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Print Friendly MapThe Twelve Mile Creek Trail, which runs northeast from Walnut Creek Park over the South Carolina/North Carolina state line to Waxhaw, is part of the Carolina Thread Trail—a growing trail network of more than 200 miles across North and South Carolina. Surrounded by trees and following its namesake creek, this trail offers a wooded paradise for anyone who loves the outdoors. Various surface types provide a vast array of activities for any nature-loving adventure seeker.
Currently, there are two trail segments separated by a short gap in the route in Waxhaw, NC. The southwest section is about 4.5 miles and the northeast section is 1.6 miles.
Starting from Walnut Creek Park at its southern-most end, the trail meanders along the Twelve Mile Creek and through the neighborhood of Walnut Creek. The trail entrance is located at the northwest corner of the park and continues along the southeast bank of the creek.
Walnut Creek Park (10521 Walnut Creek Pkwy, Lancaster) has baseball fields, tennis courts, pickle ball courts, playgrounds soccer fields and plenty of parking. There is a large, covered picnic shelter and a park office building with restrooms and concessions. The Twelve Mile Creek Trail will eventually provide the scenic backdrop for a new residential and commercial development. The Walnut Creek subdivision is a planned development district consisting of over 900 acres which has been approved for 2,000 homes, 10 acres of future retail and commercial development and a 61-acre county park.
For about 3.7 miles, the route has a natural surface with sections of boardwalk in the wetter areas and a few bridges. The trail crosses over the water via the Carrington Drive Bridge and continues on the northwest bank of the creek. About a half mile after the bridge but before the next one, a spur trail splits off the main route and heads north through the woods for about 0.4 miles. Known as the Walnut Creek Blue Trail, this short path has a natural surface and ends at 79205 Ridgehaven Rd, Lancaster across from Carrington Park.
At the state line, the route reaches the Cross-State Suspension Bridge, a 170-foot pedestrian bridge that spans the creek. After crossing the bridge into North Carolina, the trail is also known as the Twelve Mile Creek Greenway and briefly continues as a natural surface trail until it crosses the road at 1523 Millbridge Pkwy. Signage at this waypoint refers to the trail as the Carolina Thread Trail, because it is included that trail network. There is also a pet waste bag station here.
On the east side of Millbridge Pkwy, the trail continues with a wide, paved surface that makes for a smooth ride. Winding along the creek for about a mile, the trail forks with the northern branch crossing a bridge over the creek to connect to H.C. Nesbit Park and the western branch coming to an end around 2839 Creekview Drive. The Millbridge Trailhead for the Twelve Mile Creek Greenway is located at H.C. Nesbit Park (1304 H C Nesbit Park Rd, Waxhaw). Situated in Millbridge's residential community and adjacent to Kensington Elementary School, the park has baseball fields, softball fields, multi-purpose fields, lit fields, and picnic tables.
The northeast section of the trail picks up a little further north at Town Creek Park (4240 Waxhaw-Marvin Rd, Waxhaw) and is paved with asphalt. The 19-acre community park has restrooms, a playground, an open grassy field, a pavilion with picnic tables, and a little free library. From the park, the trail follows the creek through the woods in the Prescot neighborhood to 7923 Prescott Glen Pkwy, Waxhaw. The paved trail is likely navigable for people using mobility aids and families with strollers. Eventually, this section of the trail will connect to the future Millbridge subdivision trails to the west in Lancaster, S.C. and the southwest segment of the Twelve Mile Creek Trail.
Parking is available at a number of locations along the trail. View the TrailLink map for all options and detailed directions. Parking locations include Walnut Creek Park (10521 Walnut Creek Parkway, Lancaster), H.C. Nesbit Park (1304 H C Nesbit Park Rd, Waxhaw), and Town Creek Park (4240 Waxhaw-Marvin Rd, Waxhaw).
Access is available at multiple points along the trail, including Carrington Drive and Millbridge Parkway for people on foot or bike.
Not for someone who's not used to trails with no markers! My walk started off great and I started from Waxhaw, 7900 Prescott Glen Pkwy- beautiful walk but after walking a few miles there was a threat of rain so I turned around and obviously took a wrong path because nothing is marked! I walked out to a street hoping to find direction but it was pouring rain. I stopped to ask directions from a couple on their porch with young children and they said I was about 3 miles from where I parked and offered me a ride. These larger parks need trail markers because this was an experience I could have done without!
This is a nice trail that backs up to a neighborhood. It is adphalted and smooth. It can be deceiving in that you see a lot of gravel before seeing the trail.
Wife and I hiked this trail from the NC side, parked at Harvey Clay Nesbit park, and used Carolina Thread Trail "clues" to link to this trail. We did hike the full trail to Walnut Creek side - as others have mentioned there are some rough/rugged spots so a true MTB is recommended, but hiking in sturdy shoes gets the job done too.
Beautiful trail overall.
Loved it! As others have mentioned, this is more of a singletrack mountain biking or hiking trail.
Great trail but I wouldn't try it on anything less than a solid mountain bike. Lots of small up/down hills almost almost to the point of being moguls, hairpin curves, narrow bridges, and a few small hill climbs within a rutted out rocky terrain. I only made it 2 miles in before I ran out of time but I'll certainly be going back.
This trail is easily accessible from Waxhaw, NC. Go west on NC75 to Hancock Rd. at the NC-SC state line turn right go to Walnut Creek Parkway( there's no street sign but it's the only divided street) turn left go a short distance to the traffic circle. Parking lot is by the traffic circle and the trail head is at the back of the lot.
You will like this trail as it snakes along side 12 mile creek with some fun whoop de do areas and nice shaded sections, and I like the bridges over the little feeder creeks.
I will be visiting this trail a couple of times a week!
The trail is a mountain bike trail, roots, ruts, sharp turns and steep little hills. I was riding a hybrid bike and I was able to negotiate the trail, but it was at the limit for my bike. Only did about a mile.
The location was not findable with my GPS unit using the adress and streets.
Might be best to search for the Park name in order to get led to the correct location. We entered the address into Google maps and did not end up at the park --- close, but not exactly spot on. Once on the trail, we enjoyed the ups and downs of the mostly isolated and remote path. Construction of nearby homes could introduce noise pollution; we were thankful that we went on a weekend. Trail begins on paved park trails then changes to dirt for the remainder. We only made it to mile 2 before turning around, for a nice total of 4 miles on our afternoon walk. We will pack water next time and a little snack in order to be well fueled for the full trip. Two points that were especially nice: One was when the trail meandered through a beautiful white pine forest -- with those beautiful pine needles covering the forest floor and path. The second was a section where the trail looked down a steep bank to the creek below.
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