Friends of the Cheat, with the help of whitewater paddlers throughout the region, constructed a new parking area along the Big Sandy Creek in Rockville, West Virginia. This will provide secure public access to this popular whitewater run. The location is on river left, just upstream of the Rockville Bridge. There's space for over 30 cars here, and we hope that this will relieve congestion on busy spring weekends. The road from the bridge to the lot was also widened and greatly improved. Future plans include trails to several different spots along the shore.
We are happy to announce that Friends of the Cheat won second place in the Redwood Creek Wine Greater Outdoors Project, winning $10,000. The money will be used to secure land along the Big Sandy and place it in conservation easement. The land will protect public access to the river as well as the river itself. We would like to thank the many paddlers that voted online in support of the project, Friends of the Cheat for writing a great proposal and taking the initiative on this great project, and of course Redwood Creek Wines for making public enjoyment and protection of awesome places a funding priority.