map - American Tobacco Trail

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THE NEWS & OBSERVER

Life, etc. Ma

The American Tobacco Campus/downtown Durham: Plan to end your trip at the northern trailhead, then head across Morehead Avenue and under the Durham Freeway to the American Tobacco Campus for pizza, sushi, a brewski or coffee in the courtyard.

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22 miles oro

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BYP 15 501

H Horse trailer access

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F Food

Forest Hills Park

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Busy intersection

Primeval forest:

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A mile-long stretch of forest shrouded in kudzu shuts out the neighborhoods and businesses that lie just beyond.

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Rock Creek spur

20.1 miles

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Susie Post Rust pauses as she rides with daughter Rosie, in carrier, and son John on the Durham portion of the American Tobacco Trail near the Durham Bulls Athletic Park.

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Durham Bulls Athletic Park

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THURSDAY, AUGUST 2, 2007

Riddle Road spur

Open late: 19.1 miles Mar

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Woodcroft

Solite Park 18.25 miles

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17.8 miles

16.6 miles

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Jordan Lake game lands

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The American Tobacco Trail is open dawn to dusk, except for a 6.6-mile section from N.C. 54 north to downtown Durham. To accommodate a growing number of commuters, this section of the trail is open 5 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Southpoint Crossing shopping center:

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A good place to start and end your trip, with water, restrooms and various types of food.

15.4 miles Missing bridge

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Streets at Southpoint mall

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Massey Chapel

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13 miles

Water warning: There is no water south of here. Plan accordingly.

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P W R C.M. Herndon Park Creek

Don’t ford the creek:

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DURHAM CO. WAKE CO. Bridge-to-Bridge stretch: The most natural part of the trail. Unimproved surface keeps the aerobic types away, making for a more peaceful, solitary saunter. Eventually, most of this 4.7-mile stretch through Chatham County will consist of a 10-foot-wide paved greenway and a parallel 6-foot-wide screened, crushed gravel surface, making the 11.3-mile Wake and Chatham sections equestrian friendly. $2.2 million has been awarded in grants for this section of trail, including two pedestrian bridges to be built using the existing trestles. The finished trail with bridges could open by the end of 2008.

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Northeast

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Though this bridge currently consists only of supports (and no decking), at low water it is possible to cross Panther Creek on foot. Watch your footing, though; it’s a steep drop down to the creek — and an equally steep climb up the other side.

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3.65 miles

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Eventual connections with Cary’s White Oak Creek greenway. This greenway will connect with the greenway at Bond Park in Cary and run through Umstead State Park and into Raleigh, near N.C. State. More than half of this trail is complete.

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5.3 miles

Unfinished trail (this is roughly the route).

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2.3 miles

Hardhat area:

If you are out for a nature walk, try the part of the trail marked in blue in the map. But be sure to carry your own water.

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1.2 miles Olive Cha pel

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Beavers at work:

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Watch for golf balls from the adjoining driving range.

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Mile marker: A five-foot concrete obelisk bearing a “16” is a remnant of mile markers once found along the old railroad.

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A stretch of dead trees along the trail in wetlands is the work of industrious beavers who dammed a stretch of Beaver Creek about five years ago.

In the Jordan Lake Game Lands you might spot a box turtle. The Chatham County section is the wildest part of the trail.

Future trails:

6.7 miles

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Currently, irregular surface consisting of dirt and some crushed gravel. Eventually, this section will be a 12-foot-wide paved greenway.

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Currently, an irregular surface consisting of dirt and some crushed gravel. Eventually, this section will consist of a 10-foot-wide paved greenway and an adjoining 6-foot-wide path of screened, crushed gravel.

On the Wake County end, the ATT runs across Beaver Creek in New Hill. Other bridges need to be built to make the 22-mile trail complete.

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Screened, crushed gravel

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TRAIL SURFACES

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12-foot-wide paved greenway with screened, crushed gravel shoulders.

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STAFF PHOTOS BY JULI LEONARD RTP

10.8 miles

People have been known to cross Northeast Creek — including a trio of mountain bikers. But we don’t know how they did it and we wouldn’t recommend it.

hen completed, the American Tobacco Trail will be the longest trail in the Triangle, stretching 22 miles from western Wake County north to downtown Durham. At present, about 20 miles of trail are open: 6.7. miles in Wake County, 4.7 miles in Chatham County and 9 in Durham County. The main hurdles to completion: two bridges using old railroad trestles in Chatham County and a pedestrian bridge over Interstate 40 in Durham near the Streets at Southpoint mall. Because of these breaks, the trail is divided into four sections. The ATT is the backbone of a Triangle-wide effort to link as many cities and neighborhoods by greenway and bike path as possible. In one such scenario — a scenario that is about three-quarters complete — using ATT and other greenways, it will be possible to ride a bike, run or walk from Raleigh, through Umstead State Park, Cary and Apex, then catch the ATT to downtown Durham. We made the Wake County end of the trail our starting point at the bottom of the map at left so the mileage marks are from south to north.

Scott King Rd.

11.8 miles

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DURHAM CO. CHATHAM CO.

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AMERICAN TOBACCO TRAIL W

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Robert Frye of Apex walks his dogs, Willy, left, and Jake, on the ATT at New Hill. Frye walks the trail two or three times a week.

DURHAM Area

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Future trail:

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A 20-mile multiuse trail is in early discussions. It would extend to Harris Lake County Park and on to Raven Rock State Park on the Cape Fear River. Its working name: ATT South.

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STAFF ILLUSTRATION BY TOM MOSIER

5E-N, THURSDAY, AUGUST 2, 2007 10

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