Contents
3 Irwin Creek and Stewart Creek Greenway
7 Latta Plantation: Piedmont Prairie Trail & Mountain Island Lake Loop
8 South Mountains State Park: High Shoal Falls Trail
9 South Mountains State Park: River Trail
10 Torrence Creek Greenway East
11 University Research Park Trail
12 Morrow Mountain State Park: Fall Mountain Trail
13 Morrow Mountain State Park: Sugarloaf Mountain Trail
15 Reedy Creek Nature Preserve: Dragonfly Pond Loop
16 University of North Carolina at Charlotte Botanical Gardens
17 Uwharrie National Forest: Badin Lake Trail
18 Uwharrie National Forest: Birkhead Mountains Wilderness Trail
19 Cane Creek Park: Northern Red Loop Trail
20 Cane Creek Park: Southern Trails
21 McAlpine Creek Greenway Loop
22 McAlpine Creek Park: Pond Loop
23 McDowell Nature Preserve: Trail Combo 1
24 McDowell Nature Preserve: Trail Combo 2
25 Crowders Mountain State Park: Lake Loop
26 Crowders Mountain State Park: Trail Combo
27 Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden
28 Kings Mountain National Military Park: Battlefield Trail
29 Kings Mountain State Park: Historic Farm Trail
30 Kings Mountain State Park: Trail Combo
31 U.S. National Whitewater Center: Lake Loop
32 U.S. National Whitewater Center: North Main Trail
Dedication
This book is dedicated to Jessica Nile. Thanks for being there with me every step of the way.
Acknowledgments
Thanks to all the trail crews and workers who have spent countless days in the dirt of the forest chipping rock, cutting trees, cleaning trails and rivers, and constructing bridges so that those of us who enjoy nature so much may have a path in which to explore it. Thanks also to those who have advocated for the trails and greenways around Charlotte. The trails are some of the best in the country, and creating them is no easy task. Your work does not go unnoticed or unappreciated. Finally, thanks to Susan Haynes and Scott McGrew for making the book possible, and to my friends and family for being so supportive of this project.
—Joshua Kinser
Preface
When I first started working on this project, I always got the same response when I told people who didn’t live in Charlotte that I was writing a hiking guidebook to the city: “Charlotte? I didn’t think there was much hiking in Charlotte.” This couldn’t be further from the truth, and those of us who live in and around this great city know how much hiking Charlotte has to offer. Truly amazing and diverse hiking experiences are here for the seeking.
True