But hey, it’s the goal that has risen to the top and the one that’s proven the most motivating. Through the first five weeks of the year I have added five new trails to my hiking vitae. They are:

Fox Trail

Mayo River State Park, Mayodan

1.8 miles

Not only was it my first time on the trail, it was anyone’s first time! Mayo Mountain celebrated January 1 with the grand opening of its Fox Trail. I first hiked the park’s lone 2-mile trail shortly after it opened in April 2010. Can’t wait for more, I thought. It was a bit of a wait, 14 years, but it was worth it. The new trail explores a part of the park with rolling terrain and minimal understory. With the original trail, you can now get in a 4-mile hike at Mayo Mountain. Learn more here.

Iron Ore Belt Pit Trail

Haw River State Park: Iron Ore Belt Access, Greensboro

0.4 miles

OK, so it’s only a connector trail, but it serves two functions: one, it provided access to a long-abandoned ore pit; and, two, it offers a 2-mile option by shortening the nearly 4-mile Great Blue Heron Trail. The 2-miler makes this a good option for new hikers just beginning to build endurance. Learn more here.

Haw River State Trail: Longmeadow Trailhead

Haw River State Trail, Graham

1.8 miles (one way)

The Haw River State Trail covers 70 miles along its namesake river, from north of Greensboro to Jordan Lake. Rather, it will cover 70 miles; to date, 20 miles have been finished, including this stretch in Graham at I-40. This is flat hiking that can get a bit muddy after a rain. It appears to get less traffic than other stretches of the trail, making it great for a contemplative, escapist stroll. Learn more here.

Pioneer Camp Trail

Cane Creek Mountains Natural Area, Snow Camp

3.4 miles

Cane Creek is fast gaining a reputation as the place to go for a long hike in the Triad and Triangle region. It opened in April of 2020, at the beginning of the Pandemic, with 4.5 miles of trail at the Pine Hill Trailhead, and just last fall added 5.9 miles with its new Oak Hill Trailhead. There are two connecting loops at this trailhead, Pioneer Camp being the longest. The hiking here is similar to what you find to the southwest in the Uwharrie Mountains, with lots of surprising elevation; as one hiker on a GetHiking! hike Sunday groaned: “Does this ever go down?” Yes … eventually. Learn more here.

Lookout Trail

Cane Creek Mountains Natural Area, Snow Camp

2.5 miles

This is the shorter of Pine Hill’s two trails, but atop Cane Creek Mountain, topping out at just under 1,000 feet, Lookout connects with the Northern Approach Trail on the Oak Hill side of this Alamance Parks natural area. Lookout provides the best view in the park, a view that will get better with a planned observation tower to be built nearby. You can now hike nearly 10 miles of connected trail at Cane Creek, with another 6 miles coming soon. Plans call for an eventual 24 miles of trail at Cane Creek. Learn more here.

New trails: a good way to add new perspective to your hiking in the new year.

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You don’t. But you do build on it.

The just-passed Year of the Trail was intended to promote North Carolina’s vast trail system. Hiking trails, sure, but paddling, biking and equestrian as well. Year of the Trail events were held in 94 of the state’s 100 counties, those events ranging from hour-long guided walks on local greenways to three-day festivals celebrating trails across the state. The ultimate sign of Year of the Trail’s success? When the concept was conceived by the state’s General Assembly in 2021, it included $29.15 million for trail development; in the budget passed this past fall, legislators allotted nearly twice that much for trail development in the next two years.

Much of that money is targeted to the North Carolina’s State Trails, of which there are 14. State trails? you may wonder. These are longer trails — some hiking, some paddling, some both, one equestrian — that date back to the 1970s. You’ve likely heard of one, the Mountains-to-Sea Trail, you likely haven’t heard of the others. Each trail has a non-profit partner that is in charge of the trail’s development. Here’s a quick synopsis of the trails, including it’s partner:

• Dan River State Trail, 90-mile paddle trail in Surry, Stokes and Rockingham counties. Partner: Dan River Basin Association
• Deep River State Trail, 125-mile paddle and hiking trail that follows its namesake river from Jamestown in the Triad to Moncure. Partner: Piedmont Land Conservancy
• East Coast Greenway State Trail, the North Carolina portion of the East Coast Greenway, which will run 3,000 miles, from Maine to Florida. North Carolina’s stretch is two, actually, one in the Piedmont and one along the coast. The converge in Wilmington. Partner: East Coast Greenway Alliance 
• Equestrian State Trail, a horse trail still in the conceptual phase that will be located south of the Triangle.
• Fonta Flora State Trail, probably the fastest developing of the State Trails, this hiking/biking trail will link Asheville to Morganton (with a loop around Lake James). About 38 miles of the trail, mostly in Burke County, are done. Partner: Friends of the Fonta Flora State Trail
• French Broad River State Trail, a paddle trail running 115 miles along the French Broad, from Rosman to the Tennessee Line. Partner: Mountain True
• Haw River State Trail, a paddle and hiking trail running from the Haw’s headwaters north of Greensboro to its conclusion in Jordan Lake. Partner: Alamance Parks
• Hickory Nut Gorge State Trail, hiking and biking trail linking the Hickory Nut Gorge area near Lake Lure with South Mountains State Park. Partner: Conserving Carolina
• Mountains-to-Sea Trail, 1,175-mile hiking trail spanning the state, from Clingman’s Dome on the Tennessee line to Jockey’s Ridge at the coast. Partner: Friends of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail
• Northern Peaks State Trail, 40-mile hiking trail that will link Boone on the south to Mount Jefferson State Natural Area to the north. Partner: Blue Ridge Conservancy
• Overmountain Victory State Trail, the 225-mile stretch of the OVT in North Carolina; the trail runs through three other states.
• Roanoke River State Trail, paddle trail originating at Roanoke Rapids and ending at Albemarle Sound. Known for the camping platforms developed by its partner, Roanoke River Partners
• Wilderness Gateway Trail, a mostly hiking trail that will link at South Mountains State Park with the Hickory Nut Gorge State Trail (see above) with the towns of Valdese and Hickory. Partner: Foothills Conservancy
• Yadkin River State Trail, 163-mile paddle trail running from W. Scott Kerr Reservoir to Morrow Mountain State Park. Partner: Yadkin River Keeper

For more information on the North Carolina’s State Trails system, go here. For the latest on each trail, click the provided partner link.

We’ll be exploring and writing about North Carolina’s State Trails throughout 2024. Return to this space for the latest information.

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