GASTON COUNTY, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — It has been one week since Crowder’s Mountain reopened its gates to hikers and they couldn’t be happier.
“This is the most crowded I’ve seen it,” Kaitlyn Brock said.
And the parking lot showed.
North Carolina state parks west of I-77 were closed for the last few weeks so park rangers could go west and help clean up areas affected by Hurricane Helene forcing parkgoers to hold off from enjoying the mountain for a while.
“I am so grateful for our park rangers going to do that. It’s so great that they’re out there helping those poor people in western Carolina. And my thoughts and prayers are with everyone there. Obviously, we miss the park, but it was wonderful that they went out there and helped. And it’s a beautiful day to be out here,” Brock said.
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“You’re taking part in helping the community. I mean, that’s what you’re supposed to do as forest rangers,” Tony Cape said.
Now, only eight of the state parks are still closed. Tony and Leticia Cape recently drove to Biltmore Village. They say the devastation in the area is still hard to grasp but once they arrived, they were glad they went.