February Trail Spotlight: Warren Creek Trail

2023 is Year of the Trail in the Great Trails State, but how did we settle on North Carolina as “The Great Trails State” anyways? As with most anything, there is a bit of historical significance behind it all. 

From the coast to the mountains, North Carolina stretches about 500 miles, east to west, and about a third of that distance north to south at the widest point. Over a hundred years ago, when people started traveling by car, the roads were absolutely terrible – it takes some imagination to fully understand this, but the roads of those days are nothing at all like the roads we imagine now and even the most pot-hole filled, rutted out gravel road one could find would be an interstate compared to back then. In fact, the roads in NC were the worst in the entire country at that point.

Travel was treacherous. Cars struggled to get anywhere efficiently and effectively, often getting stuck in mud or winding up on roads that didn’t really offer a smooth connection to anywhere else as they weren’t only worse, but they were far, far fewer. The expression “going around your elbow to get to your thumb” could have easily been an analogy for the trip to the next town over that required some really extreme route-finding and navigating to accomplish! 

At the turn of the century, the “Good Roads Campaign” was started, and it changed that. This movement helped increase awareness of and legislative funding for the state’s roads and eventually earned North Carolina, with the largest state-maintained highway system in the country, the nickname of The Good Roads State. 

Just like the good roads that connect one city to the other and provide a means for transportation and movement of goods and services, trails provide a vital link and resource for North Carolina in a lot of different ways. The rich culture and natural resources of the state are why many choose to and have chosen to live here. It’s why people travel here on vacation, seeking outdoor recreation in the mountains, beaches, and rolling hills – bringing billions of dollars and hundreds of thousands of jobs into the economy. At the heart of this is North Carolina’s robust trail system, and like good roads, great trails don’t build and maintain themselves…it takes a movement.

In 1973, the North Carolina Trails System Act marked the beginning of NC’s trails program. 2023 is the 50th anniversary of this, and with that, 2023 has been officially designated as the “Year of the Trail” in North Carolina, the Great Trails State. 

February Trail Spotlight: Warren Creek Trail

Part of the North/South Greenway in Durham, Warren Creek Trail provides a serene hiking or biking experience and access to a neighborhood park. The trail extends between Horton Road and Stadium Drive, through Whippoorwill Park, and largely follows the course of its namesake creek. Beginning at Horton Road, the paved trail travels through cuts a 10-foot wide swath through the riparian woods surrounding Warren Creek. The trail emerges from the woods into the Whippoorwill Park parking area.


Length: 0.75 miles

Surface: Paved, 10 feet wide

Begins: Horton Road

Ends: Whippoorwill Park

Restrooms: At Whippoorwill Park

Each month DPR will highlight a trail and provide Durham residents with a trail focus self-guided activity. Residents are encouraged to visit the monthly Trail Spotlight and complete a self-guided activity and photo challenge for a chance to win a DPR Play More Pack! Download the Guided Sensory Hike at Warren Creek Trail.

Part of this blog was adopted from Great Trails NC's blog, The Great Trail State. Read their full blog here.