Catawba County’s parks now have a 10-year roadmap. It is the first full update since 2015, and it covers 1,494 acres of parkland and 44.64 miles of trails.
The Board of Commissioners adopted the 2026 to 2036 Catawba County Parks Master Plan on September 21, 2026. The county announced it on October 15.
What the plan covers
The county worked with planning consultant McAdams. The plan draws on community input, data, and a look at the county’s four parks, their trails, amenities, operations and services. Residents, park users, county staff, conservation groups and regional partners all gave feedback along the way.
Five priorities came out of that work:
- Trail expansion and greenway connectivity
- Nature-based recreation
- Outdoor and environmental education
- Accessibility and inclusive recreation
- Land conservation and stewardship
What happens next
The plan lays out recommendations and action items on short-term, near-term and long-term timelines, and names possible partners and funding sources. The county says individual recommendations will move forward as funding, partnerships and other resources become available. In other words, adopting the plan sets the priorities. It does not mean every item is funded or scheduled.
Read it yourself
The full plan is posted on the Catawba County Parks website. If you have a trail, a park or a piece of outdoor space you think the county should be paying attention to, tell us. We are building this site with the people who live here, and local ideas are how a plan like this gets noticed.
Source: Catawba County Government news release, published October 15, 2026.
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