I don’t live in the area but am a nurse at one of the health facilities in the area. I prefer running outdoors but am leaving home before the sun comes up and getting home after dark. I stumbled upon this trail behind my office during a lunch break several years back and loved it. I have been running it before or after work ever since. It’s a little confusing at first as it’s access points are minimally marked. But once you get the layout under your belt it’s a very nice trail!

I love running here. There is plenty of shade, a decent amount of small rolling hills, beautiful scenery, and never too crowded. I come here to get lost in my thoughts for my long runs.

Several of the trails in the Moore Parks system are close by my work and this is one of my favorites. The trail is peaceful and nowhere near as busy as the nearby Reservoir park. I have even seen deer and other wildlife as I stroll down it’s length. It’s a dirt path but well maintained. I am not a confident runner, but I will run on this trail because of the good footing. It connects to the Forest Creek trail at the upper end, so although it is not a long trail, you can continue on for miles. There aren’t any of the amenities that the Reservoir park offers, but I like that it’s out of the way. Check it out and enjoy!

We had a great family bike ride: 4 adults and three kids, started at the Dunn end of the trail and rode to Erwin and back. The section in downtown Erwin is nicely incorporated into a block of downtown that included an excellent bakery. Great cookies to fuel the ride back to the car. Trail is pretty flat, long low grades. Surface is compacted gravel. There are some roads to cross so we had to keep close to the kids. Enjoy

I biked this trail this morning Aug 9. I was pleasantly surprised to find most of the trail was shaded and paved. Bikers, joggers, and hikers all seemed friendly and cordial toward each other. North to south is slightly more downhill than traveling north. One hill coming back is a bit of a booger, but a great enjoyable ride nonetheless.

Started at cannon park - walked into town - not well marked but the arboretum area is beautiful with wooden bridges. Very nice.

A good portion of the trail offers adequate shade. Also, both sides are very straight and evenly “terrain,” although the Dunn side does have a substantial stretch that slightly inclines. And, I would advise having some type of protection, in case of a stray animal (namely, a loose dog). Otherwise, it’s one of my favorite trails to run on.

Not worth it

I am new to the Benson area. A friend came to visit so we thought we would try out the Dunn/Erwin trail. For starters, good luck finding the trail head. There isn’t one. The trail has a lot of large stone and I don’t mean gravel by any means. Packed crush and run would be wonderful but this is large stone which is hard to ride on. There are no warning signs that roads are ahead. We were riding along and all of a sudden we had to brake fast because out of no where there was a road. This happened time and time again. Worse yet, the roads are not marked with white pedestrian walking/biking paths letting drivers know bikers or walkers may be entering from either side. I find this trail a bit dangerous and should be better marked. Maybe it’s lack of funding. I usually ride in Wake County, Clayton and Garner. Loose dogs yes, I would never walk my pack of 3 on that trail. It’ s sad because it could be used by so many more people. We need more hiking trails in this area and we need to bring more greenways for biking in this area.