District ranger: Rocky Bluff Campground's future 'comes down to poop and pee'

HOT SPRINGS - Madison County residents who expressed their dismay about the U.S. Forest Service's decision to temporarily close Rocky Bluff Campground in Hot Springs received some clarity from the Forest Service Aug. 13.

In late July, the U.S. Forest Service announced it would temporarily close Rocky Bluff Campground and its picnic area in Hot Springs, and wondered about the fate of the popular campground.

Rocky Bluff Campground is located roughly 3 miles south of downtown Hot Springs near the Spring Creek community. The 1.2-mile Spring Creek Nature Trail circles the campground and meanders beside the creek as well as a trout stream. The site is typically open from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend.

But the U.S. Forest Service has made the decision to close the campground indefinitely, citing multiple maintenance issues.

Jennifer Barnhart, a U.S. Forest Service Appalachian district ranger, provided an update on the campground in the Madison County Board of Commissioners Aug. 13 meeting.

A Facebook group aimed at advocating for Rocky Bluff Campground, Save Rocky Bluff, had more than 210 members as of Aug. 13.

"Yes, this is an area, I know folks, it's near and dear, if you're a local and you've spent time in Rocky Bluff Campground," said Barnhart, adding that the campground was established in 1960.

"It's a great site. Unfortunately, with all the different maintenance issues over the years, the infrastructure has aged out."

One of the main issues is the cost and infrastructural barriers associated with operating a bathroom, according to Barnhart.

"A lot of the stuff is the sites, the roads, septic tank and water distribution system, and the cost that it would take in order to get that back up and running," Barnhart said. "Last year, we even did port-o-potties, so folks could still continue to use the campground. At that point, we're making deficit money. So, it's not a good business plan at this point.

"The bathroom engineering, no one can go in there. It's not safe."

The campground at one point operated roughly 30 camp sites.

Barnhart and other U.S. Forest Service officials met with local stakeholders July 19, during which the U.S. Forest Service shared a document, titled "Rocky Bluff Campground Way Forward."

In the document, the U.S. Forest Service cited "substantial deferred maintenance, including broken asphalt, leaks in the water distribution system and a restroom with failing plumbing and a roof beyond repair" as factors that led to its decision to temporarily close the site, adding that utilization has hovered around 40% for the available 17 sites, while revenue has been between $5,000-$8,000 annually.

On Aug. 13, Barnhart was more direct though.

"We want to have a collaboration where we're trying to figure out something, what's the best thing to do there," she said.

"But it comes down to poop and pee. You've got to have a bathroom if you have people there. So that's the biggest thing. There isn't money, because the district that I serve on, we don't have any fee sites, except for Black Mountain Campground, which is run by a concessionaire. And again, it has to be profitable. Rocky Bluff would be something that they wouldn't even touch at this point."

According to Barnhart, the trailhead and Spring Creek Trail are still available and open to the public, where fishing is still available for residents.

The "Way Forward" document offers three general paths the site could take, adding that "there may be creative opportunities within any of these."

Those options include:

• The Forest Service decommissions the campground and it becomes a day-use trailhead where visitors can utilize the Spring Creek Nature Trail and Van Cliff. The timeline on the decommission would be an estimated five years, depending on availability of decommissioning funds and grant funds for the trailhead, engineering design and contract award.
• An entity invests a large amount of money in the site to address deferred maintenance and operate it in some way. Under this option, the Forest Service retains ownership of the land, and the timeline would be several years and would likely require coordination with Forest Service engineers and specialists, as well as a special use permit process.
• The site is used for something other than a campground and is able to be utilized in close to its current state (no restrooms, minimal improvements). The timeline for this would be a one year, dependent on special use agreement.

According to Barnhart, the Forest Service will revisit with local stakeholders in September or October.

"We said, If you guys want to huddle up for a month or so and try to figure out what other options you guys can think of other than a campground, because that's not the solution to just have a campground again, but is it something we do in agreement with the county or the town to have a park. It doesn't have to be a campground, it could be a park," Barnhart said.

"There are different options out there. It just needs to be reasonable. We will work through those ideas, and we are here to be talking and communicating around Rocky Bluff."

GAP Restoration Project

Barnhart also shared updates on the U.S. Forest Service's GAP Restoration Project, which GAP serving as an acronym for Grandfather, Appalachian and Pisgah ranger districts, which consist of 500,000 acres across the Pisgah National Forest, of which Madison County is a portion.

Barnhart said the Forest Service is currently focusing on restoring fire-adapted sections of the Pisgah National Forest to reduce wildfire risk to nearby communities, including Hot Springs.

"What we're really trying to address here is the forest restoration piece," Barnhart said. "We're looking at species composition, ecological process, function and structure. If you're a hunter, you know oak and hickories are very important to having mass-producing species, which, right now, we don't have as much of that going on. That's why we're looking to restore what we're looking to restore."

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Max Patch

Barnhart also provided an update on Max Patch, which is currently operating an extended closure order at the grassy bald known for its 360-degree views of the Pisgah National Forest's 4,629-foot summit along the North Carolina and Tennessee border.

The camping ban was instated July 2021 after the area was overrun with hikers and tents, leaving behind garbage and shirking the "Leave No Trace" principles.

In addition to the camping ban, the other measures include: .

• No fires.
• Area closes one hour after sunset and reopens one hour before sunrise. Visitors are prohibited during closed hours.
• Group size is limited to 10.
• Dogs and other animals must be on a leash no longer than 6 feet, or in a crate or cage.
• Visitors must stay on designated trails.

The closure order has done wonders for the area, Barnhart said.

According to Barnhart, Max Patch officials have seen a massive decrease in the fire ring scars and litter.

Paint Rock

Barnhart said the U.S. Forest Service is also working with the Cherokee National Forest to prevent graffiti and eradicate poison ivy at Paint Rock near the Tennessee border, which serves as the site for 4,400-year-old pictographs from ancient Cherokee settlers, some of the oldest known pictographs in the Southeastern United States.

"That's like an amazing place in the Southeast, and among the oldest in the Southeast, that you all have in Madison County," Barnhart said. "So, it's an amazing place."

Johnny Casey has covered Madison County for The Citizen Times and The News-Record & Sentinel for three years. He earned a first-place award in beat news reporting in the 2023 North Carolina Press Association awards. He can be reached at 828-210-6074 or jcasey@citizentimes.com.May 24, 2024.

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: District ranger: Rocky Bluff Campground's future 'comes down to poop and pee'