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American Tobacco Trail (Wake County):
North Carolina
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Description:
The American Tobacco Trail begins in downtown Durham, on Morehead Avenue across the street from the Durham Bulls Athletic Park, and will ultimately run 22+ miles through Chatham County and into Wake County. Currently 7.7 miles of the trail are continuous in Durham north of I-40. This section has a smooth asphalt surface. Another 3-mile section is open south of I-40 in southern Durham County. This section is surfaced with dirt, gravel and grass. There is also a 3.5-mile section of the trail open in Wake County. This portion, surfaced with granite screening, is open to horseback riding, with equestrian trailer parking available at the southern trailhead. Like many rail-trails, the trail grades on the American Tobacco Trail are never more than four percent. The trail passes through a downtown historic area, past several parks and schools, shopping, restaurants, several planned unit developments and North Carolina Central University. The American Tobacco Trail was featured as a 'Trail of the Month' by Rails-to-Trails Conservancy.
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Parking & Trail Access:
Trailhead parking is available on Morehead Avenue across the street from the Durham Bulls Athletic Park. Park under the Durham Freeway. Other trailhead parking is located at Solite Park off Fayetteville Street and at the Southpoint Crossing Shopping Center, located at the intersection of Fayetteville Street and NC 54, near I-40. The southern Durham County natural surface section can be accessed by parking under the power lines on Scott King Road, which is off of Fayetteville Road two miles south of I-40. The main Wake County trail access can be found two miles south of US 64 on New Hill-Olive Chapel Road (NC 751 extension). Look for the blue park sign. Another Wake County trailhead is on Wimberley Road. From US 64 west of Raleigh, turn north on Jenks Road and then go 1.5 miles east of the NC 751 intersection toward Raleigh. Go 1/3 mile on Jenks and turn left onto Wimberley Road. Go 0.9 to the signed trailhead on the right.
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Seasonal Restrictions:
The American Tobacco Trail is open from sunrise to sunset except in Wake County where the trail closes one-hour before sunset.
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Easy access to downtown
By Will Wattles on March 06, 2006
"We drove up from Florence, South Carolina to expereince the bicycle friendly communities of Carrboro and Cary. The American Tobacco Trail was used by a small number of people on a cool Monday in March. We saw lots of birds and enjoyed the tall trees along the way. There were several places to stop along the way for coffee of meals. A friendly dog followed us down the trail. We rode from the trail head downtown to the Southpoint Mall. We delayed out coffee break until we got back to Starbucks at American Tobacco. It is only open on week days. The trail is in excellent condition and easy to follow. It has a few difficult road crosssing but using the signals worked. I wish we had a nice 7-mile trail like that in our community. "
Easy access to downtown
By Will Wattles on March 06, 2006
"We drove up from Florence, South Carolina to expereince the bicycle friendly communities of Carrboro and Cary. The American Tobacco Trail was used by a small number of people on a cool Monday in March. We saw lots of birds and enjoyed the tall trees along the way. There were several places to stop along the way for coffee of meals. A friendly dog followed us down the trail. We rode from the trail head downtown to the Southpoint Mall. We delayed out coffee break until we got back to Starbucks at American Tobacco. It is only open on week days. The trail is in excellent condition and easy to follow. It has a few difficult road crosssing but using the signals worked. I wish we had a nice 7-mile trail like that in our community. "
Longer than you may know...
By on August 18, 2005
"The trail continues when the American Tobacco Trail gets to the Durham Bulls Stadium downtown. At that point it becomes the North-South Greenway and continues almost to West Point on the Eno River; another ~10 miles of paved trail!

Now, almost half is sidewalk that runs along a road, there's a patch of gravel when you ride under I-85, and a block where you have to ride in the street (but it's wide with little/slow traffic), but my son & I have been enjoying it all year and hope to see you out there!

It's not too tricky to follow, but here are some landmarks to help your first time... When the ATT ends at the Bulls stadium, continue up Blackwell St and through downtown as straight as possible until you get to the downtown YMCA, where you'll notice green paver bricks which you follow (through Durham Central Park and past the Old Bulls Ballpark) about 7 or 8 blocks to the beginning of the ""off-road"" paved trail (nearest road intersection is W. Trinity & Orient). This will take you to West Club Blvd. which you follow under I-85 to Northgate Park. Next you'll get to Rock Quary Park (or the Museum of Life & Science if you take a right at the fork in the path), which takes you to the National Guard Armory and the County Stadium. Take the sidewalk along Stadium Dr. heading west (left), up the big hill, across Carver & Kenmore until the sidewalk (on the left/west side of the street) veers into the woods. This takes you to Whipporwill Park, and the trail continues another 1 1/2 miles north to Horton Rd (& Guess Rd where there's a shopping center).

In a couple of years we have been promised that the trail will continue North to West Point on the Eno (& beyond), and that a bridge will be built over I-40 to Southpoint Mall (connecting to trails in Apex, Cary and into the Raleigh Greenway system) in the opposite direction. But in the meantime, don't think of it as ""just"" 7.7 miles of paved path, like the description says. Think of it as a 35 mile paved round trip tour. And say hi to me and the boys when you see us, the second is just old enough to start joining us!

8/16/05

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