City of Marion issued the following announcement on March 1.
The City of Marion’s Joseph McDowell Historical Catawba River Greenway was recently one of 10 sites identified as part of North Carolina Wildlife Resource Commission’s new Blue Ridge Snorkel Trail.
The Snorkel Trail is a unique wildlife recreation opportunity located in Western North Carolina that connects people to the fascinating underwater world through a series of publicly accessible river snorkel sites.
Each snorkel trail site is hosted by partners and are slated to open in late spring.
Each site on the trail will be designated by signage that provides information on water safety information and notable aquatic species that may be found at the site.
The ten pilot sites are:
Catawba River Basin- Joseph McDowell Historical Catawba Greenway, City of The City of Marion, NC
French Broad River Basin- Canton Recreation Park Boat Ramp, Town of Canton, Haywood Waterways Association, Inc.- Mills River Park, Town of Mills River, Mills River Partnership- Black Mountain Veterans Park, Town of Black Mountain
Hiwassee River Basin- Valley River Heritage Park, Town of Andrews
Little Tennessee River Basin- Bryson City Island Park, Town of Bryson City- East LaPorte River Access Park, Jackson County- Joyce Kilmer Bridge Fishing Access, United States Forest Service- Queen Branch Nature Preserve, Mainspring Conservation Trust
Yadkin River Basin- Stone Mountain State Park, N.C. Division of Parks and Recreation
Snorkeling is quickly becoming a popular alternative to the traditional uses of rivers and lakes, and participation has increased dramatically over the years with different businesses and organizations leading groups of people on guided trips.
The timing of the trail’s opening is serendipitous given the North Carolina General Assembly designated 2023 as the Year of the Trail to bring attention to the numerous outdoor recreational attractions and networks of diverse trails that North Carolina has to offer.
While still under development, information about site kick-off events with guided snorkeling, the trail, and snorkel sites will be provided on blueridgesnorkeltrail.com in advance of the trail’s launch in late spring.
Original source can be found here.
