Explore the best rated trails in Gastonia, NC. Whether you're looking for an easy walking trail or a bike trail like the Highland Rail Trail and Pacolet Nature Trail. With more than 40 trails covering 99 miles you’re bound to find a perfect trail for you. Click on any trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
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The Mary Black Foundation Rail Trail is just a short segment of what will eventually become the 12-mile Hub City Connector, which itself will be part of the larger Palmetto Trail, a proposed 425-mile...
The Heritage Trail Greenway is a multiuse path in Newton, North Carolina. The first two phases of the trail are complete, stretching 1.5 miles from West 7th Street, winding through the wooded...
Torrence Creek Greenway offers a pleasant route through meadows, woodlands, and wetlands south of Huntersville. Along the paved, 1.4-mile route, the trail offers many points to access the surrounding...
The 1-mile Troutman Rail-Trail runs from Troutman's business district to a newer north end shopping area, following the former rail bed of the Statesville to Charlotte Norfolk Southern Line. The...
Briar Creek Greenway will one day stretch 6 miles through Charlotte and connect to the Little Sugar Creek Greenway. Currently, the trail is open in two disconnected segments totaling 1.4 miles. The...
The Irwin Creek and Stewart Creek Greenways cover 2 miles of trail alongside their namesake creeks in Charlotte's city center. The Irwin Creek Greenway begins at Ray's Splash Planet and travels...
The Piedmont Medical Center Trail (formerly the Riverwalk Trail) stretches just over 3 miles through Rock Hill near the border between North and South Carolina. The route is part of the Carolina...
The Avon and Catawba Creeks Greenway has several neighborhood entrances in Gastonia. The 1.9-mile trail winds alongside Catawba Creek and Avon Creek with a few small bridges crossings along the way....
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A natural-surface trail that runs through the gorgeous Edwin M. Griffin Preserve just outside the center of Spartanburg, the Cottonwood Trail offers a lovely path into the wooded landscape surrounding...
If you enjoy rail-trails that flaunt their railroading past, you're sure to love the Thermal Belt Rail-Trail. The trail begins in Gilkey, and a recent extension takes it over 13 miles southeast to...
The City of Lenoir Greenway is a system of several loops and endpoints meandering through an urban landscape of parks and open areas, recreation centers, the library and wooded tracts. For more...
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Notice: As at September 2020, River Park has been closed temporarily for capital improvements. There is no entry or exit from the trail from this access point. Please use the Celriver Access point...
Highland Rail Trail is named for the neighborhood that it runs adjacent to as it travels through Gastonia along the former Carolina and Northwestern (C&NW) Railway. Although short, it offers an...
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In the heart of busy Spartanburg, the Liberty Trail provides a beautiful oasis through a garden, along a tree-lined brook that cascades over a series of granite steps into a pool. Although only 0.5...
The paved, scenic Bakers Creek Greenway follows its eponymous creek, connecting two parks in central North Carolina's Kannapolis. The trail is part of the Carolina Thread Trail, a network of pathways...
The Pacolet Nature Trail is a paved trail in the quiet rural community of Pacolet, located along the banks of the Pacolet River. The trail matches the sleepy nature of the town, providing trail users...
Statesville’s greenway system is still a collection of unlinked segments, but there are plans in place to build a truly connected non-motorized path network. Today, the discrete sections offer a...
Located in the quiet, rural outskirts of Spartanburg, SC, the Glendale Shoals Trail provides a lovely path for visitors to explore some of the natural beauty of the area. The natural-surface trail...
In northern South Carolina, only about 30 miles southwest of Charlotte, lies the quaint city of York. A paved bicycle trail runs through the heart of the community from its city park to its recreation...
The Purple Martin Greenway provides a beautiful community amenity in Rutherfordton. The quaint western North Carolina town was established in 1787 and has many buildings on the National Register of...
This multi-use path follows the south side of Southport Road, from Cedar Springs Road heading west to South Avenue. It passes the 295 Sports Complex, a DMV office and a water treatment plant before...
The Buffalo Creek Preserve Trail provides a 2-mile moderately challenging hike or mountain bike ride in the rural community of Mount Pleasant, about 30 miles northeast of Charlotte. The unpaved trail...
Shelby's rail-trail winds through the western edge of the city between West Grover Street and Dixon Boulevard. Following the former right-of-way of Norfolk Southern Railroad, the unpaved pathway...
The Catawba River Greenway meanders, along with its river namesake, through the historic town of Morganton, North Carolina. The trail encompasses wooded areas, open meadows and the quaint commercial...
In northern South Carolina, only about 30 miles southwest of Charlotte, lies the quaint city of York. A paved bicycle trail runs through the heart of the community from its city park to its recreation...
