Ledge Creek Trails Opened to Public

February 17, 2017

Tar River Land Conservancy (TRLC) officially opened 3 miles of hiking trails at the Ledge Creek Forest Conservation Area in Granville County with a ribbon cutting on February 16, 2017.  The parking area and trailhead is located at 3189 Brogden Road near Stem.

“The opening of these trails is the culmination of a lot of hard work by a lot of people,” noted Derek Halberg, TRLC’s Executive Director. “Over 125 volunteers devoted more than 1,000 hours building hiking trails on this conservation area just since last April.  That could not have been accomplished without the leadership of Elaine Nichols, who served as an AmeriCorps volunteer with the Conservancy last year.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Visitors will find the trails at the Ledge Creek Forest Conservation Area to be easy to moderate in difficulty.  Trails lead past fields being restored to forest and wildflower meadows, older woodland being managed for wildlife habitat, and hardwood forest found on the slopes above Ledge Creek.  Picnic tables are available for visitors near the parking area.  Visitors are encouraged to download and print a Guide & Trail Map here.  Trail brochures are also available at the trailhead kiosk near the parking area.  Visitors should read the rules for the conservation area found on the trailhead kiosk before starting a hike. The trail guide includes information about the marked trails found on the property and several points-of-interest stops along the trails.

“We could not have acquired this special property and opened these trails without the help of a lot of generous funders,” emphasized Mr. Halberg.  “It has taken the investments and backing of many partners to bring this vision to reality.”

TRLC purchased six tracts of land in 2013 and 2015 to establish the Ledge Creek Forest Conservation Area, which now totals 381 acres. The partners who contributed to the purchase of these properties included Granville County, the US Endowment for Forestry and Communities, the NC Clean Water Management Trust Fund, City of Creedmoor, City of Raleigh’s Watershed Protection Program, NC Department of Justice’s Environmental Enhancement Grant Program, and Conservation Trust for North Carolina. The property will remain permanently off-limits to development thanks to conservation easements held by the Conservation Trust for North Carolina and Clean Water Management Trust Fund.

In 2014, TRLC began restoring 30 acres of hay fields on the property to native wildlife habitat with assistance from the Global ReLeaf Program, Granville County Soil & Water Conservation District, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, NC Forest Service, and NC Wildlife Resources Commission.  In 2016, volunteer service and funding from the National Fish & Wildlife Foundation, Wells Fargo Foundation, Morgan Stanley Foundation, AmeriCorps program, and Conservation Trust for North Carolina allowed TRLC to remove several rundown buildings on the property and to purchase trail-building tools and materials.  TRLC plans to work with volunteers to build additional hiking trails on the Ledge Creek Forest Conservation Area in the future.

The trails are open to hikers during daylight hours only.  Visitors may reach the Ledge Creek Forest Conservation Area by following these directions:

(a)  From Creedmoor, take US-15 North for 3.6 miles.  Take left onto Hester Road.  Travel 1.8 miles and take right onto Brogden Road.  Travel 1.6 miles and turn left at the sign for the Ledge Creek Forest Conservation Area.

(b)  From Durham, take I-85 to Exit 191. Turn left onto NC-56 West.  Travel 0.2 miles and take right onto W. Lyon Station Road. Travel 2.4 miles and take left onto Brogden Road. Travel 0.9 miles and turn left at the sign for the Ledge Creek Forest Conservation Area.

(c)  From Oxford, take Providence Road/Old NC-75 to Stem.  At Stem, take left onto Main Street.  Continue straight for 0.8 miles. Main Street becomes Creedmoor Road then Brogden Road. Turn right at the sign for the Ledge Creek Forest Conservation Area.

For more information about the Ledge Creek Forest Conservation Area, please click here.