Work is underway on the Catawba River’s next big park. Here’s the latest
Work is underway for a new state park along the Catawba River, though it’ll be a couple of years before the park opens.
Duke Energy started work this summer near the site entrance for the park near Great Falls. The South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism requested money to develop the site. Now Chester County is preparing for the project, too.
Several rezoning requests for Duke Energy-owned property appear on the county planning commission agenda for Sept. 16. The commission will review zoning changes for six properties that combine for more than 800 acres.
The sites include the roughly 500-acre Dearborn Island or Big Island between Great Falls and Stumpy Pond Access Area in Lancaster County, and the more than 300-acre Mountain Island just north of it. Mountain Island is between Great Falls Lake and the historic great falls of the Catawba River, about two miles south of the Edgewater subdivision in Lancaster County.
The zoning changes will allow for future development on parts of those sites as a state park, according to information posted by Chester County. Zoning changes require a recommendation from the Planning Commission and three votes from Chester County Council. Council also would have to hold a public hearing. That process can take at least a few months.
State park planned near Great Falls
Two years ago, Duke Energy and the state parks department signed a lease for property beside Great Falls. The parks department projected a 2027 opening for the Dearborn Island park, with historic ruins and a pedestrian bridge connecting it to Great Falls.
The parks department requested $18 million from the state during its most recent budget cycle to develop five parks, including the Dearborn site. The parks department also requested funding for a new park ranger position at Dearborn.
Duke Energy has already started preliminary work on a canoe and kayak launch in the area, but main features like the park entrance and pedestrian bridge will wait to open until the entire park is complete.
Duke Energy manages land all along the Catawba River chain. As part of the federal license the company received in 2015 to continue operating power plants, Duke Energy agreed to a wide range of recreational improvements throughout the region. The company agreed to restore water flow to the historic Great Falls in Chester County.
Duke Energy also agreed to lease the islands beside Great Falls to the state parks department for a new state park. The site includes the historic Mount Dearborn Armory. The agreement came with a $1 million commitment from Duke Energy and an agreement to build a pedestrian bridge from the Lower Great Falls Reservoice canoe launch to Dearborn Island.
Other parks highlight Catawba River
Not far from the Dearborn site, there’s another property being developed as a riverfront park. The 600-acre site in Lancaster County is across from the Catawba Nation reservation in York County. That area has cultural significance tied to Catawba pottery and its clay reserves there.
The state parks join several local projects that have expanded access to the water in recent years. Rock Hill Lake Park opened in 2023, also as an output of Duke Energy’s relicensing agreement, and has the second public swim beach in the area. The first, at Ebenezer Park in Rock Hill, has gone through multiple large renovations in the past few years.
Meanwhile, York County continues its work on the riverfront Catawba Bend Preserve. The nearly 2,000-acre property on the Rock Hill side of the Catawba will open in phases. The initial phase could be complete this year.
