Building community
through work and play.

About

The Bent Creek Community Park is a beloved, open gathering place located in the heart of the Bent Creek Community.

It is intended to serve residents of the greater Bent Creek area (Bent Creek, Forest Edge, and South Oaks neighborhoods, Pole Creasman and Wesley Branch roads, and surrounding areas) and the larger Asheville area. All are welcome.

The park is the result of a grassroots effort that started in 2001. Friends and neighbors came together to clean and revitalize the overgrown and dilapidated area that once was home to the amazing Bent Creek Lodge and all its amenities. The park is owned by Buncombe County Parks and Recreation and a nonprofit 501c3 supported by non profit, fiscal sponsor Asheville Greenworks.

WORK

Today the park is managed by the park board of directors who meet monthly to arrange maintenance, work projects, and fundraisers to support the park. Board elections happen every October at the Chili Cook Off. The park is mowed weekly by volunteers. We have large Work Days multiple times a year, where residents and friends (all ages) come together to clean, fix, paint, mulch, and plant. Everything you see at the park - from planted trees to the painted mural to the pump bike track - was done by neighborhood volunteers.

PLAY

The park board also organizes and facilitates the community garden as well as community events, such as the annual chili cook off and movie, camp outs, the annual Easter egg hunt, the end of school slip and slide/ice cream social, and art and craft sales. 

Park Amenities

Park Pavilion

Picnic Tables

Playground

Volleyball and Basketball Courts

Bike Pump Track & Bike Skills Park

Climbing Wall feature for kids

Community Garden

Horse Shoes

Fruit Tree Orchard

Hiking and Bike Trails

Little Free Library

HISTORY

THE OLD BENT CREEK LODGE

The following is an excerpt from

‘A Brief History of Bent Creek Lodge’,

part of the book Favorite Recipes from Bent Creek.

“In February of 1937, Mr. Castleberry of Asheville and New Jersey bought land in southwestern Buncombe County that is now the Bent Creek Development. He paid $1,000 for the entire acreage. Mr. Castleberry planned a year-round music resort ranch for vacationers and he secured William O. Creasman of Bent Creek Ranch Road to be foreman in charge of the project. The ranch house was fashioned from trees cut on the property. Soon, honeymoon cottages, stables, a lake and many recreational facilities were built. In the mid-1960s, Kavanagh-Smith (the builders of Bent Creek development) designated 21 acres of land to be used as a private recreational facility for the homeowners.”  

Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, the park flourished under the care of the Bent Creek Lodge Association and the residents of the Bent Creek community. In addition to the Lodge itself, the Association used the park area for a neighborhood playground, tennis and basketball courts, and eventually a community swimming pool.

Unfortunately, the Lodge burned down in 1991 and was never rebuilt. Care of the park fell by the wayside and the land was deeded over to Buncombe County, with the stipulation that it could only be used for recreational purposes.

The park property had been gated off for many years, but in 2001 a dedicated band of neighbors committed themselves to raising money and rebuilding the park. They leased the land from the county and formed the Bent Creek Community Park and Gardens Association.

Over the years the park has undergone many changes - swings and a sandbox have been added, the basketball courts have been repaved, there is a roller-hockey area, playground equipment, a volleyball court, a pavilion, shed, and electricity! The park is now regularly mowed and maintained, and plans are in the works for several future projects both small and large. Our progress seems slow but sure, and our goal is clear: to continue to rebuild the park and thus provide our neighborhood with a safe and beautiful place to enjoy both community and nature. Park patrons, and those who benefit from a well-groomed, safe gathering place in their community are encouraged to contribute in whatever way they can. This way we can keep our public, yet resident-funded, park moving forward and continuing in its mission of Building a Better Community Through Work and Play.

Here is a link to view some old pictures of the Bent Creek Lodge:

https://bentcreekpark.tripod.com/bent_creek_lodge_in_the_1970/