History

The Belews Creek area has been discussed as a possible parks site since the 80’s. The area was identified by the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Planning and Development Department in 2007 and adopted Parks & Recreation Open Space Plan as an underserved area for parks and opened space in Forsyth County. This plan was updated in 2015 and 2019 with both updates continuing to identify the Belews Creek area as an underserved area of Forsyth County.

In late 2016, Forsyth County Parks staff began looking for possible sites for a regional park in the Belews Creek area of Forsyth County. In early 2017, Forsyth County Parks & Recreation staff reached out to Duke Energy about any potential sites they may have available in the area. Duke Energy enthusiastically responded and provided several sites for review. A 216-acre tract off Craig Road that is situated on Belews Lake was identified as the site most suitable for the development of a park. Purchase negotiations with Duke Energy continued through 2017 and 2018. In 2019 Forsyth County Parks & Recreation applied for a North Carolina Land and Water Fund grant for the acquisition of the property. Public meetings were also held in early 2019 to inform the public of the proposed plans for a park. In early 2020 due diligence work began and, in the fall of 2020, Forsyth County was awarded and accepted a NC Land and Water Funds grant of $640K for the acquisition of the property. Once all due diligence work was completed and the purchase contracts were agreed upon, the property was acquired in August of 2021.

In late 2021 Forsyth County Parks & Recreation began preparing a grant submission for a NC PARTF (Parks & Recreation Trust Fund) grant. Late, in the spring of 2022, Forsyth County also advertised a Request for Qualifications package for design-builder services for Master planning and phase 1 design and construction of Belews Lake Park. In June of 2022, the design-build team of Stimmel & Bar Construction was selected. Stimmel began work in the fall of 2022 on the park master planning and phase 1 design. In the late fall of 2022 Forsyth County was also awarded a $500K NC PARTF grant to add to the project.

Through the end of 2022 the design was developed and priced. A guaranteed maximum price of just over $7M was approved for the Forsyth County Board of Commissioners. Initial clearing work then commenced for the project in early 2023.

Construction on the project proceeded through the remainder of 2023 and into the summer of 2024. In June of 2024, the Forsyth County Board of Commissioners adopted a resolution naming the park, J. Dudley Watts, Jr. Forsyth County Belews Lake Park. Substantial completion of the project was achieved in late November 2024. The park officially opened to the public on January 27, 2025.

The J. Dudley Watts, Jr. Forsyth County Belews Lake Park Phase 1 boasts of nearly a mile of new park roadway, a right hand turn lane off Craig Road, new water, electrical and communications utilities, a 150 person picnic shelter, a fully conditioned restroom, over 1,200 linear feet of paved, accessible trail, multiple picnic sites along the paved trail, nearly 1.3 miles of improved natural trails, an ADA accessible floating fishing dock, and a maintenance facility.

Additional phases of the park are planned. Based upon the Master Plan for the park, there will be at least one or two additional phases to be constructed. The actual number of phases will be dependent on future funding. Planning for Phase 2 has already begun. The Forsyth County Board of Commissioners has approved $2.5M in PayGo funding for Phase 2. A $500,000.00 NC PARTF grant was also awarded for Phase 2 of the project in the fall of 2024.