We are thrilled to announce that, in partnership with Sampson County Parks and Recreation and the Plant Conservation Board, we opened 5.5 miles of natural surface hiking trail in Sampson County at a ribbon cutting ceremony on Friday, November 21.  Located on the Pondberry Bay Plant Conservation Preserve, these miles are the first public trails in all of Sampson County.

The opening is a culmination of years of hard work between partners and community members, opening a trail for locals, visitors and long-distance hikers in one of the largest counties in North Carolina without public trails. Initially, the route is a 5.5-mile loop, also known as a “lollipop” trail, because of its distinctive out and back shape, with a loop at the far end. Eventually, it will connect through the area as part of the permanent route of the MST into Roseboro. As the trail winds its way through the Preserve, it traverses longleaf pine forests in all stages from seedlings to mature trees, along with a few areas of bottomland hardwood forests. The Pondberry Bay Trail is open during daylight hours from Friday at sunrise through Sunday at sunset. The public is urged to stay on the trail at all times to avoid rare plants and sensitive natural areas.

Mayor of Roseboro, Alice Butler welcomed 40 partners to the event, sharing that, “This is a wonderful day over ten years in the making, and shows the importance of perseverance and partnerships.” Butler and her husband Greg are also Trail Angels for the area, hosting and helping thru-hikers as they make their way through the 1175-mile Mountains-to-Sea Trail. She finished, “We are proud for our county.”

The trail will be maintained by Friends of the MST volunteers with additional management from the Sampson County Department of Parks and Recreation. Dana Hall, Director of Sampson County Parks and Recreation, shared, “It was so special to see volunteers coming from all over to help get this trail opened – they care about our county, just like we do, and we all love being outdoors. We understand the importance that being outdoors has in our lives, and this trail gives our kids and grandkids a place to be outside.”

“This trail, and more soon to follow in Sampson County, has been funded by the Complete the Trails Program,” said Friends of the MST’s Executive Director, Brent Laurenz. “Without that critical investment from the state, progress like we’ve made here today would not be possible.”

Funding for trail development was also provided by Sampson County Convention and Visitors Bureau. Executive Director Sheila Barefoot shared, “This completion represents years of vision, collaboration, and commitment to showcasing the natural beauty and outdoor opportunities that make Sampson County so special.” Barefoot continued, “It strengthens our tourism infrastructure, creates new outdoor recreation options, and enhances the quality of life for everyone who calls Sampson County home.”

Friends of the MST’s Trail Planner and Landscape Architect, Ben Jones who began his work on this trail 7 ½ years ago inspired the crowd, “As important as this new trail is for the larger state and regional community, it is by far most important for the people who live here. We want it to be a place that you can call your own, a place to love, to develop a relationship with and memories of, a place symbolic of who you are – where you come from – what is beautiful about this place you call home. A place to protect, to nurture, and to have pride in. We all deserve to have a place to be in nature like this because it allows us to strip away the stresses of modern life and get in touch with what makes us all human. We all need a place where we can go for inspiration, or peace if we are feeling depressed, anxious, or overwhelmed. We are all now responsible for this trail, and it is ours to stand up for as much as it is ours to enjoy.”

After the ribbon cutting, we walked onto the Pondberry Bay Trail, signaling that the first public hiking trails in Sampson County were officially open. We plan to add more trail on the ground in 2026, including building another block of brick trail in downtown Roseboro and another mile of natural surface trail on the west side of Roseboro.

NOTE: The Pondberry Bay Trail is open during daylight hours from Friday at sunrise through Sunday at sunset. The public is urged to stay on the trail at all times to avoid rare plants and sensitive natural areas. A kiosk with map and information is in place at the parking lot on Straw Den Lane off White Woods Road. Click here to access information about the Pondberry Bay Trail.

The post FIRST PUBLIC NATURAL SURFACE TRAIL OPENS IN SAMPSON COUNTY appeared first on Mountains-to-Sea Trail.

We are excited to welcome hikers back to the trail and expect even more of the trail to reopen in the coming months.

Trail crews and partners often go unseen by hikers and are even more invisible to the public at large. In the last year, these unseen crews have been everywhere. They are tenacious. They are dependable. They are out rebuilding the trail when their own homes need tending as well, and they have energy and commitment for both. While they may not expect an “attaboy” or to be recognized in public, the Mountains-to-Sea Trail would not be 80 percent reopened, or in the greater context, exist as a trail stretching from the mountains to the sea, without the community of people who give their time, their sweat, their labor to building, rebuilding, and maintaining the trail we all care so much about.

The trail is but a simple walk in the woods, but the people make it the most special place to be. As we reach the milestone of a year after Helene, we remember the losses, and we celebrate the regenerative spirit of this community. The trail continues because of the community and the people who make it better than it was before. The views are different, but now we can see farther, together. The sincerest thank you to all who have given time and funding to reopen the MST, and to those who will continue to support our efforts until the last mile has reopened.

As a reminder, an interactive map showing open and closed sections of the MST and guidance on the current trail status can be found on our website.

If you’d like to support our work, you can make a donation or learn how you can volunteer to give back to the trail.

The post Hurricane Helene: One Year Later appeared first on Mountains-to-Sea Trail.

Over the course of the two-year partnership, the clubwomen planned and led hikes, gathered to learn about the MST, supported our work at events, became trail angels, supplied hikers with trail goodies, grew the MST community and enjoyed every mile along the way! We so enjoyed seeing them on the trail across the state and are thrilled that many of them are still enjoying the benefits they found on the trail during their two-year mission.

