Chimney Rock opens to visitors for 1 day after Tropical Storm Helene devastation
For one day only visitors can access the village of Chimney Rock to see how it has been recovering from Tropical Storm Helene and patronize local shops.
"A Christmas Event for Chimney Rock Village" will be 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 14.
During Tropical Storm Helene, which ripped across Western North Carolina Sept. 27, the village, with a year-round population of about 140 people, was one of the most devastated in the region. Multiple buildings on its main street washed away or were completely destroyed during the flooding of the Broad River, along with its neighboring town of Lake Lure.
While landslides, flooding and road destruction cut off main access points to the village, local officials furthered closed off the town and limited access only to local residents with identification. Chimney Rock State Park, one of the main visitor draws to the Rutherford County town, remains closed.
“The force of the water that struck Chimney Rock was equal to the power of 100 Niagara Falls,” according to CityServe, a nonprofit helping to organize Saturday’s event along with Spokes of Hope.
For Saturday’s event, the only access roads to Lake Lure/Chimney Rock are N.C. Hwy 9 from the Columbus area and U.S. 64/74A from Rutherfordton. There will be no access through Henderson County/Bat Cave.
Visitors should park at Lake Lure Inn, where the Christmas activities will take place, including photos with Santa, music, free food and giveaways.
Every 15 minutes, buses will depart to tour Chimney Rock Village. For safety reasons, no pedestrian traffic will be allowed in the Village. Service dogs will be allowed on the shuttle bus, which will be handicap accessible,
People can also support Chimney Rock Village merchants from afar by donating through the “Adopt a Shop” portal at cityserve.us/ChimneyRock.
Some businesses, such as Chimney Rock Harkey Davidson and Gale’s Chimney Rock Shop, have been operating out of the Tryon International Equestrian Center while Chimney Rock recovers.
For more, visit the Chimney Rock Village Facebook page.
More: Chimney Rock shop owner finds new location, hope through kindness, month after Helene
More: Scenes from Lake Lure after Tropical Storm Helene destruction
Deirdra Funcheon covers Henderson, Polk and Transylvania Counties for the Hendersonville Times-News. Got a tip? Email her at DFuncheon@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Hendersonville Times-News: Chimney Rock Village to open 1 day after Helene devastation
