental United States...
, White-tailed deer
White-tailed Deer
The white-tailed deer , also known as the Virginia deer or simply as the whitetail, is a medium-sized deer native to the United States , Canada, Mexico, Central America, and South America as far south as Peru...
, and Wild Turkey
Wild Turkey
The Wild Turkey is native to North America and is the heaviest member of the Galliformes. It is the same species as the domestic turkey, which derives from the South Mexican subspecies of wild turkey .Adult wild turkeys have long reddish-yellow to grayish-green...
s. Since the park is largely undeveloped, these species have lived in an environment that has been largely left undisturbed by man. Development that has taken place at the park has been to minimize ecologic damage.
Recreation
Elk Knob State Park is one of the newest state parks in North Carolina. Recreational opportunities are limited since the facilities at the park have not yet been fully built, and they will remain somewhat limited since one of the original goals of the park is to maintain it as a natural area.An old road that leads to the summit of Elk Knob served as the park's initial hiking trail, but it is steep and rocky, making it a difficult hike. A less steep and easier to ascend hiking trail was constructed with the help of volunteers, and it was finished September 4, 2011. The old road is planned to be formally closed to hiking, so the process of secondary succession
Secondary succession
Secondary succession is one of the two types of ecological succession of plant life. As opposed to the first, primary succession, secondary succession is a process started by an event that reduces an already established ecosystem Secondary succession is one of the two types of ecological...
will be encouraged on the road bed. Upon reaching the summit hikers are can view Mount Jefferson
Mount Jefferson (North Carolina)
Mount Jefferson is a mountain located in Ashe County, North Carolina. The mountain is part of the Mount Jefferson State Natural Area. The mountain has an elevation of above sea level, and it sharply rises more than 1,600 feet above the towns of Jefferson, North Carolina and West Jefferson...
, Grandfather Mountain
Grandfather Mountain
Grandfather Mountain is a mountain, a non-profit attraction, and a North Carolina state parknear Linville, North Carolina. At 5,946 feet , it is the highest peak on the eastern escarpment of the Blue Ridge Mountains, one of the major chains of the Appalachian Mountains. The Blue Ridge Parkway...
, Mount Mitchell
Mount Mitchell (North Carolina)
Mount Mitchell is the highest peak of the Appalachian Mountains and the highest peak in the eastern United States. It was the highest point in any state of the United States until Texas joined the union in 1845. The nearest higher point east of the Rocky Mountains is Harney Peak in the Black Hills...
, and various peaks in Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
and Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
.
Camping is usually not permitted at Elk Knob State Park; however, the park has allowed limited camping during the weekend of the National Wildlife Federation
National Wildlife Federation
The National Wildlife Federation is the United States' largest private, nonprofit conservation education and advocacy organization, with over four million members and supporters, and 48 state and territorial affiliated organizations...
's Great American Backyard Campout.
A small picnic area was provides several picnic tables and grills, along a forested, road loop. Also, a small office area was constructed near the park's entrance.
Nearby state parks
The following state parks are within 30 miles (48 km) of Elk Knob State Park:- Grandfather Mountain State Park
- Grayson Highlands State ParkGrayson Highlands State ParkGrayson Highlands State Park is located in Virginia, United States, adjacent to Mount Rogers National Recreation Area. The park lies within Jefferson National Forest. The park was established in 1965 and contains a total of 4,822 acres...
, VirginiaVirginiaThe Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there... - Mount Jefferson State Natural AreaMount Jefferson State Natural AreaMount Jefferson State Natural Area is a North Carolina state park in Ashe County, North Carolina in the United States. Located near Jefferson, North Carolina, it includes the peak of Mount Jefferson, named for Thomas Jefferson, who owned land nearby.-History:...
- New River State ParkNew River State ParkNew River State Park is a North Carolina state park in Ashe County, North Carolina in the United States. Located near Jefferson, North Carolina, it covers over 2,200 acres in the protected New River watershed. The New River is, ironically, one of the oldest rivers in the United States...
- Stone Mountain State ParkStone Mountain State ParkStone Mountain State Park is a North Carolina state park in Alleghany and Wilkes Counties, North Carolina in the United States.-Size and location:Located in Wilkes and Alleghany counties of North Carolina, it covers 13,747 acres ....