Explore the best rated trails in Raleigh, NC, whether you're looking for an easy walking trail or a bike trail like the Carolina North Greenway and Riverwalk Greenway . With more than 67 trails covering 232 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.
Great trail. Scenic, uncrowded, plentiful and safe parking. Continuous rolling hills. Boardwalks are wet, moldy and very TREACHEROUS even in dry weather. Be aware. Saw 3 wipeouts within 5 miles. Boardwalk with cover near falls was dry. Others you will want to walk your bike across. ¿¿¿¿¿
The hills and curves gave this paved and wooden bridge trail a comfortable moderate challenge. Trail is mostly shady with a couple covered bridges given you a nice break from the sun. There were plenty of benches and restrooms. No stores, so don’t forget to bring plenty of water.
This was our first time doing a trail with our E-bikes! It was a pretty fun trail! We did it twice in one day! Made us sore tho! The first part is down hill which is fun but has to go back up it! Wasn’t to bad!
parked at the nature center (bathrooms!) and walked to the right on the advice of a local that that was the prettier way to go (it was lovely) - took about a mile to get to the river - did 1.75 one way for a 3.5 mile walk - we were driving GA to NJ on 95 and we took the ten minute detour off the highway to break up the drive with a nice walk - WELL WELL worth it ! - would like to come back with the bike someday and see the whole trail
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