Long before hikers and cyclists traded engines for trail shoes, a massive tobacco empire ruled this corner of North Carolina. J.B. Duke built an industrial powerhouse so colossal that the federal government ultimately dismantled it in 1911. While the railroad that fed his historic Durham factories faded away decades ago, the corridor it left behind now forms one of the state’s most beloved outdoor escapes.
What the Ride Is Like
The northern 11.4 miles in Durham County are paved and urban, starting right across Morehead Avenue from the Durham Bulls Athletic Park. The parking area here is accessed from Morehead Avenue and Blackwell Street, though there are no restroom facilities at this trailhead.
Roughly three miles south, the trail passes the site of an unmarked grave belonging to Blind Boy Fuller, the Piedmont blues guitarist who died in 1941 and is considered by many the genre’s finest player from this region. A commemorative marker sits about 460 feet down the trail.
South of Durham, the corridor shifts character. The 4.7-mile Chatham County section, managed by the Town of Cary, mixes a paved lane with a gravel equestrian lane. The southernmost 6.5 miles in Wake County are gravel and managed by Wake County Parks and Recreation.
Wildlife sightings pick up noticeably in the rural stretches: beavers, herons, hawks, owls, turtles, and deer show up regularly, and several old railroad bridges carry the trail over streams along the way…