North Carolina Rail-Trails preserves rail corridors and works with communities across North Carolina to create trails for public use on abandoned rail corridors.
Rail-trails differ from other trails and greenways in several characteristics. The terrain for rail-trails is generally flat or gently sloped because the land was originally engineered for rail use. This makes rail-trails wonderful places to ride a bike and many are wheelchair accessible. Also, rail corridors are usually wide enough to accommodate many different types of trail use: biking, walking, jogging, horseback riding, dog walking, pogo-sticking … the possibilities are endless.
Another positive attribute of a rail-trail is that it actually goes somewhere. Just as trains go from one community to the next, so does the rail-trail, creating a natural link between communities. Today, we can maintain these community links by utilizing existing rail corridors that are so perfectly suited for trails.