The Heritage Trail Greenway is a multiuse path in Newton, North Carolina. The first two phases of the trail are complete, stretching 1.5 miles from West 7th Street, winding through the wooded...
The Irwin Creek and Stewart Creek Greenways cover 2 miles of trail alongside their namesake creeks in Charlotte's city center. The Irwin Creek Greenway begins at Ray's Splash Planet and travels...
The Purple Martin Greenway provides a beautiful community amenity in Rutherfordton. The quaint western North Carolina town was established in 1787 and has many buildings on the National Register of...
The Piedmont Medical Center Trail (formerly the Riverwalk Trail) stretches just over 3 miles through Rock Hill near the border between North and South Carolina. The route is part of the Carolina...
If you enjoy rail-trails that flaunt their railroading past, you're sure to love the Thermal Belt Rail-Trail. The trail begins in Gilkey, and a recent extension takes it over 13 miles southeast to...
Briar Creek Greenway will one day stretch 6 miles through Charlotte and connect to the Little Sugar Creek Greenway. Currently, the trail is open in two disconnected segments totaling 1.4 miles. The...
The Twelve Mile Creek Trail, which runs through Walnut Creek Park and the Walnut Creek neighborhood in Lancaster, is part of the Carolina Thread Trail, a growing trail network of more than 200 miles...
Constructed in 1981 as the city of Spartanburg's first mixed-use trail, the River Birch Trail was in rough shape, with vegetation overgrowing the route and the surface cracked and failing, until the...
A natural-surface trail that runs through the gorgeous Edwin M. Griffin Preserve just outside the center of Spartanburg, the Cottonwood Trail offers a lovely path into the wooded landscape surrounding...
The Marcia H. Cloninger Rail-Trail, known locally as the Lincolnton Rail-Trail, offers a chance to explore the heart of this small Southern town, highlighted by a stately courthouse, model Main...
Statesville’s greenway system is still a collection of unlinked segments, but there are plans in place to build a truly connected non-motorized path network. Today, the discrete sections offer a...
Highland Rail Trail is named for the neighborhood that it runs adjacent to as it travels through Gastonia along the former Carolina and Northwestern (C&NW) Railway. Although short, it offers an...
As you might expect, the South Fork Rail-Trail closely follows the South Fork of the Catawba River on the south end of Lincolnton. The trail rests atop a former rail corridor within land preserved by...
The Baxter Village Trail is nestled in a neighborhood of Fort Mill, which lies on the northern border of South Carolina (Charlotte, North Carolina, is just over the state line). The trail has a...
On the southern outskirts of Charlotte, a series of connected greeways along creeks form a horseshoe-shaped path of nearly 6 miles. The pathway is primarily paved with wooden boardwalks over creeks...
The trail extends from the dam at Duncan Park Lake and courses through the park to near Union Street by the baseball stadium. The path is a gradual hill (up or down, depending on your direction of...
The paved, scenic Bakers Creek Greenway follows its eponymous creek, connecting two parks in central North Carolina's Kannapolis. The trail is part of the Carolina Thread Trail, a network of pathways...
Part of an expansive revitalization effort that the city of Spartanburg has undertaken to improve the economic and ecological well-being of the Northside neighborhood, the Butterfly Branch Greenway...
The Purple Martin Greenway provides a beautiful community amenity in Rutherfordton. The quaint western North Carolina town was established in 1787 and has many buildings on the National Register of...
The Buffalo Creek Preserve Trail provides a 2-mile moderately challenging hike or mountain bike ride in the rural community of Mount Pleasant, about 30 miles northeast of Charlotte. The unpaved trail...
Beginning less than half a mile from downtown, the Bessemer City Park Trail offers a quiet natural retreat. The 1.3-mile route begins at the basketball court in Bessemer City Park and quickly dives...
Notice: As at September 2020, River Park has been closed temporarily for capital improvements. There is no entry or exit from the trail from this access point. Please use the Celriver Access point...
Located in the quiet, rural outskirts of Spartanburg, SC, the Glendale Shoals Trail provides a lovely path for visitors to explore some of the natural beauty of the area. The natural-surface trail...
The Baxter Village Trail is nestled in a neighborhood of Fort Mill, which lies on the northern border of South Carolina (Charlotte, North Carolina, is just over the state line). The trail has a...
Shelby's rail-trail winds through the western edge of the city between West Grover Street and Dixon Boulevard. Following the former right-of-way of Norfolk Southern Railroad, the unpaved pathway...
The Avon and Catawba Creeks Greenway has several neighborhood entrances in Gastonia. The 1.9-mile trail winds alongside Catawba Creek and Avon Creek with a few small bridges crossings along the way....
