The power pedestals in Mineral Spring Park are easy to miss on a weekday walk. They sit low in the grass near the shelters, and in December they feed the lights of Christmas Park. This fall they have also become the reason for a new town rule.
At its September meeting, Williamston Town Council held first reading on an ordinance that would ban driving off the pavement in Mineral Spring Park. The Journal reported that Mayor Rockey Burgess said cars driving across the grass to reach the shelters were damaging the pedestals used for Christmas Park. He also called it a safety problem, apart from the cost and time of repairs. As written, the ordinance sets a fine for a first offense and lets the police department enforce it. The mayor plans to put up signs in the park so visitors know about it.
The rule is one of several projects aimed at the same park this year. Williamston is fitting its oldest park to handle crowds, vendors and holiday lights. It is also building a second gathering place a short walk down the Mineral Spring Trail, at Big Creek Station.
The Park Is Being Fitted Out for Events
The same September report lists the park work around that ordinance. The town recently finished a new restroom and added parking in Mineral Spring Park. Back in May, The Journal's budget coverage said Duke Energy grant money would help pay for handicap accessories in that planned restroom. The same report covered Envision Williamston's work on a new accessibility ramp at the Municipal Building and on replacing three wayfinding signs.
Next comes more power. Burgess wants five more power pedestals in the park, this time for food trucks. The town has a $25,000 PARD grant it could use: $20,000 in grant money plus a $5,000 town match. That is still a proposal. The September report described it as part of a list of projects the mayor plans to ask council to fund over the next two years.
A new playground also opened in time for this year's Spring Water Festival. The festival site promoted it as open during the event.
Put together, the restroom, parking, pedestals, playground and driving rule are the kind of work a park needs when it hosts big events every season. The calendar for the next ten weeks shows why.
Three Events, One Lawn
The park hosts three events between now and the end of the year, and each one puts cars, vendors or electrical cords on the same ground.
- Boo in the Park, Saturday, October 24, 5 to 8 p.m. Envision Williamston and the Town of Williamston are organizing it as a Trunk or Treat, with a costume contest at 8:15 p.m. Vendors drive in on Mineral Spring Lane from Mill Street, in front of the Post Office, and get a dashboard pass with a numbered spot.
- Williamston Winter Wonderland: Holiday Market & Tree Lighting, November 29. Visit Anderson's listing puts it at the park, 121 W. Main St., as an all-day event.
- Christmas Park, December. The Christmas Park page describes it as an annual display. Local businesses, churches, civic groups, the town and the Springwater Committee put thousands of lights across Mineral Spring Park. It is open in December, and admission is free.
The town hasn't announced 2026 dates for Christmas Park yet. Last year, The Journal reported that the lights came on as part of Williamston Wonderland on November 30, 2025, with a 6:30 p.m. opening ceremony. Santa visited November 29 and 30 and again December 18 through 23, from 6 to 9 p.m. Those are 2025 dates and are listed here only for reference.
The numbered spots for Boo in the Park fit the new rule. Every trunk has an assigned place on the pavement, and the grass is left for kids in costumes. Envision Williamston's executive director told The Journal, "We will be doing Trunk or Treat style again this year," and asked participants to "buy your candy and bring your company signs." Businesses and groups can still register online so organizers can mark their spots. Donations are welcome from anyone who can't be there that night.
The Second Gathering Place, Down the Trail
The Mineral Spring Trail runs both ways out of the park. One branch goes to Veterans Park. The other follows Big Creek to the old water treatment plant, which is being redeveloped as Big Creek Station. The Disc Golf Scene listing says a private ownership group and the Town of Williamston share ownership of the site.
Big Creek Station's own website still says "coming soon." It lists disc golf, food trucks, outdoor space, events, community use, event rentals and markets, with no opening date. That list looks a lot like Mineral Spring Park's: food trucks, markets and events, just with more open ground.
One part is already in use. The disc golf course at Big Creek Station has 18 holes, was designed by Cory Wickline, and is free to the public, according to its Disc Golf Scene listing. Players have posted scores there dated March 22, June 6 and June 20, 2026. The course is off Minor Street.
The course was meant to have its public debut at the 45th annual Spring Water Festival, which planned an inaugural doubles tournament there. Weather canceled the festival's original May 1 and 2 dates, and organizers moved it to August 21 and 22. The tournament moved with it to August 22. The town's listing billed it as a way to "grow the sport of Disc Golf in the town of Williamston" with the opening of the new course. No results have been posted for the August date, so this post can't confirm the tournament was played.
The trail connecting the two sites is still growing. In February, the town said it would add 1,800 feet of trail near Big Creek Station, paid for with $74,000 left over from the grant behind the Veterans Park extension. The money covers gravel, culverts and paving. A separate concrete section from Big Creek Station toward Minor Street was still being finished that month. The Journal's earlier reporting described an unfinished nature trail continuing past Minor Street toward the Palmetto Middle School area.
Where Each Project Stands
Several of these projects were last reported months ago. Here is the most recent status for each, with the date it was reported.
Project | Last reported status | Reported |
|---|---|---|
New Mineral Spring Park restroom and added parking | Completed | September 2026 |
Off-pavement driving ordinance | First reading held | September 2026 |
Five more food-truck power pedestals | Proposed, $25,000 PARD grant identified | September 2026 |
Big Creek Station disc golf course | Scores posted March through June | 2026 |
Big Creek Station rentals, markets, food trucks | "Coming soon," no date | Undated site |
Veterans Park footbridge | Lifted for temporary piling repair, about two months expected | February 2026 |
Paved extension toward Saratoga Oaks | Usable, not officially opened | February 2026 |
Second Big Creek bridge and Saratoga Oaks trailhead | Planned | February 2026 |
The footbridge matters most for walkers. Pilings on the bridge over Big Creek to Veterans Park were damaged by flooding from Hurricane Helene, and the town worked with FEMA to replace them. In February, The Journal reported that the bridge had been lifted so crews could replace the pilings and repair the footings. The mayor called it a temporary fix and expected about two months of work. A permanent repair through FEMA could take up to three years. No report found for this post confirms the bridge has reopened.
Past the bridge, the paved extension crosses Williams Street toward a planned trailhead in the Saratoga Oaks subdivision, at Williams Street and Brock Drive. The trailhead is planned with 20 public parking spaces and an unpaved nature path linking it to the trail. It will need a second bridge over Big Creek. A $300,000 Appalachian Regional Commission grant paid for the paved extension, with the town matching 50/50. As of February, the town planned to hold a ribbon cutting once the bridge work and the Big Creek Station extension were finished.
Walking It Before the Lights Go Up
Late October, before the holiday setup starts, is a good time to walk the whole route. Start in Mineral Spring Park, look in on the new restroom and playground, and follow the trail along Big Creek toward Big Creek Station and the disc golf course off Minor Street. The Veterans Park branch is the one to check before you go. The latest available reporting has the bridge in repair, and a quick look at the creek crossing will tell you whether it's back.
Then plan to come back on the 24th, when the trunks line up on the pavement. Thatcher has asked us to note that a Corgi in a costume is not eligible for the 8:15 contest. We haven't confirmed that, and he's holding out hope.
Have a question about how the trail, Big Creek Station or the new park work might shape your corner of Williamston? Give Locke & Key Associates a call. Let's talk about your home, and about the walk to Big Creek Station from it.
