By alfaman in November, 2010
We rode this trail on November 11, 2010. It was a great day for a ride and a great trail to ride on. The scenery is very pretty. The ride is not strenuous and has restaurants, shops, and many beautiful views of the river. The whole trail is asphalt and well maintained. We parked at the Greenlee Ford Rd. access. The restaurant there, Judge's, was highly recommended, but we didn't have a chance to enjoy it. The entire ride, including the Freedom Park spur, was about 8.5 miles. I rated this trail very highly. I wished it was longer, but all in all, a very good outing.
Kathy & Don Oakes
By andrewjohnson in September, 2010
We rode this trail for the first time -9/04/10. This is a very nice trail heading north - no traffic from the ball fields heading toward the trail head away from the Greenlee Ford area. The traffic on the trail was minimum making this a great bike ride. I would highly recommend this trail for individuals, families and anyone looking to have a wonderful afternoon. The trail was very well maintained - cut & trimmed - no branches to impede any area we rode. The view of the catawba was great with lookouts along the way. Also, there are a couple of restaurants along the path on the south end - one at the Greenlee Ford - the Judge - that was quite the nice ending to a perfect weather day during our ride.
By jaybird in August, 2010
We rode the Catawba River Greenway for the first time Saturday (8/14/10) as we made our trip from Columbia, SC to Asheville, NC. We found ample parking at the Rocky Ford access area. The trail was very pleasant w/ nice trailside amenities such as kiosks, benches, bridges & decks overlooking the river. While the majority of the trail is flat, there were a couple of rollers which managed to slow my son (age 8) down a little from his usual fast tempo, lol! While we did not stop & eat, we found a couple of trailside restaurants that we may check out the next time we make our way to Morganton. There were plenty of nice views of the river & quite a few nice greenspaces/parks along the trail. We even spotted a disc golf course & there was a host of athletic fields at the opposite end of the trail from which we started. We would most definitely recommend this trail for those who are looking for a leisurely stroll w/ the family or a nice bike ride or jog!