Rowing teams practice on Lake Lure ahead of Memorial Day reopening

LAKE LURE – Before the sun had peeked over the craggy horizon on a recent cold morning, frost covered temporary plywood docks on the shores of Lake Lure as dozens of athletes carried long, pointed fiberglass rowing boats down to the water. They had come to Rumbling Bald resort, on Lake Lure, from as far away as New York, Washington, D. C.

and Rhode Island for spring rowing practice on the lake, which is slowly refilling since being drained after Tropical Storm Helene in late 2024, to the lowest level in its nearly hundred-year history. The lake is still closed to the public, more than 18 months after Helene filled it with silt and debris, severely damaging the dam and leaving the Town of Lake Lure without much of the tourism that is the lifeblood of its economy . During a typical tourist season, Lake Lure’s population of 1,300 grows to 10,000 visitors a day , the Citizen Times reported.

Kimberly Sayles, owner the Grafton Lodge Bed and Breakfast in Lake Lure, told the Times-News in February that she had seen up to a 70% drop in customers since Helene. “Our major loss was the road being cut off,” she said, referring to the closure of U. S.

64/74A , the most direct route from Asheville and Hendersonville, at the hard-hit community of Bat Cave. But the annual pilgrimage of college rowing teams, interrupted for a year by the draining of the lake in order to clean it out, has returned. Rumbling Bald's manager, Jeff Geisler, said that rowing teams have been coming to Lake Lure regularly for at least 15 years.