Romando Dixson

rdixson@citizen-times.com

ASHEVILLE – A park project several years in the making will open to the public this weekend in southern Buncombe County.

A grand opening and ribbon cutting ceremony for The Collier Cove Nature Preserve is scheduled for 11 a.m. Saturday. The county's newest park is located at 194 Rhododendron Drive in Arden. The park consists of about 30 acres of woodland hillside with two miles of well-defined, hiking trails featuring views of the valley and the eastern Butler Mountain Range.

"It's a fairly strenuous hike, too," said Fran Thigpen, recreation division head of the Buncombe County Library, Recreation and Culture Department. "It's not a flat little trail."

The Friends of Collier Cove Nature Preserve will take the public on a walk up Trillium Trail over to Walnut Way following the ribbon cutting ceremony. Parking is limited at the trail head site and carpooling is suggested.

Robert and RaeAnn Collier originally bought the land in 1969 as a place for their 10 children to play. Several years ago, they approached the county about selling it, so others could enjoy it. Buncombe County in 2012 purchased the property for $300,000, buying it about $260,000 below its appraised value.

"We've been working on it for a while, so we're absolutely thrilled to be at this point," Thigpen said.

Two grants from the state Parks and Recreation Trust Fund helped fund the project, along with matching dollars approved by the county commissioners.

The park, above the Royal Pines area at the top of Rhododendron Drive, will be open during daylight hours, Thigpen said.