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 Shelby Rail-Trail. With more than 35 trails covering 89 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 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 Piedmont Medical Center Trail (formerly the Riverwalk Trail) stretches just over 2 miles through Rock Hill near the border between North and South Carolina. The route is part of the Carolina...
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 Mary Black 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 trail...
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...
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...
A trip along the Gold Hill Rail-Trail through this historic village will transport you back to a time when North Carolina was the country's only gold-producing state. Signs posted every few hundred...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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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...
Kings Mountain Gateway Trail is situated in a beautiful natural park setting offering a picnic shelter, restrooms, drinking fountains, and parking. Much of the park is heavily wooded and the trail is...
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...
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...
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....
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...
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...
The Little Sugar Creek Greenway, part of the Carolina Thread Trail, runs along eastern Charlotte and will one day stretch more than 15 miles down to the Catawba River in neighboring South Carolina....
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 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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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 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...
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...
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...
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...
Kings Mountain Gateway Trail is situated in a beautiful natural park setting offering a picnic shelter, restrooms, drinking fountains, and parking. Much of the park is heavily wooded and the trail is...
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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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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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 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...
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...
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...
Kings Mountain Gateway Trail is situated in a beautiful natural park setting offering a picnic shelter, restrooms, drinking fountains, and parking. Much of the park is heavily wooded and the trail is...
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...
A trip along the Gold Hill Rail-Trail through this historic village will transport you back to a time when North Carolina was the country's only gold-producing state. Signs posted every few hundred...
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...
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 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 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...
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 Piedmont Medical Center Trail (formerly the Riverwalk Trail) stretches just over 2 miles through Rock Hill near the border between North and South Carolina. The route is part of the Carolina...
The Forrest Hunt Greenway connects Forrest Hunt Elementary School with the Alexander Mills section of Forest City, North Carolina. For more information, contact: Town of Forest City, Recreation...
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...
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...
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....
Finished 9 miles, not bad for someone who hasn’t road a bike in 25 years.
The entire 12 mile trail is now paved! The path is wide and level. The only annoyances are the road crossings but they are well marked. One exception is a crossing in Spindale that is very busy and perhaps needs a new design. Other than that, very nice! I love the shaded sections!
I’m glad it’s there it’s a nice link from Merry Oaks to the Country club neighborhood which we love riding bikes in. It’s definitely the smallest greenway I’ve ever seen though:
We wanted to try out this trail since we saw its beginnings in Spindale. Got on the trail near the 1 mile marker because we did not know how to get to the beginning...what intersection, etc. Parked near a church and rode our bikes to about MM 7 in Spindale. Wonderful experience. Love the grade, mostly level, but there are some places with very gradual uphill and down hill areas...but still easy for the two of us, both seniors and more...to handle. This goes right through the town of Spindale alongside the main street, so if you need a rest, pull over and take a break there. We didn't have time to go the entire route...next time!! Both shaded and in full sun at times...great views of the natural landscape north of Spindale. I recommend it highly.
Beautiful quiet trail especially during the week. The northern part near Gilky is more pastural than the southern half. There is no obvious trail head sign on northern trail entrance so you need to consult your GPS ahead of time to find it. There are no portapottys either on the northern part but if you go about a mile on the trail there is ‘johnny blue’ near the trail. Parking for about 20 cars are at the Gilky entrance.
It would be nice if you could just find an address for the start point so you could just put it in your gps. The trail is paved and flat. It’s also pretty narrow and usually busy. The trail is nice for walking, but it’s kind of tight for riding bikes.
It's a nice trail flat with good tree coverage. It's a bit more than the 1.9 if you do both sides of the T , My round trip was closer to 5 miles..
4.5 is a more fair rating.
Ran entire length , 8 miles.
Good, paved trail. Mostly flat, a couple small hills for some challenges.
Scenary is very nice, especially the bridges at beginning or end, depending on where you start.
A few sight seeing spots are a highlight as well.
So once again, if looking to get in a couple miles, this would be a good choice.
Very pretty trail. Mostly wooded and follows a stream for most of the way. It's just shy of 3 miles round trip. I've heard there may be plans to extend it, hopefully that will happen.
Rode the Thermal Belt Trail in December 2018. This is a great trail, newly-paved for 13+ miles. We have hybrids but you could ride road bikes with no problem. We parked at Bechtler Mint Site and rode to the bridge at Hwy. 74. Perfect surface. Crossed a few roads but they are not big or busy. In that space we traveled through a number of small towns: Ruth, Rutherfordton, Forest City, and Florence. The only drawback is that I prefer countryside scenery. But the trail itself is awesome, with additional improvements to come!
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