2023 NC Year of the Trail celebrates North Carolinaβs vast network of trails, greenways, and blueways which showcase our diverse landscapes – grand mountain vistas, quiet rivers, vibrant urban greenways, coastal forests, and the rolling hills of the piedmont.
NC Year of the Trail is the largest statewide celebration of trails and outdoor recreation in North Carolina history.
North Carolina is the Great Trails State, where each of North Carolinaβs 100 counties should be able to enjoy the proven benefits of trails, including health, safety, economic development, tourism, transportation, and environment. Trails are the backbone of our stateβs growing $28 billion outdoor recreation economy.
The Year of the Trail campaign will reach communities with the message of how and where to experience trails that showcase North Carolinaβs beautiful landscapes, provide healthy recreation, and stimulate local economies. The NC General Assembly NC designated 2023 as NC Year of the Trail, an effort led by the Great Trails State Coalition.
The Great Trails State Coalition is a broad-based group of diverse organizations, agencies, and supporters advocating for increased state investment in all types of trails statewide: hiking, paddle, mountain biking, equestrian, and paved.
Goals for NC Year of the Trail:
- Inspire people of all ages, abilities, and backgrounds to try trails,
- Demonstrate the importance of trails to elected officials.
- Boost outdoor recreation tourism across the state through Year of the Trail events in all 100 counties.
- Promote safe and responsible use of trails, with the Outdoor NC Principles.
- Advance diversity and inclusion on trails.
“I am convinced of the benefits trails and greenways bring to our North Carolina communities through increased tourism and the associated economic growth, plus enhanced recreational opportunities for improved citizen health. An added bonus is that these trail systems simply make everyone aware, through first hand observation, of our state’s wonderful natural resources.”
β Representative Hugh Blackwell
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LEADERSHIP COMMITTEES
Honorary Committee
- Representative Hugh Blackwell
Burke County - Representative Larry Strickland
Harnett and Johnston Counties - Representative Dean Arp
Union County - Former Representative Pat Hurley
Randolph County - Lori Bush
Mayor Pro Tem, Cary; retired Cisco Systems; East Coast Greenway Alliance Board - Alice Butler
Mayor, Town of Roseboro - Jennifer Pharr Davis
Internationally recognized adventurer, speaker, author, and hiker - Kate Dixon
Retired, Executive Director, Friends of the Mountains to Sea Trail - Chuck Flink
President, Greenways, Inc.; one of the nationβs leading greenway planners - Bill Flournoy
Founder of Triangle Greenway Council - Sig Hutchinson
Chair, Wake County Board of County Commissioners - Kristian Jackson
Senior Lecturer, Dept. of Recreation Management, Appalachian State University - Howard Lee
Former Mayor, Chapel Hill; former Secretary, NC Department of Natural Resources & Community Development - Chuck Neely
Former NC Representative; retired attorney - Chuck McGrady
Former NC Representative; NC DOT Board of Directors - Pat McCrory
Former NC Governor - Dwayne Patterson
Director, NC State Parks - Mitchell Silver
Former NYC Parks Commissioner; former Director of Planning City of Raleigh; Principal, McAdams - Stephanie Swepson-Twitty
President/CEO Eagle Market Streets Development Corporation
Planning Committee
- Palmer McIntyre
NC Year of the Trail Director, Piedmont Land Conservancy/ Piedmont Legacy Trails - Vivian Coleman
NC Year of the Trail Coordinator, Vivid Earth Design - Sandi Bailey
Town of Cary - Amanda Baker
Visit NC - Bret Baronak
Carolina Thread Trail - Betsy Brown
Friends of the Mountains to Sea Trail - Joe Furstenburg
NC Department of Transportation - Sue Gray
NC Horse Council - Brianna Haferman
Piedmont Legacy Trails - Beth Heile
Fonta Flora State Trail - Brent Laurenz
Friends of the Mountains to Sea Trail - Andrew Meeker
East Coast Greenway Alliance - Michael Meredith
Conservation Corps NC - Steve Pierce
McDowell Trails Association - Mary Joan Pugh
Randolph County Trails - Smith Raynor
NC State Parks - Ann Savage
NCSU Parks, Recreation, and Tourism Management - Charlynne Smith
Recreation Resource Services - Jason Taylor
Elkin Valley Trails Association - Iona Thomas
McAdams/East Coast Greenway Alliance - Michelle Wells
North Carolina Recreation & Parks Association - Erin Welsh
Destination by Design - Kathryn Zeringue
McAdams
Supported by Destination by Design,The Backslope and Blue Ion
Thank the legislators who supported Year of the Trail:
Send a thank you email to the Representatives who sponsored this bill or to your legislator who voted to pass this legislation.
Introduced by: Representative Hugh Blackwell (R-Burke)
Primary Sponsors: Representative Hugh Blackwell (R-Burke), Representative Pat B. Hurley (R),Representative Larry C. Strickland (R), Representative Dean Arp (R)
Co-Sponsors:
- Representative Allison A. Dahle (D)
- Representative Ashton Wheeler Clemmons (D)
- Representative Becky Carney (D)
- Representative Brian Farkas (D)
- Representative Carla D. Cunningham (D)
- Representative Cecil Brockman (D)
- Representative Cynthia Ball (D)
- Representative Dean Arp (R)
- Representative Deb Butler (D)
- Representative Dennis Riddell (R)
- Representative Donna McDowell White (R)
- Representative Dudley Greene (R)
- Representative Evelyn Terry (D)
- Representative George G. Cleveland (R)
- Representative Howard Penny, Jr. (R)
- Representative Jay Adams (R)
- Representative Joe John (D)
- Representative John Ager (D)
- Representative John Autry (D)
- Representative John R. Bradford, III (R)
- Representative Julie von Haefen (D)
- Representative Karl E. Gillespie (R)
- Representative Kristin Baker, M.D. (R)
- Representative Kyle Hall (R)
- Representative Larry C. Strickland (R)
- Representative Lee Zachary (R)
- Representative Marcia Morey (D)
- Representative Mary Belk (D)
- Representative Mike Clampitt (R)
- Representative Nasif Majeed (D)
- Representative Pat B. Hurley (R)
- Representative Pricey Harrison (D)
- Representative Rachel Hunt (D)
- Representative Ricky Hurtado (D)
- Representative Susan C. Fisher (D)
- Representative Timothy D. Moffitt (R)
- Representative Wesley Harris, PhD (D)
- Representative Zack Hawkins (D)
Trails are important because they are one of the most direct connections that we have to our environment. A well-crafted trail invites you on a journey that can teach you about the physical landscape and allows you to discover the inner topography of yourself.β
β Kristian Jackson