The Town of Blacksburg and members of the Brush Mountain Properties stakeholder team have announced a draft concept plan that details a set of proposed trails for two properties totaling 552 acres along the southeastern face of Brush Mountain.
Members of the public are invited to a community information and feedback session for this project on Thursday, Dec. 5, at 6 p, m. in the community room of the Montgomery-Floyd Regional Library, 200 Miller St. in Blacksburg.
The Brush Mountain properties, which are slated to become part of the Town of Blacksburg’s park system, were acquired by the New River Land Trust in early 2019 with funding from the Virginia Outdoor Foundation’s Forest CORE Fund. These new properties offer a unique opportunity to develop and manage a non-motorized trail and park system to benefit the residents of Blacksburg, the wider region and visitors to the area.
The concept plan proposes approximately nine miles of new trails to provide a range of hiking, biking and exploring options. Final trail lengths may vary because of site conditions or resource constraints. Convenient trailheads at Heritage Park along Meadowbrook Road are also planned so users will be able to conveniently and safely access this new network of high-quality, natural surface trails. The trails will form a critical link between the Huckleberry Trail system, Heritage Park and the national forest.
At the community meeting Thursday, members of the stakeholder team will give a brief presentation on the project’s background, the features of the two properties, and key elements of the draft concept plan, including maps highlighting the proposed trail alignments and design features. The public is invited to come learn more about this new project, to ask questions and to share any feedback.
For those unable to attend the meeting, the draft concept plan and supporting documents can be viewed by visiting the Town of Blacksburg website.
Feedback, questions and comments can be emailed to sustainability@blacksburg.gov through December 11 and will be reviewed and considered by the Brush Mountain Trails stakeholder team prior to presenting a final version of the concept plan to the town council for its consideration.
