Hitchcock Creek Blue Trail

With the help of American Rivers, Hitchcock Creek in Rockingham, North Carolina is becoming a more valuable community asset, and will serve as an attraction for fishing, boating, and other recreation. Until recently, a dam degraded the Hitchcock Creek, blocked migrating fish from spawning and prevented the community from safely enjoying their river through boating and fishing.

Now that the dam is removed, plans are in the works to create the 12 mile blue trail. Local elected officials, fishing and boating groups, landowners, and others have begun planning for the blue trail and taken steps to protect its riverside lands and improve recreational opportunities by acquiring approximately 100 acres of bottomland forest along the trail. They also purchased two trail access areas and worked with the state to acquire a boat launch.

The Hitchcock Creek Blue Trail is an excellent model that can be replicated in smaller communities throughout the Southeast and nationwide. Rockingham sees their river resources and the development of blue trails as an economic driver for the region going forward and understands that both the restoration and protection of Hitchcock Creek is vital to ensure that the Hitchcock Creek Blue Trail is a sustainable recreational resource.

• Watch a video on the benefits of blue trails
• Hitchcock Creek Blue Trail map and interpretive guide will be available soon