Even with the temperature living in the 90s this summer, it’s been hard to find solitude on the trail. Everyone, now, is a hiker.

But not everyone knows to look for the more subtle stretches of trail. Trail, for instance, that doesn’t start from a visitor center, that doesn’t have a privy, that doesn’t even have paved parking — official parking, period. Finding these gems is tricky. But they’re out there.

One such stretch is the 3.2 miles of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail along Falls Lake from the Hickory Hill Boat Ramp west to Red Mill Road. The stretch offers great nature: from rich bottomland forest to an old farm pond. It offers amusement, from passage along a grass airfield, to a selfie opportunity beneath a billboard, to tunneling under I-85. The usual and unusual, all in one hike. 

So why does hardly anyone hike it? Beats us — it’s even got paved parking!

We can’t guarantee that you’ll have the trail to yourself when you hike it. It is, though, a good bet that you won’t be constantly stepping into the brush to let others safely pass. An especially good hike for the times.

Hike it!

Intrigued? You can get a copy of our GetHiking! Guide to Mountains-to-Sea Trail at Falls Lake, Day-Hike Sections Q & R, by going here. Enter code D5QCPJN2 before Thursday, Aug. 6 and you can download the guide for free.