Charlotte Greenways and Trails

[RANYC]

On 4/28/2023 at 1:35 PM, KJHburg said:

walk on Mallard Creek Greenway today and the creeks are very high.  Be aware and especially under bridges.  With more rain later today expect minor flooding.  

Where can I go to escape these power lines, arrrrrrggggghhhhh

[Madison Parkitect]

10 minutes ago, RANYC said:

Where can I go to escape these power lines, arrrrrrggggghhhhh

Somewhere outside the colored areas on this map 

[KJHburg]

Find your trail here and no power lines I could see.  Frank  Liske Park in Concord and Pharr Mill Park in Harrisburg.  Today.   A muddy Rocky River.  

[KJHburg]

They finally updated the Meck County greenway page and it is easier to follow.

https://parkandrec.mecknc.gov/Places-to-Visit/greenways    

In the last 7 days I have been all over the state so not as many photos of trails in the local area  but here are some in the Great Trail state of NC.  Remember this is the Year of the Trail.  Find your trail in NC this year whether local or explore a new one like these. 

Hemlock Bluffs a Cary park   (not a power tower in sight)  Photos 1-6

Medoc Mountain State Park NE of Raleigh in Halifax County    Photos 7-12

Mackay Island National Wildlife Refuge in Currituck County (far NE corner of the state)   Photos 13-16

and finally today Yadkin River Greenway (at Moravian Creek)  in Wilkes County part of the Overmountain Historical Trail the rest of the photos.  

So find your trail locally or across the state and get out and enjoy the state of NC! 

[InSouthPark]

Construction update on the McMullen Greenway and Ballantyne bowl connection. Progress being made it doesn’t look like it to be open before the end of the summer.

Edited May 30, 2023 by InSouthPark

[KJHburg]

This Saturday is National Trails Day show post your trail photos.  Get out and explore a new trail in the metro area.

https://www.carolinathreadtrail.org/ntd/

Here is the newest section of LSCG that will take you from NoDa to the SC line.  the newest leg from Polk Birthplace to the state line is now open.  I previewed it a few months back.

https://charlotte.axios.com/323761/new-3-mile-stretch-of-cross-charlotte-trail-opens-in-april/

Edited June 2, 2023 by KJHburg

[KJHburg]

Love this new stretch of the Little Sugar Greenway to the SC state line.  I started in SC as there is a small parking lot on Gilroy Dr. but so did many other NC plated vehicles had the same idea   The vibe of the trail: lots of bridges high over the creek some old growth forest some newer forestation  some open flood plain but the greenway stays high above the creek.  

Met with a guy who was disappointed that there was not a Welcome to SC sign as he had biked from uptown but there is no signage yet at all.   So I started from Gilroy Drive Fort Mill and walked  to  and from Pineville's Lake Park.  I had walked the other stretch before it opened a few months back from James K Polk SHS.

Note to Bikers:  Please announce with an audible or bell that you are passing me as there is no need to breeze by my elbow,  You want respect on the streets respect the pedestrians on the trail too.  I would say 2 out of 10 announce they are passing. 

 

I would encourage you all to check this stretch out and it does have some hills up and down as it follows the very meandering LSC.  NC starts when the pavement starts then some gravel then dirt into the SC parking lot. 

Photos from SC state line up to Pineville Lake Park and back.  Few neighborhood connections which is great and there is one bridge still under construction.  Explore your own urban county. 

[Bikeguy]

Rode this Friday.  It really is a cut above. 

The many vistas that come into view with each bend in the creek, seem serendipitous .

We biked into Pineville's CBD via the dog park and the very quiet and cycle friendly Johnston Drive.  Ate a great lunch at Margaux's with an accompanying  & refreshingly cold Hefe-Weizen. 

https://www.margauxswine.com/

[elrodvt]

Nice pics. I too like this section. 

Why are "few neighborhood connections nice" ?

We've been stuck here with only 1 because of suits over easements which you would think are rock solid but evidently take years of courts to verify. It's crazy the money being wasted on lawyers. Seems like nothing is ever settled. If you have enough money to blow you can have your day in court be groundhog day. 

[KJHburg]

9 hours ago, elrodvt said:

Nice pics. I too like this section. 

Why are "few neighborhood connections nice" ?

We've been stuck here with only 1 because of suits over easements which you would think are rock solid but evidently take years of courts to verify. It's crazy the money being wasted on lawyers. Seems like nothing is ever settled. If you have enough money to blow you can have your day in court be groundhog day. 

I mean there is not as many neighborhoods surrounding this stretch (as this area is not as built up as other areas further north)  but I did see greenway connections to them including one still under construction.  Once you cross in NC from SC there is no neighborhoods for a while but when they pop up there are connections to them. 

[Durhamite]

On 5/1/2023 at 11:37 AM, Madison Parkitect said:

Somewhere outside the colored areas on this map 

You can’t escape it, the grid is the grid no matter where you go.  It’s all tied together with very little nuance in regards to physical infrastructure and connection points.  It cost hella money to bury existing power lines.  It can be done but be wary of that power bill. 

[elrodvt]

"the grid is the grid"

I'm no expert but excepting Texas right? I was listening to a podcast on how they separated themselves which was interesting and seems Texas sized dumb. Now they're reacting to the weather outages they had by trying to prevent more solar and wind. Basically making the permit process to add green energy to your home intolerable. I understand the baseload argument but this seems more like a holy war than trying to fix the need for more baseload. 

