Hikers, hunters and others who enjoy North Carolina’s mountain landscapes will soon have access to 534 acres of gameland and a national historic trail that are accessible from the Blue Ridge Parkway near Spruce Pine.

The Conservation Trust for North Carolina recently conveyed the Rose Creek property to the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission. The conservation trust purchased the property in 2008 from a developer based in Texas.

The Mitchell County property has well over a mile of frontage on the Blue Ridge Parkway between mileposts 326 and 328, and includes about 1.3 miles of the Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail, which will be opened to the public once it is cleared and posted.

The Overmountain Victory Trail traces the route taken by colonial militiamen to the pivotal Battle of Kings Mountain during the American Revolution. The trail, which passes through four states, is a unit of the National Park Service.

The property is home to a variety of native wildlife, and is recognized as a conservation priority in the state’s Wildlife Action Plan, a strategy developed to guide habitat protection efforts across North Carolina.