CORE
🌿 Trailblazers in the Making! 💪
What an organization. What a great help. What a day! Thirty incredible young people from Morganton CORE — Carolina Outdoor Recreation & Education — joined Burke River Trail Association (BRTA) and Friends of the Valdese Rec for two days of trail building at Valdese Lakeside Park. With shovels in hand and smiles all around, they worked hard,...
New Outer Loop Section
As part of the Valdese Lakeside Park Master Park Plan, FVR Volunteers are finishing the Red Outer Loop Trail -- relocating the existing trail off unsustainable logging road, separating a section where Hollipop Mountain Bike Trail and Outer Loop overlap and stretch the trail out to the property boundary.
An excavator was rented with FVR Donor Funds for 14 days and Volunteer Eric Heile was the...
Lake Rhodhiss Trailfest
Update: Thanks to Race Directors Mark and Ray, the October 11 Lake Rhodhiss Trailfest was a great success with 35 runners completing their chosen distance, Participants came from Valdese and all the way from Charlotte, Winston-Salem, Mooresville, and Hickory. View Results
Back for its second year under the new name and date, Lake Rhodhiss Trailfest is the kickoff event for the Great State...
New Video Statements
Step Up for Valdese has released two video statements.
Valdese Sample Ballot
The form of the official ballot for the Valdese election has been released.
Candidates' Forum
Great showing by our candidates last night at the Burke County Chamber Candidate’s Forum.
Red, White and Wake
Labor Day Saturday - August 30
Lake and Land Festivities Noon to 9:00 pm with
Lake Hickory Pub and MarinaCopper PennyTown of Rhodhiss
An unforgettable day celebrating community, lake life, and pure summer fun.
Schedule:
12:00-3:00pm - Lake Hickory Pub and Marina - Live Music w/ Nice Marmot
Lake Hickory Pub is located at 6706 Limbaugh Ln, Hickory, NC 28601 - on the north...
Exceptional Clean-Up Crew
From Litter Gitters to Leaders: BRTA Inspires Exceptional Clean-Up Crew
What started as a simple effort to keep our trail towns clean has sparked something truly special. BRTA’s Litter Gitters — a volunteer program providing vests, grabbers, gloves, and bags for roadside, shoreline, and trail cleanups — has not only helped beautify Burke County’s outdoor spaces, but has now inspired...
Rhodhiss Video
In the heart of Rhodhiss, a small mill town in Burke County, stands Old Glory Mill — once a thriving textile hub where fabric for the American flag that flew on the moon was woven. Today, the mill is poised for a new chapter. With community determination, the Town of Rhodhiss and the Burke River Trail Association are working with development partners to transform this 1914 structure into a...
Lift Off for Rhodhiss
Lift Off for Rhodhiss: Old Glory Mill Launches at Investor Convening
On August 20, Burke River Trail Association had the honor of representing the Town of Rhodhiss and our Old Glory Mill project at the Opportunity Appalachia Investor Convening in Asheville. The convening brought together community leaders, developers, and mission-driven investors from across Central Appalachia to highlight...
Bringing the Public
BRTA Bringing the Public for Public Input
As a member of the Steering Committee for the Western Piedmont Bicycle & Pedestrian Plan, BRTA was proud to play a key role in shaping the regional vision — and in getting the public to the table.
When the Burke County public input session rolled around, BRTA stepped up once again — promoting the event widely, reaching out to members,...
Signs
Burke River Trail Association started working with Destination by Design in July 2024. The first step was the logo and brand released in November 2024. Then came the family of signs to use along the road, at trailheads and along the trail - those designs were completed in January 2025. From there, we went into the design of panels for five kiosks that included downtown maps for interested towns...
Morganton Grant
A new one mile section of Burke River Trail is on the way!! Congratulations to City of Morganton on receiving a $374,000 Great Trails State Program grant. The new section will start at Rocky Ford Access on Lenoir Rd and extend east for a mile toward Riverview Apartments. It will be 10 feet wide crushed cinder/gravel. The application was approved in August 2024 by city council and the grant...
Burke Trails Summit
Burke Trails Summit - June 2025 - Organized by Beth Heile, BRTA
Burke County Trails Summit: Stronger Together
With a national historic trail, four state trails, two state parks, two regional parks with trail systems, numerous municipal paths and greenways, plus our rivers, Burke County offers an impressive 290 plus miles of trail experiences. These miles collectively serve hikers, bikers,...