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DENR State Park Proposal

Duke Power has offered for sale to the state of North Carolina and the U.S. Forest Service approximately 12,000 acres of remote wildners in Transylvania County. The area, commonly known as the "Jocassee Gorges," includes several magnificent waterfalls. North Carolina has until December 1999 to complete its purchase of 10,000 acres including the Toxaway River gorge, Bearwallow Creek, and a portion of the Horsepasture River that includes Windy Falls. The USFS hopes to acquire the 2000-acre corridor that encompasses the Thompson River Gorge.

The state of South Carolina has already completed the purchase of 32,000 acres (see The S.C. Draft Resource Management Plan for details).

The North Carolina General Assembly has passed legislation to create the 9600-acre Jocassee Gorges State Park. The legislation was signed into law by Governor Jim Hunt on July 8, 1997, but to date there has been no money appropriated for the purchase of the land.

The U.S. Congress has appropriated about one-quarter of the funds necessary to purchase the 2000 acre Thompson River gorge.

The area is located between Brevard and Cashiers, just south of highway U.S. 64 at its intersection with highway N.C. 281. The map (which expands when you click it), provides a rough representation of the proposed park boundaries, along with another parcel being offered to the U.S. Forest Service.

• Rivers in the Gamelands
  • The Whitewater River
  • The Thompson River
  • The Horsepasture River
• The cornerstone of the Proposed State Park
  • Bearwallow Creek and the Toxaway River

Bills were introduced in the General Assembly of North Carolina on March 26, 1997, to authorize the purchase of this land. The bills were introduced by Representative William Ives, in the House, and Senator Thomas Jenkins, in the Senate. The texts of the (identical) bills, entitled An Act to Authorize the Addition to the State Parks System of Certain Lands Located in Transylvania County Adjacent to Jocassee Lake can be found by following these links: Senate Bill 537 and House Bill 635.

Photographs and Links to Other Web Sites

Good reading of the old-fashioned variety:

The following books offer extensive information about the Jocassee Gorges. The links lead to my descriptions.

• The Blue Wall: Wilderness of the Carolinas and Georgia, by Thomas Wyche and James Kilgo.
• The Land of Waterfalls: Transylvania County, North Carolina, by Jim Bob Tinsley.
• North Carolina Waterfalls: Where to find them, how to photograph them, by Kevin Adams.
• The North Carolina Sierra Club's Guide to the JOCASSEE GORGES: Horsepasture, Bearwallow, & Toxaway Region, by Bill Thomas.
• Waterfall Walks and Drives in the Western Carolinas, by Mark Morrison.
• Wildflowers of the Southern Appalachians: How to Photograph and Identify them, by Keven Adams and Marty Casstevens.

This page is maintained by Forrest Smith. Latest update: March 16, 1998.