In honor of North Carolina’s Great Trails State Day this month, here are three official state trails to explore around the Triangle.
by Joe Miller

If you’re familiar with the Mountains-to-Sea Trail, the notion of walking across North Carolina may not seem far-fetched: nearly 200 people have made the entire journey on the 1,175-mile MST, from Clingman’s Dome on the Tennessee line to Jockey’s Ridge on the coast.

But what about the idea of walking from Morganton to Asheville? Or paddling a canoe from Greensboro to Moncure?

North Carolina has 14 State Trails intended to let you explore the state on foot, by kayak or canoe, and even on horseback. These longer trails are part of N.C. State Parks, though each State Trail is administered by a nonprofit partner agency. Eventually, the trails will cover some 3,500 miles, touching roughly three quarters of North Carolina’s 100 counties. 

The state trails concept dates back nearly 50 years, but it’s only within the past two that most of the State Trails have gotten traction — or, in some cases, come into being. One of the key provisions of the General Assembly’s 2023 Year of the Trail was $29.15 million set aside for the Complete the Trails fund. Another $25 million was allocated for State Trails for 2024-2026 as part of the Great Trails State Program fund. Last year, the third Saturday in October was officially designated the Great Trails State Day, so Oct. 16 of this year will be the second annual observation.

Where’s the best place to sample a State Trail? In the Triangle you have three options.

Editor’s note 10/3/24: Due to the effects of Helene, some of these parks may be closed now. Please check the individual websites before visiting.

Mountains-to-Sea Trail

One of the longest stretches of MST outside the mountains is in the Triangle, running 106 miles from Eno River State Park in Durham, along the south shore of Falls Lake, then down the Neuse River into Clayton. The 27.5-mile stretch along Falls Lake is paved, making for good cycling as well as walking; the 78.6 miles along Falls Lake and in Eno River State Park are natural surfaces and offer surprising backcountry escapes in the heart of the Triangle. The Friends of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail, the MST’s partner agency, has good maps for exploring the trail on its website, mountainstoseatrail.org. 

East Coast Greenway

The North Carolina portion of the East Coast Greenway, which will one day link Maine with Florida, is a recent addition to the State Trails system. The best place to experience it in North Carolina is in the Triangle, as it piggybacks on the American Tobacco Trail in Durham, Chatham and Wake Counties; the Cary greenway system; Umstead State Park; and the Raleigh greenway system, including the Neuse River Greenway. Learn more at the East Coast Greenway Alliance’s website, greenway.org.

Deep River State Trail

This hiking and paddle trail begins in Jamestown and works its way 125 miles south, then east, to Moncure below Jordan Lake. Your best bet for hiking is in Randolph County, especially in Franklinville, where the trail follows a shaded rail line and climbs a bluff overlooking the river. You’ll find beginner-friendly paddle options downstream in Moore, Chatham and Lee Counties. Learn more about hiking at franklinville.org; about paddling at triangleland.org, and about the trail in general through the Piedmont Land Conservancy, at piedmontland.org.

Want to hike further afield? Here are the other trails in the system.

This article originally appeared in the October 2023 issue of WALTER magazine.