Three miles of new bike-optimized trails just opened in the small community of Fairview, with eight more miles on the way. Located about 11 miles southeast of Asheville, NC, the new trails at Fairview Community Forest aren’t just about giving locals a place to ride — they’re also going to serve as a hands-on classroom for middle school and high school students interested in trail building and outdoor recreation careers.
To find out more about the forest and the trails, Singletracks reached out to Rose Jenkins Lane, the Communications and Marketing Director for Conserving Carolina, and Sara Jarrell, the Program Director for the WORX Project.
The forest has traditionally been used to serve area youth
Fairview, a small town of nearly 2,500 people, is primarily an agricultural community. According to Lane, the forest property “is an entire sub-watershed.”
Historically, Fairview Community Forest was a Presbyterian summer camp. Later, it became the Woodson Program, an outdoor adventure pre-release and diversion program for juveniles. The youth who went there had earned the opportunity to do wilderness-based service work on trails and public lands instead of serving time in a detention center.
In 2011, the state ended the program, and the camp closed. When it did, the forest’s future was uncertain. Jason McDougald worked with the Woodson Program at the forest as its education coordinator for a decade prior to its closure. He then became the director of Camp Grier, a camp with Presbyterian roots located nearby in Old Fort.
McDougald wanted to see the forest remain a place where local youth could gain exposure to the outdoors. That led to a partnership with Conserving Carolina, a land trust that serves North Carolina and parts of South Carolina.
Conserving Carolina and Camp Grier teamed up to purchase and preserve the forest
In 2025, Conserving Carolina purchased the land that comprises Fairview Community Forest in two phases. First, it purchased the 226 acres that comprise the forest itself. Conserving Carolina then leased the forest parcel to Camp Grier, which manages it for public access.
Next, Conserving Carolina purchased the 27.5 acres where the camp was located, which lie in the center of the forest. Ownership of this parcel was then transferred to Camp Grier, which will be using the property as the headquarters of its WORX Project. The $1.2 million purchase was funded by a combination of state and federal grants, private foundations, and individual donors. The Presbytery of Western North Carolina also donated over $1.2 million of land value.
The WORX Project will be situated in the center of the forest and will be responsible for maintaining its trails
The WORX Project is a career-focused outdoor education program that started in 2023. It serves middle and high school students in Asheville and Buncombe County public schools and has served over 700 students between the ages of 11 and 18. The program is free to any student who wants to come.
Jarrell is very passionate about providing outdoor experiences for young people. “There’s a lot of research that backs up the benefit of doing education outdoors,” she said. Not only does the WORX Project do that, but it also “introduces students to skills and trades that are relevant to the economy in Western North Carolina, including outdoor recreation, environmental education, sustainable agriculture, and building trades.”
According to Jarrell, the camp property in the forest will be developed in the future to include a bike shop, an auto shop, and a woodworking area, as well as an indoor dining space and kitchen where students can learn culinary skills.
In addition, the WORX Project will be responsible for maintaining the trails built in the forest. In doing so, the youth it serves will gain hands-on trail building and maintenance experience. In fact, Jarrell told Singletracks the contract for the next phase of trails will require the selected trail builder to work with WORX students during the build process.
Phase one of the trail system just opened, and it pays tribute to Ed Sutton’s legacy
Lane said phase one of the trail system was completed just months after the land was purchased. The trails opened to the public on March 20, 2026, and they hold special significance: this is one of the last projects Ed Sutton and his Trail Dynamics crew worked on before he passed away. It’s only fitting that one of the two loops, Sutton’s Way, is named in his honor.
Phase one comprises two loops that total three miles: Sutton’s Way (1.8mi) and Cove Forest Loop (1.2mi). The trails go through terrain that is primarily open woodlands.
“The trails are wide and flowy, with big berms and rollers,” said Lane. “They are intended for beginner to intermediate riders.” The trails will also be open to pedestrians, but not horses. Jarrell said the trails are adaptive-friendly as well.
Phase two will bring an additional eight miles of trails to the forest
Thanks to a $687,500 grant from Buncombe County, an additional eight miles of trails, as well as bathroom facilities, will be constructed in the forest as part of phase two of the project.
Jarrell told Singletracks that construction on the phase two trails will begin in the next couple of months and should be complete by 2027. “It’s super exciting to provide space for people in the Fairview community to recreate,” said Jarrell.
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