MARS HILL, N.C. (828newsNOW) — Norfolk Southern and Trust for Public Land are collaborating with local leaders and community members on a 137-acre land preservation project at Bailey Mountain in Mars Hill, N.C.

The project, led by national conservation nonprofit Trust for Public Land and supported through the Norfolk Southern Trail Activation Fund, plans to revamp the former Bailey Mountain Bike Park into a multi-use recreation space for the public.

The project is one among several Norfolk Southern philanthropic preservation efforts.

“We feel strongly about supporting our communities, and helping them find sustainable solutions and increase access to vibrant green spaces, and that’s where our partnership with Trust for Public Land began, back in 2022,” said Kristin Wong, director of the Norfolk Southern Foundation. “We really just had a shared goal of creating more equal access to green spaces and trails across these 22 different states where we operate.”

“The work on Bailey Mountain, it’s a community driven, conservation and outdoor recreation activation effort,” explained Noel Durant, Tennessee State Director of TPL. “What was the former Bailey Mountain Bike Park property, which was on the western flank of Bailey Mountain, was listed for sale, and we were approached by a group of residents, who said, ‘We want to protect this parcel. We see it as important for the protection of Bailey Mountain,’ which is like the iconic public space for Mars Hill.”

Durant explained that, because of existing infrastructure of bike trails on the Bailey Mountain land, the acquisition would provide the ability to form accessible entry points for effective stewardship.

“As more and more people are getting out and recreating on public lands, public land managers need to have quality access points, and this property creates a really interesting opportunity for management because the other parcels are completely sort of undeveloped from a road network,” Durant elaborated. “There is a really high quality road network that can be used by the stewardship partners – the Friends of Bailey Mountain, the town of Mars Hill – to ensure that that all of Bailey Mountain is being well-stewarded for generations to come.”

There is still a lot of work left to do before the project sees completion, Durant said.

Fundraising is one big item. TPL will need to raise around $1,674,000 for the land acquisition. Durant said the nonprofit hopes to tackle the sum through a combination of Norfolk Southern support, grants, state recreation funding and public fundraising efforts.

“We’re moving as quickly as we can. 
We have a landowner who’s been really, really willing to work with us on timing, but again, with a listed property, there’s an opportunity cost to a conservation transaction, and we’re trying to kind of meet in the middle,” Durant said. “A good project with the right funding, a landowner who’s supportive and a community that’s coming alongside to help us raise the remaining funds.”

After the acquisition is accomplished, the land will require an evaluation to determine what portions of the bike park can be easily converted into public trails.

“It was one of the most challenging downhill mountain bike courses in the East Coast, and I think it’s probably a little bit more than the town of Mars Hill could manage, that level of specific mountain biking infrastructure,” Durant said. “So, right now, the Friends of Bailey Mountain, Madison County Conservancy are doing a trails inventory to see what are the existing trails that could be adapted to a more multi-use format.”

The stewardship organizations will then be able to work with the town of Mars Hill to make physical improvements to the trails in order to promote accessibility “for folks who might not be, you know, pro downhill mountain bikers on the weekend,” Durant said.

The TPL director estimated that the transfer of the project into town of Mars Hill custody would be between late fall 2026 and spring 2027, depending on the timing of public grant funding.