Blue Ridge Conservancy Awarded Recreational Trails Program Grant for Three Top Mountain Trail Section

Blue Ridge Conservancy (BRC) was recently awarded $100,000 from the Recreational Trails Program (RTP) through the North Carolina Department of Parks and Recreation for the construction of Phase 1 of the Northern Peaks State Trail (NPST) on Three Top Mountain. Phase 1 will be approximately four miles long, beginning on the east end of the Three Top Mountain Game Land. BRC plans to break ground in the spring of this year.

"The Three Top Mountain section of the NPST will be one of the signature trails in Northwest  North Carolina. Creating an appropriate amount of public access to this beautiful mountain is an incredible opportunity,” says NPST Trail Coordinator Jordan Sellers. “Thank you to the North Carolina Wildlife Resource Commission for supporting this project. BRC and our partners have planned this project carefully and we are eager to share our hard work with the community. We are honored to receive an RTP grant for this project and we are excited to be working with Nature Trails, LLC on another fantastic trail project."

BRC has added over 1,000 of the nearly 3,100 acres at the Three Top Mountain Game Land, located in Creston, NC. Between 2022 and 2024, BRC partnered with the North Carolina Natural Heritage Program to conduct biological surveys of the trail corridor to ensure the trail is constructed in an ecologically responsible manner. The trail will be hiking only and will be built to modern, sustainable standards. The total length of the NPST on Three Top Mountain will be approximately 12 miles when all phases are completed.

With its three prominent rocky peaks and elevations above 5,000 feet, Three Top Mountain’s ridge line is easily distinguishable from as far away as eastern Wilkes County. Like the other peaks of the NPST corridor, Three Top Mountain is comprised of a pH-basic rock known as Amphibolite, which supports diverse plant and animal life. 

BRC, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit land trust, partners with landowners and local communities to permanently protect natural resources with agricultural, cultural, recreational, ecological, and scenic value in northwest North Carolina.