About nine miles of greenway opened around the Charlotte area in 2025.
Why it matters: As Charlotte’s population grows, so does its demand for outdoor space. Expanding the county’s network of greenways is costly work that takes years when considering land acquisition and engineering — but it reflects the region’s broader goal of improving access to the outdoors.
State of play: As of December 2025, 17.4 miles of greenway are under construction between Mecklenburg County greenways and the City of Charlotte’s Cross Charlotte Trail (XCLT), Mecklenburg County, Park and Recreation senior planner Katie Lloyd tells Axios.
- There are 9.8 miles of greenway in design, plus nine more miles of greenway currently funded by the Capital Improvement Plan. The latter miles have not begun the design phase yet.
- You can weigh in on greenway projects on the Park and Recreation public input dashboard here.
By the numbers: As of Dec. 22, 2025, the county had acquired 140.1 acres in fiscal year 2026, 18.2 of which are for greenways.
- As a whole, the Charlotte region currently has 84 miles of greenway trail, 25 miles of access trail and 30 miles of urban trail.
Below are new greenway sections, listed alphabetically, that opened in 2024.
Caldwell Station Tributary Greenway
The 0.8-mile section of trail from Caldwell Station to Northern Regional Recreation Center (18121 Old Statesville Road) in Cornelius opened in the spring…