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The Edwards Mill Connector in West Raleigh is an off-shoot of the Reedy Creek Trail. The shared use is adjacent to Edwards Mill Road, and stretches down to Chapel Hill Road. On the way, the trail passes near the North Carolina State sports complex, which includes the PNC Arena and the Carter-Finley Stadium. There are several multi-lane crossings, including one under Wade Avenue.
There is no dedicated trail parking other than a small lot on Stephen Stroud Way towards the PNC Arena. However, there is no off-street connection to the lot, which is 350 feet from the trail.
This is a perfectly fine connector, but there's no real reason to ride it unless you want to ride to somewhere it connects to - either one of the small number of neighborhoods it connects to, or riding to a hockey or football game. And I'm not sure if the latter have bike parking, although as close as this trail goes to the stadiums, it would make sense if they did.
I rode the entire trail today, starting from the Stephen Stroud Way parking area. Although there are technically other options to connect than Stephen Stroud Way, it's quite low-traffic when events aren't going on, and I'd recommend that option. You can also take that road the other way to get to the stadiums, and there's a short connector for that purpose a bit to the north of the trail parking area.
Once you're on the trail, going south, it connects up to a Wendy's, a gas station, and some residential areas, and the Raleigh School, which appears to be a preschool. It ends at Chapel Hill Road. Like most roads in the area, there is greenery to the sides of Edwards Mill Road most of the way. It still kind of feels like a trail to nowhere, though.
Going north, you'll cross past Wade Avenue (pretty okay, really), and then up a steep hill to Reedy Creek Road, with a fair amount of traffic to keep you company, and less greenery than the southern section. Then it connects to the Reedy Creek Trail.
Condition-wise, the trail is good, so if it's extended or made a bit more scenic with greenery or public art, it could eventually become a 4-star trail.
Currently, however, the only reason to try it if you don't live along it is to see NC State's stadium and PNC Arena, or go to a game there. It's good for that. Or if you're really craving Wendy's.
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