See the latest plans for 2 new York County parks, from outdoor art to a farmer’s market
Folks wondering what two new Lake Wylie parks will have to offer now have a much clearer picture about what is in store.
York County Council voted Monday night to approve concept plans for Woodend and Goat Farm parks. When complete, those sites will add more than 90 acres of public recreation space. The decision comes a month after a similar plan was approved for the 60-acre Thistle Park in Lake Wylie.
The county, largely through a tax district created in Lake Wylie, bought the Woodend property for $4.3 million and Goat Farm for $1.4 million.County officials hosted preliminary public gatherings since 2022. but don’t have a firm timeline for the long-term additions shown on the new concept plans.
Here’s a look at what’s coming at Woodend and Goat Farm:
About Woodend Park
Woodend Park at 5649 Hwy. 557 is 84 acres. It’s across the highway from Oakridge Middle School, on property that will be trimmed tighter with the planned widening of S.C. 557. That road work will take out some of the road’s bend just west of the school.
The master plan shows a driveway and ticket kiosk on the eastern side of the property, off of Glenn Brandon Road. It opens to a grass parking lot with 400 spaces.
That parking will serve a large open lawn for events, an outdoor amphitheater, three picnic shelters, restrooms and the park office.
The northern end of the parking area has a gravel road that leads west to a roundabout and a right-turn-only exit onto S.C. 557. Continuing through the roundabout to the south, the gravel road heads past a large shelter to a smaller gravel lot with almost 60 parking spaces.
It and three smaller lots (almost 40 combined spaces) sit beside a bonfire area, outdoor art exhibit, fishing pond and an art gallery studio with restrooms and a kitchen.
More gravel road leads to almost a mile of natural surface hiking trail, some of it quite steep. In all the park has about three miles of trail, most of it crushed granite as it meanders through an 18-hole disc golf course to the south of the park.
Goat Farm Park
The almost 7-acre Goat Farm Park at 3972 Hands Mill Hwy. is a rectangular property just off the Five Points intersection. Most of it fronts Hands Mill, and it runs from Bethelfield Terrace on the north to Rutledge Hills Drive on the south. A row of homes is just behind it along Table Rock Drive.
The new plan shows one driveway with a gate, off Hands Mill at the center of the property. A left turn on a gravel road takes visitors to a garden area with a maintenance and tool shed.
Staying straight from the entrance puts them in a large grass parking area, marked on the map for food truck parking, too. A one-third-mile crushed granite walking trail surrounds both spots.
A right turn from the entrance leads to a gravel parking lot for a farmers market vendor site with restrooms, nature-based play area, shelter and outdoor stage. Farther south there’s a canteen and picnic area.
Both new park properties were purchased through a land preservation tax district created in Lake Wylie by a 2020 referendum.
This story was originally published March 5, 2024 at 10:44 AM.
