Woodend Park Opened as a First Draft of What Lake Wylie Voted For

In March 2026, the citizen board that oversees Lake Wylie's preservation parks wrote down a fairly modest goal for its biggest property:

"Public accessibility to Woodend Park may be possible this summer but will depend on the status of the road construction and anticipated park amenity development."

That word "may" held up. Woodend Park opened on Saturday, July 18, 2026. The road construction is still ahead, though, and so is most of the amenity work. What you can walk at Woodend today is the first finished piece of a plan residents put on the ballot six years ago. The design, the road out front and the two sister parks are all still being worked out.

What's actually out there on Glenn Brandon Road

The Herald's opening-week report describes an 84-acre property with 10 designated hiking trails that add up to 2.5 miles through meadows and wooded forest. The lot holds 40 cars and sits off Glenn Brandon Road near Highway 557, across from Oakridge Middle School.

There are no trash cans. York County runs Woodend as a leave-no-trace park, so you carry out whatever you bring in. The parking lot gate opens during park hours and closes on its own at closing time.

Because the gate is automatic, the seasonal hours matter more than usual:

Right now you have until 8 p.m. On Nov. 1, closing moves up two hours to 6 p.m. That's the first time since opening day that the park closes before most people get off work.

Why it feels unfinished: it is

Board minutes from this spring show Woodend opening in stages. In March, crews were putting up fencing around the parking lot. Jesse Watson had walked the property with the design firm Sossaman, which was hired to produce what the minutes call "a thorough and actionable park design, including utility and infrastructure due diligence." A draft was due to the county in summer 2026. Trail building was set to start in late March, with a tentative finish before Memorial Day.

By April 16, the fencing was done and the trails were roughed in. Landscaping, signage and trail blazes were still a few weeks out. The master design was at the red-line stage, meaning the county and Sossaman were still trading marked-up drafts. The minutes also said full public access would depend on finishing nearby road work and on approval of more money to improve the park.

The park opened three months later with trails, a lot and a gate. The 2024 concept plan the county approved for Woodend went much further, with a 400-space grass lot off Glenn Brandon Road, an event lawn, an outdoor amphitheater, picnic shelters, restrooms, a fishing pond, an art gallery studio and an 18-hole disc golf course. As of the last published minutes, the master design was still in progress, and no later minutes have been posted. The board's June meeting was canceled for lack of a quorum and its August meeting was also canceled. The next meeting on the county calendar is Oct. 15. Anything beyond trails, such as restrooms, shelters or more parking, will come out of that design process.

The road to the park is about to change too

The March minutes mentioned road construction. Starting in July, it shows up on the board's agenda as its own item. The July 16 agenda lists "Glen Brandon Road Improvements" under new business.

The County Council summary for Aug. 17 explains it. Council approved title and easement agreements for part of Woodend Park so DR Horton can improve Glenn Brandon Road for a new Lake Wylie subdivision called Meriway Pointe. Glenn Brandon Road will be the main entrance to that development, and it runs along the park. DR Horton plans to add paving, curbs, a sidewalk and turn lanes, and it is buying right-of-way and easements from the county to do the work.

In practice, the road you drive to the trailhead today is the before picture. The same stretch of Glenn Brandon will soon serve both a new neighborhood and a public park. The plans include a sidewalk on a road that doesn't have one now.

Woodend is one of several properties residents already bought

Woodend didn't come from the county's general parks budget. It came from a ballot question that started with residents.

In 2020, a petition signed by more than 15 percent of eligible voters put the question on the November ballot: should Lake Wylie create a preservation park district? More than 61 percent of the more than 13,000 people who voted said yes. The district's borders match the Lake Wylie recreation-tax area around Field Day Park, which The Herald reported covered about 29,000 people. The referendum allowed up to five mills of tax, a $10 million cap on land and construction, and a $500,000 cap on yearly expenses.

In 2021, the district used that authority to buy four properties covering more than 150 acres combined. Three of them have park plans, and together they cost $7.6 million:

The $4.3 million figure comes from The Herald's March 2024 report on the park plans. The paper's July 2026 opening story printed the price as $84 million, which doesn't match the earlier reporting.

The district runs as a York County agency under the county manager. A five-member board of residents, appointed by County Council, advises and makes recommendations. Land purchases and yearly budgets need county approval. For background, York County's FY2024-25 budget set the district's rate at 4.0 mills, or an estimated $16 a year on a $100,000 owner-occupied home. The board's proposed FY2025-26 budget listed $976,166 in principal and $99,035 in interest under debt service. So the district is still paying off the land while it builds the parks.

The Goat Farm is already working as a gathering spot

The second property is the Goat Farm, 6.8 acres at 3972 Hands Mill Highway just off Five Points. The 2024 concept plan includes space for farmers market vendors, a community garden, a nature-based play area, a shelter, a stage, a canteen and picnic area, restrooms and a short walking trail. In July, The Herald still described it as under development.

The buildings aren't finished, but the site is already hosting events. The board's 2026 minutes track a series of Naked Goat Market days and food-truck nights there:

• April Naked Goat Market: six confirmed vendors, with food from Evan's Catering. About 250 people came.
• May 9 Naked Goat Market: 10 vendors committed.
• June food-truck event: five confirmed food trucks.

The board also talked about adding activities like volleyball to bring in more people, and it advertises these events at the corner of Charlotte Highway and Route 274. No fall dates had been published in a form we could confirm when this post went up. Check York County's parks page for the next one.

Thistle is still on paper

The third property is the most distant. In February 2024, the county approved a 60-acre concept for Thistle Park with a dog park, fishing, disc golf and trails. In January 2025, a council member proposed selling Thistle and the Goat Farm. Minutes from the district board in April 2025 recorded that the county had no plan at that time to sell either one. We found no later report of a sale, a construction start or an opening date for Thistle.

This puts Woodend in a different light. Of the three properties the district has planned as parks, it's the first to open and the furthest along. It's also the only one with posted daily hours. York County now lists eight parks countywide, and Woodend is on that list next to Field Day Park at Lake Wylie and the new Catawba Bend Preserve. The Goat Farm and Thistle aren't on it yet.

For a weekday walk in the next three weeks, you have until 8 p.m. Starting Nov. 1, the gate closes at 6 p.m. Bring a bag for your trash, because there are no cans at the trailhead.

If you live near Glenn Brandon Road or Highway 557 and wonder how a new park, a widened road and a new subdivision next door might affect what your home is worth, Timothy Garland Group can give you a straight answer based on local sales, not guesswork. Get a Free Home Valuation and we'll walk you through what's changing around you. You can also browse more of our Lake Wylie coverage.

This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.