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The Little Sugar Creek Greenway runs through eastern Charlotte and stretches for more than 19 miles down to the Catawba River in neighboring South Carolina. The trail is a beautiful urban gem, connecting several parks, schools, recreational facilities, shopping and dining areas, gardens, and public art pieces.
The route is entirely paved and mostly flat.
About the Route
The northern endpoint of the route is located along N Brevard St., just north of downtown Charlotte. The trail heads south from here and passes through Cordelia Park, Sixteenth Street Park, and Alexander Park.
After crossing through the congested highway interchange of US 227 and NC 74 on a bike lane bridge over Central Ave, the off-road trail picks back up along E 7th St.
As the trail heads south of Charlotte, the surroundings of the trail become less crowded, with a thick border of trees surrounding the trail for most of the route even as the route continues through the suburbs of Charlotte.
The trail follows its namesake Little Sugar Creek as it continues south toward Pineville near the border of North Carolina/South Carolina. The southernmost section of the trail in Pineville, North Carolina winds alongside the creek in a very non-linear path before coming to its ultimate southern end at the border of the two states.
The Little Sugar Creek Greenway runs between N Brevard St. (Charlotte) and 3190 Gilroy Dr (Indian Land).
Parking is also available at:
Parking locations for each section of the trail can be found on the Mecklenburg County website.
The access and parking is still blocked off to outside visitors leaving nowhere to park without the risk of being towed. This seems wrong for an open greenway.
The reason for the 2 stars: It states there is parking located at 3190 Gilroy Dr (Indian Land) but the housing development blocked off the parking area and put in picnic tables! How is this ok when it’s supposed to be publicly accessible??? I took a pic, but I’m uncle to load it for the review.
Clean, well kept, and paved the entire way. The trail is well marked; however, there was construction so we had to go around certain areas. Me and a friend ran the entire trail and it was beautiful.
We started at freedom Park to go south towards South Carolina. There are detour signs as you leave the park that are hard to find. Once you get on the trail along the river, it is smooth sailing with no stops.
One thing that must be improved. Rode it the first time today. It's not completely confusing but it's not totally clear which way you go at turns, street crossings..... maybe it's the road painted green... duh... but it's still not quite clear. Great job overall. How about some green arrows on surface showing direction ?
I got to the southern end of this trail early Saturday to begin riding it. I should have read the other reviews. The parking area is closed. So I drove up the Carolina Place Mall area and started at the Hwy 51 crossing pedaling north. It was a GREAT ride! The trail was nice just about everywhere. There were a few spots with mud/sand from the creek flooding but not too bad. I made it about 8 miles up to Hillside Ave behind Park Road Shopping Center and then headed back. Next time I will start here and continue north. Eventually I will catch that southern part. My goal is to eventually bike the whole trail. So far it has been great.
Trail parking is NOT available at the south end of this trail, marked on the trail map as 3190 Gilroy Rd, Fort Mill, SC. The parking lot has been blocked off by the subdivision it is located in.
Northern parts of the trail around Charlotte are under construction. Diversion signage is inadequate. Lots of 1" to 2" mud sections on Northern part of trail after some heavy rains.
So far this one has been our favorite! Love looking at the creek as it follows the path. The asphalt was well maintained and most of it is shaded. It has some cute artwork along the way. Riding into Charlotte/Freedom Park was pretty. We wish it was completed. And we had a hard time finding a place to stop to eat. We tried to get on at the trail head at Gilroy Drive (in a residential neighborhood) that was listed on the route map and found it chained off and picnic tables in the parking lot. If it is a private spot it should be listed as so on the map. Other than that, it was a very enjoyable ride!
Except for a little roll on the southern most end, the southern 10 miles are flat, wide and smooth with several rest stops and no, repeat *no* street crossings. A very good trail.
The new extension on the south end of Charlotte is very enjoyable to ride
Going south, the map stops at Rt 485, however the trail does continues south into Pineville and beyond. There are areas further north that utilize city streets in upscale neighborhoods due to construction as part of hospital construction project. The trail is terrific just need to update the map.
