With the snip of a ribbon, local officials and conservationists unveiled a new kiosk and re-routing of the Bartram Trail that connects to the Little Tennessee River Greenway from the Macon County Fairgrounds in a Wednesday, June 7, ceremony.
“We are now standing officially at milepost 63.7,” said Brent Martin, executive director of the Blue Ridge Bartram Trail Conservancy.
With the re-route Bartram Trail hikers coming up from Georgia no longer have to cross Georgia Road or U.S. 64, plus they get to enjoy a scenic route through Franklin.
“If you were hiking the whole Bartram Trail, you had to cross 441 right here and go all the way to Roller Mill Road, across Sloan Road and 64, and it was a very dangerous thing and most Bartram Trail hikers…would just skip the road part,” Martin said.
The Bartram Trail spans 110 miles from Russell Bridge on Route 28 in Georgia to Cheoah Bald above the Nantahala River Gorge in North Carolina. The trail closely follows naturalist William Bartram’s 1775 mountain route. Bartram documented his journeys and illustrated species of plants and animals previously unknown to European settlers.
Martin said the idea for the trail re-route happened on the back of a napkin at Outdoor 76 with David Culpepper. Martin said Culpepper drew an outline of the Deals’ property with a right-of-way the town still had, believing it could work.
Martin said that when building the Little Tennessee River Greenway in 2001, they had a slideshow showing kids pushing their bikes from East Franklin to the Macon County Recreation Park, highlighting a need to connect the two parts of town for non-motorists.
“I’m so excited that after 20 years, that’s finally happened; that’s such a big thing for the Greenway,” Martin said.
Previously, Martin said this re-route started in 2019 through collaboration with the Nikwasi Initiative, which will incorporate signage on Main Street as the new Bartram Trail goes past the Nikwasi Mound, up the hill into downtown Franklin.
The main piece to connecting the Bartram Trail to the Little Tennessee River Greenway was a 13.9-acre tract of land previously owned by Glen and Linda Deal at the bend of Cartoogechaye Creek. Kelder Monar, stewardship manager/GIS specialist with Mainspring Conservation Trust, talked about how the trust bought the tract in 2017 with funding from the North Carolina Land and Water Fund plus the Conservation Trust of North Carolina, then sold to the town in December 2022 with a conservation easement. Monar said streambank and wetland restorations to protect Cartoogechaye Creek are ongoing.
The kiosk was the recent work of Culpepper, Phillip Rogers and Don Reaves. The kiosk, situated right before the bridge over Cartoogechaye Creek at the fairgrounds, includes a map and local information.
Martin added that he hopes there can one day be a Bartram Trail spur from the Appalachian Trail so hikers can avoid needing a ride into town and wishes to expand the Bartram Trail to Cowee Mountain.
After the ribbon cutting, a group of roughly 30 hikers followed Martin for a hike through the new route, going down the Little Tennessee River Greenway to FROG Quarters, then past the Nikwasi Mound, into downtown Franklin and ending at Lazy Hiker for a celebration event.