Driving the greenway train in the Triad is Greensboro, which currently has 32 miles of paved greenway — on its way to a goal of 300, according to Madeline Carey, assistant trails and greenways director for Greensboro P&R. The high point of the system currently is the 7.5-mile Atlantic & Yadkin Greenway, which eventually will extend from Stokesdale on the north to downtown.

The Atlantic & Yadkin will connect with the north end of the 15-mile Bicentennial Greenway being spearheaded by Guilford County Parks & Open Space. A little two miles of that greenway is done on the north end, a little over eight miles is finished to the south, in High Point.

The Triad’s other significant stretch of greenway is in Winston-Salem, the 5-mile Salem Creek/Strollway Trail, which links downtown Winston-Salem with Salem Lake.

8.6 miles

Someday, the Bicentennial Greenway will link High Point’s Piedmont Environmental Center with the Atlantic & Yadkin Greenway in Greensboro, a distance of about 15 miles. Currently, the Greensboro portion in partially done (on the northern end). But the High Point stretch is pretty much intact, the highlight being the 4-mile stretch south of Wendover Avenue through the Piedmont Environmental Center along the west bank of High Point Lake.

Actually, it’s not just the four miles of the 10-foot-wide, paved greenway; it’s the additional five miles of natural surface trail through the PEC and Gibson Park. The additional trail makes for extensive exploration by hikers, runners, birders and naturalists of all stripes. It’s one of the more diverse and family-friendly stretches of greenway you’ll find.