Joshua Kinser - Five-Star Trails: Charlotte: Your Guide to the Areas Most Beautiful Hikes

Center City

North of Charlotte

East of Charlotte

South of Charlotte

West of Charlotte

NEARLY 4 MILES OF TRAILS WIND ALONG THE LAKESHORE AND THROUGH THE FORMAL GARDENS OF BEAUTIFUL JETTON PARK.

Five-Star Trails Charlotte

Your Guide to the Areas Most Beautiful Hikes

Copyright 2012 by Joshua Kinser

All rights reserved

Published by Menasha Ridge Press

Distributed by Publishers Group West

Printed in the United States of America

First edition, first printing

Edited by Amber Kaye Henderson

Cover design by Scott McGrew

Text design by Annie Long

All photographs by Joshua Kinser unless otherwise noted

Cartography and elevation profiles by Joshua Kinser and Scott McGrew

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Kinser, Joshua.

Five-star trails : Charlotte : your guide to the areas most beautiful hikes / Joshua Kinser.

p. cm.

ISBN-13: 978-0-89732-888-3

ISBN-10: 0-89732-888-4

eISBN: 978-0-89732-949-1

1. HikingNorth CarolinaCharlotteGuidebooks. 2. TrailsNorth CarolinaCharlotteGuidebooks. 3. Charlotte (N.C.)Guidebooks. I. Title.

GV199.42.N662C55 2012

796.5109756dc23

2012030982

Menasha Ridge Press

P.O. Box 43673

Birmingham, AL 35243

menasharidge.com

Disclaimer

This book is meant only as a guide to select trails in and near Charlotte, North Carolina, and the greater metropolitan area. This book does not guarantee hiker safety in any wayyou hike at your own risk. Neither Menasha Ridge Press nor Joshua Kinser is liable for property loss or damage, personal injury, or death that result in any way from accessing or hiking the trails described in the following pages. Please be especially cautious when walking in potentially hazardous terrains with, for example, steep inclines or drop-offs. Do not attempt to explore terrain that may be beyond your abilities. Please read carefully the introduction to this book, as well as further safety information from other sources. Familiarize yourself with current weather reports and maps of the area you plan to visit (in addition to the maps provided in this guidebook). Know park regulations, and always follow them. Do not take chances.

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 didnt live in Charlotte that I was writing a hiking guidebook to the city: Charlotte? I didnt think there was much hiking in Charlotte. This couldnt 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 enough, most hikers and outdoor enthusiasts consider the Smoky Mountains region of the Appalachians to be the real jewel of Western North Carolina. But driving from Charlotte to Asheville and the national park isnt something youre going to do when you want to take a walk after work or spend a weekend afternoon hiking a leafy path alongside a rolling creek. And you dont need to, either. The mountains are a lot closer than you think: within an hours drive from downtown. And so much hiking is available around Charlotte that you just cant experience anywhere else, so theres really no need to go anywhere else.

One interesting aspect about Charlotte is that no particular area around the city stands out as the epicenter of hiking. The best trails lie in every direction and they are spread out, so no matter where you live in Charlotte, or no matter where youre staying while youre visiting, youre likely to find a great trail nearby if you know where to look. This book makes it easy. Its divided into regions that include downtown Charlotte and the regions east, west, south, and north of town. Simply flip to the table of contents and check out the trails in the region closest to you.

If youre unsure where to start in your hiking explorations, then look no further of this book for a list of grouped in nine categories. The trails in this book have been selected to not only provide a selection of the best hikes in the city but also to provide a reflection of the different types of trails, routes, terrain, and environments you can experience around Charlotte. All of the trails in the book are day hikes and are offered in a variety of multiple lengths and varying difficulty, from a short and flat walk through a forest and around a pond on one of Charlottes many great greenway trails to an arduous 7-mile foray into a mountainous wilderness.

In putting this book together, I made sure that it offered more than rugged trails through long trudges of mountains and gaps. I wanted this book to offer routes through every aspect of Charlotte. Thats why it includes walks through downtown that let you explore key attractions, parks, and dining districts; a route through the amazingly restored Historic Fourth Ward neighborhood, where you can take in the citys finest 19th-century homes; and detailed routes through two of the countrys best botanical gardens: the University of North Carolina at Charlotte Botanical Gardens and the Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden. While the above are not challenging walks in the woods, they are just as memorable and really give you the opportunity to experience Charlotte as a whole and not just its parks and forests.

AN EASTERN FENCE LIZARD SUNBATHES BESIDE THE TRAIL AT LATTA PLANTATION.

Die-hard hikers have no need to worry, though: Ive included plenty of day-long ambles over rocky-topped mountains that get the heart racing and the calves pounding and take you to awesome vistas with views for miles. For these types of readers, the challenging hike to Shoal Falls, an 80-foot waterfall in , would be a great place to start.

It is my hope that the book offers the right types of trails for many different types of people, and that it reaches an audience that is interested in exploring all of the hiking and walking experiences that Charlotte has to offer. In a time when so many folks seem to be increasingly disconnected from the outdoors, Im proud to share these amazing trails. I hope this book will get people outdoors hiking or walking, and in the process contribute to their overall mental and physical well-being.