The Beginning

Adjacent to the eastern side of Salemtowne was property owned by the Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation. In 2007, the Foundation generously gifted the 58-acre property to Salemtowne. It included the 2,300-square-foot Babcock House, a barn, a pond, and many acres of woodlands. 

Some of this donated land is where the Babcock Health Center and The Woodlands apartments were constructed. As a stipulation of the donation, about 25 acres of the wooded property was to remain as a Protected Tract, to remain in its natural state. This donated property is what made the Salemtowne Trail System possible. Altogether, there are about 2 miles of trails in the Salemtowne woodlands. These protected woodlands are certified as a Wildlife Habitat by the National Wildlife Federation and the State of North Carolina.

An idea is formed

The idea for a trail in the protected woodlands was conceived in 2018 by Tom Mann, a current resident, and Michael Boing, a past resident, a retired forestry professor. Michael has not passed, he is just a past resident. In 2020, he and his wife Jessica decided to leave Salemtowne and move back to the Blue Ridge Mountains they loved. Tom and Michael’s idea of creating a trail started small but quickly grew into the current system of multiple trails of varying difficulty. Along the way, Tom and Michael gained many new supporters of the project. With the help of many Salemtowne resident volunteers, Salemtowne staff, and numerous donors, the trail system rapidly expanded and is continuing to get better.

Trail Improvement

A major part of the success of the trail system project was the completion of three bridges in 2020 that cross woodland creeks. The project to build these bridges was led by Anton Sisak, a Boy Scout, as a part of his Eagle Scout certification. These commercial-grade wood bridges are super strong and will serve the residents of Salemtowne for many decades. A special thank you goes out to Anton and his supporters for all their work for without these bridges the trails would not be fully accessible to residents. 

In 2021, Tony Mcgee was contracted to professionally rebuild sections of the trail system. The Muir Trail, north of Babcock Lake, was graded and sections were rerouted to provide better drainage and a smoother walking surface,