Chimney Rock Park Reopens In Western North Carolina

A park in western North Carolina is reopening after a parking lot retaining wall collapsed last month. The damage to Chimney Rock State Park came after a week of heavy rain.   

The park's Hickory Nut Falls Trail reopened on Tuesday. That trail was the last piece of park property that was closed after the record rainfall during the Memorial Day weekend.

Chimney Rock superintendent James Ledgerwood says damage to the park infrastructure was estimated at about $300,000.

Ledgerwood says a contractor has been in the park to deal with boulders that moved because of the downpours.

Chimney Rock became a state park in 2007, though the site was established in 1916. It's located about 25 miles southeast of Asheville.

The site usually gets around 250,000 visitors annually.