We found the Little Sugar Creek Greenway to be a smooth, well-maintained paved pathway connecting numerous parks. We had a great experience on this trail! There is something for everyone; the northern urban section is fun and vibrant with shops and restaurants nearby, while the southern portion offers a tranquil wooded route, where we saw six deer!
I am a jogger, I run this trail often in the South Charlotte area. The portion from Marsh Park to Tyvola is well paved, in good condition, and is maintained well. Water fountains are well placed. After a rain, it doesn't get muddy or very wet like Four Mile Creek. People very friendly on the trail. Can get crowded on Saturday mornings with all the running clubs, races, etc. Only issue is the speeding bikers, sometimes they call out, sometimes they don't.
We started at Cornelia Park and went all the way to Polk Historical site and many miles beyond that. The trail keeps going! We did 36.4 miles. Going through town was a bit confusing, signage is small and lacking in many places. Awesome smooth path, a great mix of buildings, parks and nature!
We love this ride.
This wonderful trail now begins at the Andrew Polk State Historic Site.
Smooth as heck. Excellent scenery. Decent mix of trees and open space. Some slight hills, good mix of winding roads and straight away. Everyone will enjoy. Easy to navigate as posts state which turns are exits! NC best!
Was not a fan of this trail. If your not from the Charlotte area it’s confusing. I found it hard to figure out where all the different sections connect. I left let down.
Love this trail! Beautiful and well lit definitely will be back! Highly recommend!
Great ride! The part through the park is under construction. Will definitely be back!
A nice ride through the city connecting several parks. Fairly flat with several turns and some great scenery. Only complaint is the northern part of the trail has a lot of street crossings and can be a little confusing to navigate back on the trail. Will definitely ride again though.
A great trail connecting some of the Southern-most parts of the city all the way up to North of Uptown - with just a few missing links that are currently in progress. When fully completely this will be an even bigger asset to every person in CLT. So many beautiful spots along the way, especially near Park Road Park and just North or Park Road Shopping Center.
Great ride along Sugar Creek. Lots of historical markers explaining construction of the restoration of Sugar Creek through downtown Charlotte.
Nice walk following Little Sugar Creek into the city and out. The trail is concert and it does cross over several roads. The walk or bike is very level and very nice to see some wild life such as a bonny have a pleasant time eating some grass.
My wife and I have walked the 7th St. to Freedom Park portion of this Greenway many times (alone or with our dogs) and we love it. The scenery is great. Lots of walkers, bikers and runners on nice days. The Metropolitan is right on the route and has stores and restaurants. Alternates between sunny and shady, plenty of places to rest on benches or on the grass. Public restroom is available between The Metropolitan and Morehead St., and are clean and well maintained. We have also walked the 12th St. to Cordelia Park section of this Greenway and it is a hidden gem. Not nearly as busy as the section I reviewed above, and as such I wouldn't recommend for a woman walking or running solo. Nonetheless, we've never felt at all unsafe and it is a very pretty walk.
Scenic, relatively flat, lots of changes of scenery.
Overall, it's fairly skatable, but there are some declines around blind curves into the tunnels under bridges, so you have to be comfortable letting down slowly into that until you can see whether someone is coming from the other direction.
Lots of joggers and some cyclists occasionally taking up the whole path, so you can't count on having passing room or an open "lane". No place for speed, but plenty of opportunity for practicing low and slow.
My husband and I hit this greenway this morning early...about 7 am (we knew it would hit 99 degrees today). We loved every single thing about this trail. It reminded us so much of our beloved Minnehaha Parkway near our old home in South Minneapolis. But this route has so many cool features to explore.
This is a gem, and as it grows it becomes a better gem! I've seen it being developed, which brought excitement to my entire family! We've used it for biking, running, and strollering! It is a great way to connect different areas of Charlotte, can't wait to see it grow some more. Get out and ride!
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