Catawba County News

Catawba County 101

Published: February 28, 2025

MAKING. LIVING. BETTER: Parks: 25th Anniversary Trail Challenge

In July of 2024, the Catawba County Park System turned 25 with the anniversary of the opening of Riverbend Park on July 3, 1999. To celebrate, the parks hosted a series of Birthday Bash events on each Saturday of the month, rotating through the four locations in order of their opening: Riverbend Park (opened in 1999), Bakers Mountain Park (opened in 2002), St. Stephens Park (opened in 2008) and Mountain Creek Park (opened in 2022). The events included both ranger-led and self-guided activities, food trucks, giveaways and fun for all ages.

To continue the anniversary celebration, Catawba County Parks is running a year-long trail challenge from July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2025. Participants receive free Catawba County Parks swag just for signing up; to complete the challenge, they must hike 10 specific routes before the end of the promotion period. The routes range in distance from quarter mile to 10 miles and highlight the best of each Catawba County park. Participants can sign up anytime in person at Bakers Mountain Park, Riverbend Park or Mountain Creek Park, then complete the hikes in any order, on their own or by joining the optional group hikes that have been planned for each route through the year. The group hikes remaining are as follows:

Bakers Mountain Loop at Bakers Mountain Park (2.7 miles) on March 8, 2025 at 9am (raindate March 15th)
Spring Wildflower Walk at Bakers Mountain Park (1.6 miles) on April 12, 2025 at 9am (raindate April 19th)
Highlights Loop at Riverbend Park (6.0 miles) on May 10, 2025 at 9am (raindate May 17th)

To date, over 360 have signed up for the challenge and 7 have completed. Finishers receive a completion sticker and are entered into a grand prize drawing. For more information about the challenge, visit http://catawbacountyparks.org/stories/catawba-county-parks-trail-challenge/. Then stop by a park to sign up and join us for the group hikes!