You are walking along a well-kept trail within Raleigh’s city limits. Despite its proximity to a neighborhood, sounds of the city are muted. You hear the soft creak and sway of the high canopy in a spring breeze, and the resonating rapping of a woodpecker a few trees over. The path is worn, though clearly marked circular white blazes provide steady assurance you’re on the right track.
Visit trails.nc.gov to start your journey on our state trails, or visit greattrailsnc.com to learn about the hundreds of other trails that make North Carolina the Great Trails State.
This is an afternoon stroll, but a part of you is in awe of what could be more — this is no ordinary trail. It’s the Mountains-to-Sea Trail (MST), part of a network of North Carolina State Trails, and it could carry you west to the sweeping vistas of the Smokies, or east to the salty air of the Outer Banks.
There are currently 15 state trails in all, each designated for its significance and managed through local partnerships. From hiking and paddling, to horseback riding and history, the nature of each trail is unique, traversing some of the state’s most magnificent terrain.
“North Carolina’s state trails represent the best of our incredibly diverse landscapes — places where you can walk, ride a bike or horse, or paddle, and enjoy the beauty of nature as well as some of our most interesting communities,” explains Palmer McIntyre, director of the Great Trails State Coalition. “All trails are special, but these have received grassroots support and have been recognized as resources by the General Assembly.”
Once they receive state authorization, state trails become units of North Carolina State Parks, although it’s up to designated partner organizations to help build and maintain them.
“These special trails are a great way to explore our amazing state,” Palmer says, “while appreciating the tireless efforts of partners who are working to complete this vast trail network.”
Here are a few examples of what the State Trails system is all about
1,175 miles | Kuwohi to Jockey’s Ridge State Park
This is the longest trail in the system, and arguably the most well-known and iconic. The idea of a trail spanning the width of the state was born in the 1970s, with then Secretary of the NC Department of Natural Resources and Community Development Howard Lee championing the idea. It was designated a state trail in 2000.
The MST’s partner organization is Friends of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail, which maintains 725 miles of hiking trail with plans to move connecting interim segments off backroads. Its 18 segments run from Kuwohi (formerly Clingman’s Dome) in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, to Asheville, northeast through Boone, and east through the Triad, the Triangle, and a loop encompassing the Coastal Plain and Outer Banks.
For those planning to thru-hike the trail — which more than 200 have done since 1997 — it can take three to four months, and it’s recommended to hike west from the coast in spring or fall months.
215 miles | Roanoke Rapids Lake to the Albemarle Sound
Several State Trails traverse rivers for those wanting to get a paddle wet. The Roanoke River State Trail immerses paddlers in iconic wetlands, following the Roanoke River through what’s considered to be the largest intact and least-disturbed bottomland forest ecosystem in the mid-Atlantic.
Though not as lofty an undertaking as the MST, this paddle trail will likely take a multi-day effort and is peppered with raised platform campsites to keep overnighters high and dry. The trail follows the Roanoke River from Roanoke Rapids to the Albemarle Sound, then northward with access to Edenton and other parts of Chowan County. Its partner organization is the nonprofit Roanoke River Partners, which maintains camping platforms, town riverfront projects and boat ramps along the route.
If you’re paddling this trail, expect to see bears, beavers, river otters and more than 200 bird species flitting about ancient bald cypress and tupelo trees.
350 miles (planned) | Eight counties in S. Piedmont
State Trails continue to be considered and designated by the General Assembly, and a recent addition to the network will cater to horse lovers. The Equine State Trail was authorized in 2023 and is a planned loop through Chatham, Cumberland, Harnett, Hoke, Lee, Montgomery, Moore and Richmond counties. The Sandhills region it traverses is a world-renowned destination for horse training and trail riding, and is home to NC State University’s Equine Health Center, as well as the 4,000-acre Walthour-Moss Foundation — a nature preserve originally developed for trail riding.
The North Carolina Horse Council is the trail’s partner organization, and although a long-distance route has yet to be established, riders can enjoy rolling segments of existing trails in spots like Weymouth Woods Sandhills Nature Preserve, Jordan Lake State Recreation Area and Raven Rock State Park.
225 miles | 11 counties in Western North Carolina
This trail’s history includes a Congressional designation as a National History Trail in 1980, although its significance long predates that recognition. In total the trail crosses four states (North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia), retracing the path used by patriot militia groups during the pivotal Kings Mountain campaign of the Revolutionary War. The resounding patriot victory at Kings Mountain on Oct. 7, 1780, was the beginning of the end of British control in the South, deemed by Thomas Jefferson as “The turn of the tide of success.”
Today, the portion of the trail that passes through North Carolina is maintained by The Overmountain Victory North Carolina State Trail–Friends (OVNCST-Friends) partner organization. Hikers can walk the same paths used by “Overmountain Men” mustering to defend their mountain homes, encountering reenactors at events such as the upcoming Independence Day celebration at Kings Mountain National Military Park near Blacksburg, South Carolina.
About the Author
Scott Gates is the senior editor of Carolina Country.
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