Closing the Gap: How Waynesville Is Stitching Its Greenway Into One Continuous Path

By Jon Tharp, Broker  ·  July 9, 2026

The stretch of Richland Creek running between Hazelwood and Frog Level in Waynesville is about to get a lot more walkable. The town council has approved a new section of the Richland Creek Greenway that fills in another missing piece of a plan locals have been chasing for more than twenty years: one continuous path along the creek, from the south end of town all the way to Lake Junaluska.

The new segment is short on paper, roughly 1,000 feet, but it does something the greenway has needed for a long time. It picks up where a previous expansion left off a few years ago and stitches two of the town's most distinct little districts closer together. When it is finished, the whole run connected to Dutch Fisher Park will stretch about half a mile of continuous, paved, lighted path.

That may not sound like much until you have tried to walk it the old way, along the shoulder of a road with cars going by. For families in Hazelwood and Frog Level, this is the difference between a pleasant evening stroll and a trip nobody wants to make on foot.

A Two-Decade Crusade Along Richland Creek

The idea of a greenway running the length of Waynesville is not new. It shows up in old town master plans, and by 2017 people were already calling it a two-decade crusade. The vision dates back to roughly the late 1990s and early 2000s: a single path following Richland Creek all the way through town, tying together the parks, the schools, the business districts, and finally the walking loop out at Lake Junaluska.

The reason it took so long is not mystery or neglect. It is geography and property lines. Downtown stretches of Richland Creek are lined with private homes and businesses. As former town planner Paul Benson put it back in 2014, a greenway through those sections would have to cut through people's yards. You cannot simply draw a line on a map and pour asphalt. Every piece has to be negotiated, donated, purchased, or worked around.

So Waynesville has built this thing the slow way, one parcel at a time. In January 2014, the town landed about an acre for a new in-town section, plus a lease on an adjoining 15-acre wooded tract owned by two women in Atlanta. That section ran from Dutch Fisher Park in Hazelwood toward Killian Street near the middle school.

By 2017, the town was pushing hard to get past what planning director Elizabeth Teague called lines on paper that are theoretical. Grants came in for engineering and feasibility work, and the town bought a 1.7-acre tract below the middle school for $20,000 and a 9-acre tract near the Recreation Center for $77,000. Piece by piece, the theoretical was becoming real.

What the New Section Actually Does

The newest approval is about connection more than distance. The 1,000 feet of new path links Frog Level and Hazelwood, two of Waynesville's core business districts, and it comes with connectors designed to make the whole system easier to reach from ordinary neighborhood streets.

"This greenway segment provides connection between Frog Level and Hazelwood, two of the core business districts in Waynesville," said Waynesville Land Use Administrator Alex Mumby. "It provides far safer access for families to walk and go to dinner in Hazelwood and Frog Level."

That last part matters. Both districts have become dining and gathering spots in their own right, and the ability to walk between them without hugging a road opens up a whole different rhythm to an evening out. The new connectors will tie Dutch Fisher Ballpark to Boyd Avenue and improve the link from the terminus at Hickory Hollow Apartments to Killian Street, giving people safe off-road access for walking, jogging, and biking.

The build will match what is already there. Asphalt to match the existing greenway, lighting along the route, and amenities including benches and signage. Nothing flashy, but the details are what make a path feel finished rather than provisional.

Mumby also addressed the question anyone who lives near Richland Creek tends to ask first, which is flooding. An engineering study is already complete, and the project meets all flood regulations. "This will not raise the flood levels," he said. In a valley where flooding is a real concern, that assurance carries weight.

The Money Behind It

Here is the part that tends to surprise people. The town is closing this gap without raising new cash.

The project carries an estimated cost of $255,000. Half of it, $127,500, comes from a grant through the Haywood County Tourism Development Authority, the agency that channels tourism tax dollars into local projects. After the town learned it had scored the grant, the council voted unanimously last month to move forward.

"I am a firm supporter of greenways," said Councilmember Anthony Sutton, and the vote reflected it.

Waynesville has to cover the other half, but the math works out without a new line item in the budget. The town had already spent $20,000 acquiring property easements, and that counts toward the grant's 50 percent match requirement. Haywood Waterways Association chipped in a $35,000 donation. The remaining roughly $72,000 gets covered through in-kind contributions, meaning town employees and equipment doing the actual work.

Public works crews will handle a good share of it, including the rough grading of the new section and lowering two manhole covers along the route. It is the kind of arrangement that lets a small mountain town punch above its weight, using labor it already has to unlock a grant it might otherwise leave on the table.

Why Greenways Have Become Such Hot Property

There is a reason towns across Western North Carolina keep pouring energy into these paths, and it is not only about recreation. Greenways have quietly become one of the most requested pieces of public infrastructure in the region.

"Greenways are in high demand right now," said Luke Kinsland, Waynesville's parks and recreation interim director back in 2022, during an earlier phase of the work. "People want to be outside."

That demand shows up in the numbers and in the way people talk about where they want to live. A paved, lighted, creekside path within walking distance changes the character of a neighborhood. It gives retirees a safe place to get their steps in. It gives parents a route to a ballfield or a playground that does not involve a busy road. It gives second-home owners one more reason to make the move permanent.

