Explore the best rated trails in Durham, NC, whether you're looking for an easy walking trail or a bike trail like the Northeast Community Greenway and Carolina North Greenway . With more than 71 trails covering 268 miles you're bound to find a perfect trail for you. Click on any trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
My husband & I recently moved to NC. This trail is only 5.7 miles from our new home. It was our first trail we went on in NC. 11/25/2023. Once there, you can go left or right. We went to the right side today riding our bikes. Will ride the left side next weekend. We would say it's easy to moderate. Just a couple of hills, a lot of bridges, several benches along the way, open fields, pull outs to take photos, very shaded etc. It wasn't too crowded, everyone we encountered was friendly. We even seen a huge buck! & a couple other deers. Also seen a lot of squirrels & birds. If you enjoy nature on a very nice paved path this is a wonderful place we will return too. I’m sure if we were walking we would have seen a lot more wildlife. It took us 30 minutes to get to the HWY where we turned around just casually riding our bikes. If you’re pushing it I would say it could be completed in 20 min or so riding fast. We will try that later. Put this trail on your list to visit. You won’t be disappointed! Love! Love! Love!
My son and I wanted a place to walk that was easy, pretty and wheelchair friendly. Parking was great. We had no problem on any part of the trail. I guess the one down fall is to continue the trail around the water you walk on a main roads sidewalk. I did not want to do that so we turned around and back tracked the trail. Which was great for us. We saw turtles and cranes.
The American Tobacco Trail is an excellent trail for bikers, walkers, runners, and horseback riders. I did a bunch of research via YouTube on the trail before I drove the hour to get to it. It was shaded, easy to find, and the trail surfaces were superb and easy to ride.
There were available bathrooms at the trailhead and in different areas along the trail. It was exceptionally busy with the cooler temps so you need to watch out for oncoming traffic (runners, bikes).
If I had to pick something to improve, I would fix two things to make the trail even better. First, the markings as you get into the outskirts of Durham (from the south). We missed the trail marker and had a slight diversion. The other thing I would do to improve this great trail experience would be putting more garbage cans throughout the trail to throw out any trash and especially for folks cleaning up after their dogs (doggie bags). No one wants to carry that for a few miles.
This is an easy to use trail for walking or slow bike riding. It will become a lot longer in the future and connect to other trails at Bond Park. When completed you will be able to travel all the way to Crabtree lake by trails.
I started at Solite Park and went to the end and back on my mountain bike (around 30 miles) in around 3.5 hours. The ride is very smooth and scenic.
Some things to consider: A lot of the trail is in the sun and I got a little burnt. There are many places to fill up a water bottle (at least in the summer) so water was never an issue. Have a trail map accessible on your phone because there are some spots that are a little confusing.
I did the trail alone starting around noon. Next time if I start earlier in the morning I would like to do the whole thing.
This trail did not disappoint (except it ended). Danville is to be commended!! Smooth well kept pathway! We started at The Danville Farmer’s market, rode the cobblestone streets to the Main Street Plaza, down to the trail which zips along the river back to where we started. Then we went across the trail bridge and followed the trail down river to the end at the airport. The trail is relatively flat until you pass through Angler’s Park! Then you have some real hills to get up!!! We were thankful for assist from our e-bikes. But oh, what a lovely ride!! We followed the trail back to the Farmers market - refilled our water bottles and headed back across the bridge to finish the other side of the trail. This part is lovely even though you are behind business for some of it. And there is one part that is not complete (i.e gravel - though someone painted the big rocks which was very nice!) We road (with some overlap) about 20 miles!! We will be back!
Biked this section during a trip, nice surface, diamond hill memorial was newly refreshed. Great ride! Recommend if in the area.
Biked from la crosse 10 miles east and back in June on a Wednesday, no other bikes seen, first 5 miles paved, second 5 wooded with nice surface, saw one jogger and one walker on the paved end, treasure trail with what appeared as low useage
I have both biked and walked sections. Very interesting historical markers along the trail. Good surface
We haven’t been on a ton of trails, but this one’s the nicest so far. Lots of flowing river views, plenty of wildlife and a brewery too! You should check it out
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