[KJHburg]

Back on the greenways here is the current project list of future greenways. 

https://parkandrec.mecknc.gov/site-menu/current-projects

[lit]

Are they going to continue construction and possibly connect the bottom end of the LSC Greenway to the Nation Ford Greenway? There's only about a mile gap between them

[KJHburg]

McDowell Greenway is a peaceful walk away from the hustle and bustle of Birkdale Village and directly behind it.  Saw 6 rabbits and 1 black snake on a short walk.  Also saw a hawk dive bomb into that pond and get a fish.   Then I ate dinner at Birkdale Village. 

@tozmervo what is new this passport control for town of Cornelius?  

 

 

[KJHburg]

Was up on another Raleigh greenway this past week and do like the way they have lane markings and people really abide by them unless passing.  Their signage is good too. 

This is the Year of the Trail in NC find your trail locally or anywhere in the state.  And it is fun to explore new greenways in other parts of the state.  I have been this year on some in Wilkesboro, Rocky Mount, Cary, Raleigh. 

https://raleighnc.gov/reedy-creek-trail

[videtur quam contuor]

14 hours ago, KJHburg said:

McDowell Greenway is a peaceful walk away from the hustle and bustle of Birkdale Village and directly behind it.  Saw 6 rabbits and 1 black snake on a short walk.  Also saw a hawk dive bomb into that pond and get a fish.   Then I ate dinner at Birkdale Village. 

@tozmervo what is new this passport control for town of Cornelius?  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/essay/artIV-S1-1/ALDE_00013015/

Citation in case control officer acts. Not that it would be understood by a Cornelian (?)

[KJHburg]

this section of the Little Sugar Greenway is officially opened (I thought it already was as I have walked a while back)

https://charlotte.axios.com/334032/new-1-5-mile-stretch-of-the-cross-charlotte-trail-by-park-road-shopping-center-is-now-open/

[InSouthPark]

13 hours ago, KJHburg said:

this section of the Little Sugar Greenway is officially opened (I thought it already was as I have walked a while back)

https://charlotte.axios.com/334032/new-1-5-mile-stretch-of-the-cross-charlotte-trail-by-park-road-shopping-center-is-now-open/

They typically wait until all the grass and trees they planted in late late spring are fully dead before they do a grand opening!  At least that that was plan for other sections of little sugar creek haha.  It looked terrible. They would hydro-seed in late may and all the grass would be dead by summer for the grand openings. Half the trees they planted would also be dead. I understand the rush to open these, but why does the city insist on wasting money by planting things right before summer (and most times, never reseed in fall).  Typically the only hope is bermuda creeps in from somewhere and its full sun. At least in fall, stuff would have a chance.

[elrodvt]

The new section of sugar Creek is great. Really enjoying it.

Can I get from there to uptown now without going on roads or at least not major ones? 

[KJHburg]

1 hour ago, elrodvt said:

The new section of sugar Creek is great. Really enjoying it.

Can I get from there to uptown now without going on roads or at least not major ones? 

absolutely from Polk State Historical Site actually at the SC NC border you can use the trail all the way to uptown and to NoDa.  There is a one section under reconstruction near Atrium hospital there is a detour but other than that yes continuous trails off the roads except for that one detour  

[DJ8hep]

The place that I moved to is within walking distance of the Little Sugar Creek Greenway!

 

[KJHburg]

From Twitter and I guess now I have to look out for cars on the greenway!

Little Sugar Creek Greenway 9 am Sunday near Park Crossing. Car is gone now.

[InSouthPark]

The latest greenway extension (51 to Johnson Rd) is officially "underway".  This will connect multiple apartments neighborhoods to the McMullen greenway.   It will also provide easy grocery store access to not only Lidl but to the new Publix under construction.  There has also been a bevy of re-zoning in the immediate area around Carmel Commons (including multi-family) which will all have access to the extension.  A GC has been selected (Eagle Wood). Visible construction is supposed to be by EOY.  18-24 month construction time line (for 1 mile?!).

Will also include a new parking lot on 51 (but no bathroom facility due to the flooding risk). 

This project was re-railed years ago by Country Day and Carmel Country Club who (along with their neighbors) to quash the extension up the the school. They didn't want poor people to have easy access to their neighborhood of multi-million dollar home off Green Rea. 

Unrelated note about Carmel Country Club: if you ever drove by and saw cars parked all out front on the grass every damn day...it won't happen anymore...you're welcome.  They thought it was their right to use public right of way to park their cars on the grass because "they don't have enough parking".  LOL. 

 

[CLT2014]

11 minutes ago, InSouthPark said:

Unrelated note about Carmel Country Club: if you ever drove by and saw cars parked all out front on the grass every damn day...it won't happen anymore...you're welcome.  They thought it was their right to use public right of way to park their cars on the grass because "they don't have enough parking".  LOL. 

 

There were cars parked there so much I figured they owned that land. If they don't, I'm glad you did something about it! It looked like it was usually employees forced to park off property for busy days for members like weddings or hot summer days with high pool usage. 

I wonder who put the gravel in there and why there is a little driveway. 

Edited August 7, 2023 by CLT2014