The tourism angle is real too. Corrina Ruffieux, executive director of the Haywood County Tourism Development Authority, described completing the greenway as a lot of wins across the board. Visitors who come for the mountains increasingly want to walk and bike once they arrive, and a connected trail system keeps them in town longer, closer to the shops and restaurants that depend on foot traffic.

Haywood County has leaned into this. In February 2023, county commissioners approved a countywide Greenway Master Plan, which the consulting firm Alta Planning and Design authored. The Waynesville work is a piece of that larger vision, not a one-off. When the county talks about greenways, it is thinking well beyond a single town.

The Pieces Still Coming Together

The new Hazelwood-to-Frog-Level section is one link in a chain that keeps growing. Step back and the fuller picture comes into view.

Around 2019, a three-quarter-mile segment opened along Richland Creek between Dutch Fisher Park in Hazelwood and Waynesville Middle School, roughly paralleling Brown Avenue along the creek bank. In January 2022, the state awarded a $230,000 grant for a pedestrian bridge over Richland Creek at the Rec Park, a grant the state initially rejected before North Carolina found extra Parks and Recreation Trust Fund money. The local headline captured the mood: "Eureka! Greenway park grant lands in Waynesville's lap."

That same year brought a 100-foot steel footbridge, a key link toward Lake Junaluska, announced at $440,000 and funded through public fundraising and COVID-19 stimulus money. The Vance Street Park area closed temporarily for tree removal and bridge installation.

More recently, a Rec Park expansion on the 9-acre parcel added an ADA-accessible trail, angler access, a picnic shelter, and an oval walking track, with Haywood Waterways Association leading the effort. "As you cross the bridge, to the right, a pull-out will be a picnic shelter area for folks to enjoy," said Preston Jacobsen, the association's executive director.

The north end, running from the Industrial Park area out toward Lake Junaluska, has seen NCDOT bridge work and remains the harder stretch to close. The town has pursued a $500,000 Great Trails State grant to help finish the job. There is still roughly a mile and a half of missing link before a truly continuous path is complete.

What This Means for Waynesville

Zoom back out and the story is about a town that decided, a long time ago, what kind of place it wanted to be, and has been slowly building toward it ever since.

Every one of these sections looks small in isolation. A thousand feet here, three-quarters of a mile there, a footbridge, a picnic shelter, a lowered manhole cover. But that is exactly how a lasting piece of community infrastructure gets built when the land is complicated and the budget is tight. You take the win in front of you, you stack it on the last one, and you keep the vision intact across changes in council, staff, and funding.

The Hazelwood-to-Frog-Level connection is a good win. It links two lively districts, makes an evening walk to dinner possible for more families, and does it without asking taxpayers for new money. It also keeps momentum going toward the larger goal, a continuous path along Richland Creek from the Rec Park to Lake Junaluska.

For anyone weighing a move to Haywood County, the trend line here says something worth noticing. Towns that invest in walkability, in creekside paths and connected neighborhoods, tend to be towns people are glad they landed in. If you have ever pictured yourself living somewhere you can walk to dinner along a creek, Waynesville keeps inching closer to being that place, and I am always happy to talk through what the neighborhoods near the greenway have to offer.

 

Frequently Asked Questions

Where does the Waynesville Greenway go?

The Richland Creek Greenway follows Richland Creek through Waynesville, connecting several destinations along the way. The long-term vision runs from Hazelwood on the south end, past Dutch Fisher Park and Waynesville Middle School, through the Waynesville Recreation Park, and eventually out to the Lake Junaluska walking loop on the north end. Marketed length sits around 4.8 miles of existing and planned path. It is not yet one continuous route. The system exists as connected fragments that the town has been steadily linking together for more than two decades through land deals, grants, and feasibility studies.

How much does the new greenway section cost and who is paying for it?

The new section carries an estimated cost of $255,000. Half of that, $127,500, comes from a Haywood County Tourism Development Authority grant funded by tourism tax dollars. Waynesville covers the other half but will not raise new cash to do it. The town's match is met through $20,000 it previously spent on property easements, a $35,000 donation from Haywood Waterways Association, and roughly $72,000 in in-kind contributions using town employees and equipment. Public works crews will handle rough grading and lower two manhole covers along the route as part of that in-kind work.

What towns and districts does the new section connect?

The newest section links two of Waynesville's core business districts, Hazelwood and Frog Level. It picks up where an earlier expansion left off, extending the path that already connects Hazelwood's Dutch Fisher Park to the Waynesville Middle School area. New connectors will tie Dutch Fisher Ballpark to Boyd Avenue and improve the link from the terminus near Hickory Hollow Apartments to Killian Street. The goal is safer off-road access so families can walk, jog, or bike between the two districts and reach dinner without traveling along busy roads.

Will the greenway ever reach Lake Junaluska?

That is the long-held goal. A continuous path from the Waynesville Recreation Park to the Lake Junaluska walking loop has anchored the town's greenway vision since the late 1990s and early 2000s. Several pieces are already in place, including a 100-foot steel footbridge announced in 2022 as a key link toward the lake. Remaining work includes a roughly 1.5-mile missing section and NCDOT bridge work on the north end near Industrial Park Drive. The town has pursued larger grants, including a $500,000 Great Trails State grant, to help finish the connection. No firm completion date has been set.