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.

A wonderful break from driving i95, thank you traillink, parking was easy and free. There are rolling hills and friendly walkers.

Let's start with this.
The trail is not flat.
Level, yes. Paved, yes. Mile markers every half mile. Mostly shaded (good on a very hot day) Flat, no.
There are a couple pretty decent hills, saw a biker walking her bike up one.
If you start at Jordan soccer park, it is mostly down hill, which means back up.
A couple little bridges, one good size covered bridge over the creeks make for nice scenary, along with the skinny squirrels.
Another runner said the further end was more flat. Next visit I'll plan to run entire trail.
So, as usual. If in the area and want to get a few miles in, head here. You will enjoy the trail and the challenge.

I have wobbly ankles so some of the trail was moderately challenging (as opposed to running on flat asphalt) but it is truly gorgeous scenery and a lovely run. The restrooms were clean, the views were gorgeous and I look forward to running here frequently and bringing my kids to kayak. I'd easily rate it 5 stars, however I tripped on a root and gouged my knee pretty badly. If I wasn't so clumsy this would definitely rate 5 out of 5 stars.

¿¿

I have lived in Erwin for 11 years and have used this trail many times. It is a shame, because it is a nice trail, but in the last couple of years I have had more and more problems with off leash dogs. Earlier this year I was chased by a pack of 3 aggressive dogs on the Dunn side of the rail trail, and there is another off leash aggressive dog that will charge and bark at the intersection of the trail and Suggs Rd on the Erwin side. We have tried, unsuccessfully, to alert Harnett Co Animal Control about these dogs. My husband left them messages which they never returned. So we have had to stop walking our dogs on this trail. It was not just the fact that the off leash dogs were taking an interest in our dogs, I also spoke to a couple of people who use the trail for jogging without dogs, and they are also being bothered by the aggressive dogs. So use with caution, and if you can, call the Harnett Co Animal Control if you have the same problem. Perhaps if enough people complain they will do something to make this trail safer.

People complaining about sand, that gives you more exercise. I did not think the sand was bad at all. I did the walk from Reservoir park to NIcks creek. Nice little hike