My ten year old son rode 23 miles on the southern part of the trail. Fall colors were wonderful. We had a great time. What a great place to make great memories with the family.

What a shame that the reviewers "Linda and Bill" ("Nice Trail, but....") missed the BEST part of the trail--the southern part. They apparently went only on the northern, much more urban section of the trail, which is split from the southern end by I-40. The southern end features a beautiful tree-shaded trail with about four miles of paved path. Every weekend my wife and I travel 40 minutes with our hybrid bikes to bike 24 miles on the southern end. Even in the hottest weather, the shaded trail is a joy to bike. Bikers, joggers, and walkers are frequently encountered, but the trail is so long (13.5 miles one way) that you don't feel crowded at all. I wish "Linda and Bill" had seen this part of the trail.....

We were heading to Emerald Isle, NC from Virginia and decided to stop in Durham to check out the American Tobacco Trail along the way. It’s easy to find this trail. Set your GPS to the Durham Bulls Stadium, 508 Blackwell St., Durham, NC. Turn left on Blackwell St. to the bottom of the hill. Parking is behind the large while satellite dishes. The trail begins in front of the satellite dishes. The trail is 6.5 miles long, well marked and beautifully maintained, but there are 17 road crossings in the 6.5 miles. The trail runs through the suburbs of the city of Durham. You ride past some nice housing developments, but there’s nothing scenic on this route. The people of Durham are fortunate to have a nice trail in their back yard, but if you’re exploring the country checking out scenic rail trails as we are, this one was nothing exceptional.

You can now ride from the unimproved Massey Chapel Rd. crossing to the end in Wake County. The trestles are completed and this is about a 13.5 mile section. A great ride.

http://www.triangletrails.org/ATT.HTM

I submitted a photo in the greensboro rail trail system, it's a bike at a map shelter with the name of Amercian Tobacco trail on it. This picture should go under the American Tobacco trail Durham County.
Sorry, Lorraine

"I went to the middle section in early January 2007 on a beautiful 65 degree day. There is a park (athletic fields, etc.) almost adjacent to the trail but for some reason the gates were closed so I parked on the shoulder of Scott King road where there is ample room. The trail runs north and south of this access point but my odometer (accurate to mile markers on other trails) measured the length at only about 3 miles. Trail surface appears to be old railroad bed(?) so I recommend a bike with front suspension and tires at least 1.5” wide. About a half mile south of SK road the bridge over the creek was out. About a mile north the trail leaves the old railroad bed and follows a creek around a new neighborhood. At this point it was a mess of mud and difficult to traverse. I gave up after only about a ¼ mile. This trail has potential if they put a bridge over the creek (assuming there’s more trail to the south) and put some type of paving or crushed stone on the muddy part but for right now it’s too short."

"I rode some of the Wake County portion on Saturday October 14th 2006. The trail wasn't very crowded. There were walker, joggers, a couple horses and a few other bikers. The Wake Couny portion is about 5.5 miles long.

The trail is wide, dry and clear of debris. The surface looks like almost white sand but feels like pavement. Bicycle tires don't leave tracks and hoof prints from a couple horses in front of me were hard to see.

There are three large, well marked parking areas in Wake County. Each has a supply of trail maps which are much more detailed than any found on the ATT web page.

The southernmost is at1309 New Hill-Olive Chapel Rd. For those who like numbers it's located at N35.71366 W78.94357 and is 280 feet above sea level. This area has restroom facilities.

The middle is located at 1017 Wimberly Rd. N35.76110 W78.92106 255' ASL. This is the smallest of the three (but still big) and has no restroom.

The northernmost is at 1305 White Oak Church Rd. N35.78669 W78.92225 377' ASL. There is a restroom facility here also. The trail north from here heading towards Chatham County is blocked first with a gate and then a large section of fence that extends into the woods on either side. It is marked NO TRESPASSING.

I also looked at the Chatham County trail which is not much more than a dirt path through the woods. Road crossings are marked with signs stating ""Irregular Surface"" and ""Trail Construction In Progress"". There is no parking lot at any crossing but you could probably stick 2 or 3 cars off the side of the road at some of these crossings. I only saw one mountain biker using this trail.

In Durham County the sections of the trail I drove by are paved but were very urban. "

"Inline skater review of ATT paved portion on 09/23/06.

PROS:
Pavement is in excellent condition except for less than a 1/4 section at the south end adjacent to the parking lot.

Pavement markings are excellent with center lines, 1/2 mile markers, all crosswalks marked, and crossing street names painted on the trail at each crossing.

Signs include stop signs before each crossing and updated trail information signs at each end.

CONS:
Road crossings are very frequent, which makes it difficult to get into a good pace except for two longer sections between roads. Most crossings are posted with stop signs for trail users and require the a complete stop due to limited visibility of the road from the trail crosswalk approaches.

The trail was relatively clear of debris except for pine straw at the south end and a 3/4 mile section with tiny loose rock washed onto the trail.

Each bridge has a plank surface. The surface is easy enough to coast over, but may be a bit rough for beginner skaters.

No water or rest room facilities are part of the trail; however, it passes near a number of stores and fast food restaurants accessible with a very short street skate.

"

"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. "

"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. "

"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

"

"Warning - this section is not paved, and a combination of weather and horses have made it quite bumpy for bikes. We rode the entire 5.5 miles both ways on hybrid bikes and, while the scenery was quite lovely, my bones are still clattering. Too bad that it's not nearly as bike-friendy as the 7 miles north of I-40. I wouldn't ride it again unless it's either paved or else horses are restricted to a trail separate from bikes."

"The doggies and I have enjoyed the northern paved Durham section of the trail for over a year now, but the new sections more recently opened are even better since there's a lot less people using them for now. South Point Mall has encouraged a spate of housing development at the northern portion of the southern Durham segment, but blissful serenity and nature takes over roughly a mile further south. Unfortunately, quite a few people with dogs don't follow the rules and keep them on a leash as requested. This has been a bit problematic at times for me on my bike and my dogs who run in front of me on a tugline in harness.

My dogs aren't perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but it's a lot easier to effect a successful ""on by"" (and avoid serious injury) if people keep their dogs close to them and under control when we're passing. Some dog owners are very considerate, but I don't think the ones who let their dogs charge up the trail in front of them unleashed to say ""hi"" to my fur girls realize the safety risk to both us and their dogs. Be aware please!

The southern end of the southern Durham segment ends at a an old railroad trestle over a stream/river. Very scenic - see picture.

We were the only trail users on the rainy day we visited the Wake portion of the trail. The cinder trail covering is great for bicycling and it's nice that there are so many benches to stop for a break along the way. I look forward to exploring the ever increasing segments of the trail as they open and feel lucky to live where such a good idea was brought to life!"

"I'm not terribly keen on multi-use paths, but my Siberian Husky and I have enjoyed this trail quite a bit. There is little traffic to worry us and the trail is not crowded on weekdays when she runs alongside me on my bicycle. The ATT does pass through what are considered some of Durham's 'rougher' neighborhoods, but I've never had any trouble. If you worry about such things, have a human or canine companion join you.

The newest segment of the trail runs alongside the Woodcroft subdivision in south Durham and there's a McDonald's at the far south end (Southpoint Crossing Shopping Center) if one is hungry after the trek."