Beacon Foundation

06/03/2026

For decades, the Beacon Blanket Factory was the heartbeat of the Swannanoa valley — employing generations of families and leaving behind something people here still carry.

The Beacon Foundation is building what comes next on that same ground. Not to replace what was, but to reimagine what community can be with green space, walking trails, a bike park, bouldering, and a place to gather that this valley can call its own.

Here for the Valley. Swannanoa, NC. 🌄

05/27/2026

Community and environmental resilience are core impact pillars at Beacon, and we're grateful to see local partners bringing these resources to the Valley to help neighbors prepare for the future together.

Join this Saturday, May 30th, from 1-4pm at the Gladfelter Student Center at Warren Wilson College for a session on assessing natural disaster risks in the community. There's no registration required, and drop-ins are welcome!

05/22/2026

Some exciting news for the Swannanoa Valley!

Big news for Swannanoa. 🌿💧A new $822,780 flood resilience investment will help restore damaged land along the Swannanoa River, slow floodwaters, improve water quality, and reduce future flood impacts along Old Highway 70 and downstream communities.

Led by RiverLink, the project will create 1.6 million gallons of flood storage while restoring natural infrastructure damaged by Hurricane Helene — helping Swannanoa rebuild stronger and more resilient.

Even more exciting: this corridor is part of the future vision for the Fonta Flora State Trail, which will one day connect communities and outdoor spaces through this area. Projects like this are good news not only for flood resilience, but for creating a stronger, healthier, and more connected future for Swannanoa.

05/11/2026

04/13/2026

A lot of work has been underway at Beacon Park over the last month, and we've been receiving some questions surrounding what the plans are, so we wanted to share more information! As always, if you have any additional questions, don't hesitate to reach out to us via email!

Amenities: Beacon Park includes a world-class bike park that you can already see (not yet ride), and it will also include bouldering walls, a nearly 1-mile greenway and walking path, green space, art, trees, an event lawn, playground, pavilion, parking, restrooms, tap house, food truck parking, and more when construction is finished!

Fee Structure: The park at large is free and open to the public. Beacon Park is first and foremost a community park designed around zero barrier to entry, which means while the bike park and bouldering areas will have an access fee, no one will ever be turned away due to financial barriers or constraints. Being that the park is not funded by the county outside of the Buncombe County TDA TPDF grant, there is a need for it to generate revenue to cover operating expenses to stay open.

Revenue generated above and beyond what it takes to operate and maintain the park will be invested back into the Swannanoa community and community partners, through The Beacon Foundation.

Programming: The Beacon crew is working alongside community partners to develop programming for the park. What does this look like? Afterschool opportunities, walks and runs, yoga on the lawn, farmer's markets, periodic concerts, camps, climbing and riding competitions, and more! Have an idea? Let us know!

Festivals and Concerts: Beacon Park will have the ability to host larger concerts, and the revenue from those concerts is critical to supporting the park and allowing The Beacon Foundation to continue its mission. However, this will be only on a limited number of select weekends throughout the year. First and foremost, Beacon Park is a community park, so keeping any noise or disturbance to a minimum is a priority! Events will end at reasonable times, and plans for those events will be communicated to the community well in advance.

Funding: Beacon Park has been made possible through the private investment from The Beacon Foundation and a $4.5-million dollar grant from the Buncombe County TDA TPDF.

Timelines: Right now, everything is on schedule to have the park open by the end of 2026, with a grand opening in Spring of 2027, and we can't wait to welcome the Swannanoa community and others to the park later this year!