Take a trip down memory lane by strolling or cycling the Charlotte Rail Trail, which follows the Charlotte Trolley as it tootles its way from E. 9th Street in Uptown to Clanton Road in the historic...
If you enjoy rail-trails that flaunt their railroading past, you're sure to love the Thermal Belt Rail-Trail. The trail begins in Gilkey, and a recent extension takes it over 13 miles southeast to...
As you might expect, the South Fork Rail-Trail closely follows the South Fork of the Catawba River on the south end of Lincolnton. The trail rests atop a former rail corridor within land preserved by...
The half-mile 8th Street Greenway begins at North Loop Road and follows a tree-lined northwesterly route to Bakers Creek Park, where it connects to a trail of the same name which is part of a regional...
The 1-mile Troutman Rail-Trail runs from Troutman's business district to a newer north end shopping area, following the former rail bed of the Statesville to Charlotte Norfolk Southern Line. The...
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This unique trail runs through the campus of the SC School for the Deaf and the Blind and features interpretive signs in Braille that teach trail-goers about the types of trees along the route. The...
In the heart of busy Spartanburg, the Liberty Trail provides a beautiful oasis through a garden, along a tree-lined brook that cascades over a series of granite steps into a pool. Although only 0.5...
About 12 miles north of Charlotte, the McDowell Creek Greenway links the communities of Huntersville and Cornelius. The paved, mile-and-a-half route is part of the larger Carolina Thread Trail, a...
The Catawba River Greenway meanders, along with its river namesake, through the historic town of Morganton, North Carolina. The trail encompasses wooded areas, open meadows and the quaint commercial...
A must do. Very nice ride. Road crossings are well marked. Need to be extra careful crossing over Business 74 in Spindale. Like another reviewer noted, Spindale has a couple opportunities to stop and eat. Could be a bit more biker friendly by adding some bike racks on the main town road.
Not a scenic trail (such as along a river) but a smooth pleasant ride. Every mile and half-mile is marked and at every mile the pavement has what looks like a narrow gauge RR track imbedded in the pavement. There are many “road” crossings, most we simply needed to slow down rather than stop because there were entrance/driveways rather than true road crossings but all were clearly marked. Trail towns/restaurants could connect better by advertising what is close to the trail. It looks like Spindale is working to do that based on construction I saw. Lunch at Spin City Corner Cafe was excellent! But they are not open on weekends. Several others places were not open on Mondays. The trail does travel behind some rundown buildings but I never felt unsafe, I also was not riding solo. The 5 miles at the north end are rural/wooded and a bit hilly. The rest connects the 4 trail towns which kinda all run together.
My boyfriend & I took our dog on this hike. It was so much fun. Make sure that you follow the signs because there are so many different trails intertwining throughout the hike. Using the map is ideal in a few places but mostly, just follow the signs. It was an amazing day hike, however; I’d recommend going earlier during the day because we got to the end of the trial & it was sunset. The most beautiful sunset view I’ve seen in a while. We walked back through the neighborhood because it was dark, that was also beautiful & very well lit. We will definitely be back.
Walked the trail today and enjoyed the scenery, will def do again
I was disappointed in the trail. If you are going to hike this plan to come way after a rain. It was extremely muddy and therefore getting quite eroded. The biggest disappointment was the human impact as far as first trash and then once I made it to a beautiful deciduous forest with gorgeous beech trees, if these beautiful trees were within a few feet of the trail they were defaced. Come on people!
With few easy road crossing- the trail takes one past some beautiful old architecture buildings Easy parking and not very crowded. Walking on this trail is more fulfilling then biking.
Rode this for the first time dec 12. Weather was great and trail even better. Nice new blacktop and fairly wide. We started in Forest City so we could enjoy the lights at night. The only negative that keeps it from getting 5 stars is that there are many street crossing that are not marked. You have to cross 74 twice. Most drivers yielded to the bikes but you have to pay careful attention for those that don’t.
The trial is located beside the movie theater in Birkdale/ Huntersville. Nice paved trail. You can continue on the sidewalks to the park and extend your ride. Enjoyable 1.5 mile ride each way!
The trail is paved and well maintained. My favorite is the northern part which is about 5 miles after that you have to deal with crossings and traffic lights. An elderly couple got an accident and the husband busted his head. Blood all over the road. We have to help the wife to go back to her car and lift her ebike. It needs a lot of concentration and need your attention coz there are few sections that are not smooth.
The trail was very well maintained with tool kiosks along the way. We did Forest City- spindale and return. I give the trail a 10. The scenery a 2. Mostly views of gas stations, fast food and ugly buildings.
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