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.

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.