Chimney Rock Park reopens in western North Carolina

CHIMNEY ROCK, N.C. — A park in western North Carolina is reopening after a retaining wall at a parking lot collapsed last month after a week of heavy rain.

Chimney Rock State Park is about 25 miles southeast of Asheville and reopened the Hickory Nut Falls Trail on Tuesday. That trail was the last piece of park property that was closed after the record rainfall during the Memorial Day weekend.

Park superintendent James Ledgerwood said damage to the park infrastructure was estimated at about $300,000. The park usually gets about 250,000 visitors annually.

Ledgerwood says a contractor has been in the park to deal with boulders that moved because of the rain.

Chimney Rock became a state park in 2007, though the site was established in 1916.

Associated Press