Tar River Trail Provides Natural Way to See City’s Sights
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Perhaps the best way to see the scenic side of Rocky Mount is simply to put on your walking shoes and head to the Tar River Trail.
The city’s popular greenway consists of 3.1 miles of paved trail and winds through six of Rocky Mount’s parks.
“The parks are all situated along the river and connected via the trail,” says David Griffin, outdoor recreation coordinator for the City of Rocky Mount. “The parks that are connected are City Lake, Sunset Park, Battle Park, Stith-Talbert Park, Booker T. Washington Center, and Martin Luther King Jr. Park and Memorial. Other points of interest are the power plant, water treatment plant, Rocky Mount Mills and Mill Village.”
The trail begins near the 39-acre Sunset Park, which features a water playground called Sunset Spray Play; a circa-1920 county-fair-style carousel that serves approximately 12,000 riders per year; and the Sunset Park Train, a model G-16 miniature train built by the Allen Herschell Co. and purchased by the Junior Chamber of Commerce in 1952. The train can carry up to 36 passengers and travel up to eight miles per hour, and more than 15,000 people ride it every year.
“Sunset Park has become one of Rocky Mount’s most beloved landmarks,” says Dale Smith, director of parks and recreation for the City of Rocky Mount.
The park was completed in 1937 under President Roosevelt’s Works Progress Administration. It was devastated by the flooding associated with Hurricane Floyd in 1999, but it reopened in 2004 after an extensive renovation.
The Tar River Trail ends at the 28-acre Martin Luther King Jr. Park, which was built in 2004 and dedicated in August 2007.
“The park’s centerpiece, the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, was designed to serve as a place of reflection on the life and teachings of Dr. King,” Griffin says.
In addition to the memorial, Martin Luther King Park features a playground, two picnic shelters, grills, picnic tables, landscaping, a multipurpose field and an asphalt loop path around the perimeter of the park. A group of seniors called the MLK Walkers meets at the park on Monday mornings to walk the Tar River Trail together.
“The Tar River Trail is a wonderful recreation amenity for the Rocky Mount community,” Smith says. “It has a beautiful visual setting and is used heavily by residents in the Rocky Mount area. The Parks and Recreation Department is proud of this trail, and we hope to continue to expand trail opportunities in the city in the future.”
The city is working toward that goal by applying for grant funding to help with the construction of a connector that will link the Rocky Mount Sports Complex, which opened in 2006, to the Tar River Trail off Centura Boulevard.
“We will be applying for that funding in January 2009,” Smith says. “This will add another mile of trail for users.”
Story by Jessica Mozo
