Find the top rated cross country skiing trails in Union, whether you're looking for an easy short cross country skiing trail or a long cross country skiing trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a cross country skiing trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
My family and I rode 2 days over the Thanksgiving holiday. The trail is paved like new with many convenient access points. Can’t wait to ride it again!
I enjoyed a quiet ride on the Thermal Belt trail yesterday. When I parked at the parking area just off US74 (near mile marker 12.5) at 10:00am the lot was empty and so was the trail. By 2'ish when I returned the lot was half full with cyclist's vehicles.
A very pleasant semi-urban rail with lots of light industry and old textile plants. Not scenic like the Creeper but very interesting to ride. The trail is beautiful with a fresh macadam surface. Lots of street/road crossings but light traffic at most of them. The final mile south of US74 is not yet paved.
I rode the section from US74 to just past Spindale (and back) and wasn't disappointed. Will start for Rutherfordton and ride South next time just to see what I missed,
Thanks to those who added another rail trail accessible from Western NC.
My wife and I rode our tandem from the parking area off Lakehurst St up to Travelers Rest (TR) on a sunny Thursday morning. Being a weekday, there were no crowds to contend with. The trail is well kept and a pleasure to ride. Yes, the trail is a little hard to follow in the downtown area due to the many intersections with park paths - the signage still needs improvement. A map of the downtown section was helpful for us, since we were new to the trail. There is one place downtown where you will need to ride on Furman College Way (street) because the actual trail goes up steps. It's about 0.2 mile long.
As you head towards TR the trail takes a "jog" at Willard St. There are tight turns on either end of a small bridge over the Reedy River.
There are two other road crossings that require extra caution due to high traffic (and no traffic lights) - West Blue Ridge Dr ( Rt-235) and Watkins Bridge Rd.
There are many places to take a break or grab a bite in TR. The ride from Greenville to TR is a gentle uphill grade. The trail itself goes another 2.2 miles north of Center St. This section is a little hillier.
Overall, a good trail to ride on.
Newly paved with asphalt and you can smell the new wood on the
bridges. Easy ride with long sloping hills, small towns and friendly people. Could use a rest room and more benches. To find a nice motel we drove back to Asheville NC. one of my favorite towns. I will ride this trail again !
Lattie Dockery
As others have said, it isn't much of a "trail" but rather a paved path that runs along a pretty busy two lane road. You can walk two abreast but that is about all. There are multiple subdivisions along the path which contributes to the busyness of the road especially during morning and evening rush hour times. That being said, it is a nice place to get in a few good walking/running miles with some hills along the way without having to drive a long distance out of town.
Finished 9 miles, not bad for someone who hasn’t road a bike in 25 years.
This is in a nice area.
The trail is paved. Mostly level, has a couple small hills.
However, I found it difficult to get a good run going.
The trail is marked but still a little confusing. Some due to construction, some due to arrows on path the took the trail to a sidewalk? Another runner confused at same spot.
I asked a local who did give me advice on what way to go, which helped or I would have been even more confused on which way to go.
This should not deter you if in the area and want to get some miles in.
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!
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.
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