You’ll soon have a new place to enjoy the outdoors. Phase One of construction at Belews Lake Park is expected to be complete early to mid-summer. It will be the first publicly owned park on the lake, which is in the northwestern corner of Forsyth County (~30 minutes from downtown Winston-Salem).
Exploring development
Forsyth County acquired 216 acres around Belews Lake from Duke Energy in 2021. The $640,000 purchase was made with a grant from NC’s Clean Water Management Trust.
Chris Weavil, the Director of Forsyth County Parks and Recreation, told City Editor Cambridge that Forsyth County will develop 70 to 75% of the property. The master plan was designed to follow protective restrictions.
“There’s a 300-ft protected buffer around the lake and then any of our intermittent streams, or femoral creeks that we’ve got through the property, there’s a 100-ft buffer on those,” Weavil said.
Natural fun
The property has nearly two miles of lake frontage. When it’s completed, the park will offer:
- An ADA-accessible fishing pier
- A shelter that can hold 150-200 people
- Playgrounds
- Restrooms and a comfort station
- 1,200 linear feet of paved, ADA-accessible walking trail
- 3,500 linear feet of a gravel nature trail along the shoreline
Work in progress
Phase One began in February 2023. Construction was slated to wrap up within a year, but supply chain issues and rainy weather caused delays. The roadways and 90% of the grading work are complete. Crews are waiting for electricity before drywall can be installed in buildings. Phase One cost a total of $7.6 million.
Visitors will be able to use the park while work continues on future phases. Forsyth County Commissioners are still in the process of allocating that funding.
The park is located off Belews Creek Road at 7455 Craig Rd. in Belews Creek. Once it’s open, visitors will be able to use amenities during daylight hours.