“GFWC of North Carolina members unite through community service, making a meaningful difference every day.  The Mountains-to-Sea Trail has truly connected our clubwomen across the state and the excitement for this project was contagious,” Fulcher shared.  “We hope that our projects and programs during these two years have created a lasting impact – service that strengthens communities, preserves natural resources, and leaves a legacy for generations ”

One of the key goals of the two-year program was to raise funds for Friends of the MST. The initial goal was set at $11,750 and the GFWC of NC overachieved by more than doubling their goal, raising over $25,000. This funding is dedicated to building new trailhead kiosks and other signage along the trail, helping others to learn more about the trail and to navigate it safely.

In early August of this year, Kim Fulcher joined Friends’ staff and board to install one of the more prominent kiosks their donation has supported. Friends of the MST installed a kiosk outside Raleigh where Falls Lake ends and the Neuse River begins, which is also where Segments 10 and 11 of the MST meet.

We are appreciative of the commitment of the many women who make up the GFWC of NC and look forward to installing many more kiosks on their behalf!

– Betsy Brown, Associate Director, Friends of the MST

The post General Federation of Women’s Club of NC Funds Kiosks Across the State appeared first on Mountains-to-Sea Trail.

We have been working closely with our partners at the Blue Ridge Parkway on MST recovery efforts along the entire trail corridor that parallels the Parkway, but because of ongoing road repaving and rehabilitation efforts in Ashe County our volunteers had not been cleared to resume trail work until June.

Sometimes in my role with Friends of the MST I spend more time behind a desk than I would like, so I was glad to join the June 28 workday, along with our Associate Director Betsy Brown and more than 20 volunteers. It was inspiring to see volunteers come to the mountains and help from as far away as Wake and Orange counties as well as other MST volunteer work crews in the foothills and other sections of the mountains.

Since this was the first time our volunteers were back on the trail, the primary task on June 28 was clearing downed trees. And there were plenty to clear. Volunteers cleared hundreds of trees that were blocking the trail and made their way through several miles of the MST on different sections between Route 421 in Deep Gap and Route 18 near Laurel Springs.

Our trained and experienced crew of volunteers were able to make good progress on that first workday and we can now start to see a point in the near future where the MST will be fully cleared and open in this area for hikers to enjoy.

As of today, nearly 75% of the MST in the mountains is reopened or has a detour in place while trail rebuilding efforts are underway. You can always find the latest status on the MST in the mountains on our website, including an interactive map of the trail’s status.

The MST is only possible thanks to partnerships, volunteers and community support, and recovery efforts on the trail after Helene are a perfect example. As a small nonprofit organization, Friends of the MST couldn’t be successful without the support of our partners and the volunteers on the ground working to ensure the trail is safe and accessible for all who wish to enjoy it.

Our volunteers will keep diligently working until every tree is cleared and the trail is fully open. It will take time, but we’re so appreciative of each and every hour volunteers give to the trail and Friends of the MST will support them and recovery efforts anyway we can until the trail is whole again.

– Brent Laurenz, Executive Director, Friends of the MST

The post Volunteer Trail Work Resumes on the MST in Ashe County appeared first on Mountains-to-Sea Trail.

Our partners at Bentonville Battlefield, State Parks and the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources have been instrumental to building new trail here, and we’re excited to officially add this new section to the existing 3.6 miles of MST at the historic site.

The MST relies on partnerships and communities across the state in order to be successful, and our partnership at Bentonville Battlefield exemplifies what can be accomplished with committed, dedicated and trusted partners. Thanks to this great partnership, we anticipate additional trail miles to be added in the years ahead here too.

The Complete the Trails Program was created in the 2021 state budget and marked the first significant investment in North Carolina’s state trails. State funding through this program has allowed Friends of the MST to create new miles of trail, like here at Bentonville, build necessary bridges to expand trail routes, install an eastern terminus marker for the MST at Jockey’s Ridge State Park and acquire access to new land for trail expansion.

Friends of the MST is thankful for the state’s leadership in funding for trails across North Carolina, and thrilled to add this new section to the Mountains-to-Sea Trail.

The post New MST Section Opens at Bentonville Battlefield appeared first on Mountains-to-Sea Trail.

Friends of the MST’s Brent Laurenz and Betsy Brown were joined at the opening hike by members of the US Forest Service, NC State Parks and Wild South, our primary partners for the trail reroute. Due to the remote and rugged location of the reroute, a professional trail crew was brought in through Wild South to handle the more difficult stages of the trail building process. This steep area is recovering from a 2013 fire, now dense with new growth pines, that proved it a very challenging work zone.

Friends of the MST’s dedicated volunteer crew in the area, led by Doug Veazey, were also instrumental in seeing the trail through to completion and we were excited to have several members of the volunteer group join us for the opening hike as well.

The entire project was a team effort from start to finish, once again highlighting how the MST is only possible thanks to our partners and volunteers across the state.

Funding for the project came from the Complete the Trails Program, which was created by the state in 2021 as the result of historic legislation that provides an unprecedented level of funding for the planning, construction, promotion and maintenance of state trails in North Carolina.

Friends of the MST is thankful for the state’s recognition of the importance of state funding for trails across North Carolina, and this project is a good example of that funding in action.

And we are so thankful to all the volunteers and partners that brought this new trail section to life. MST hikers will benefit from the improvements for years to come.

The post New MST Reroute Opened in Linville Gorge appeared first on Mountains-to-Sea Trail.

In the first weeks and months after the storm, a tremendous amount of work was done by National Park Service and US Forest Service staffs. For liability reasons, these pros assessed the trail first and found that much of the damage was beyond even their training.

Skilled professional crews and contractors were brought in to detangle the massive tree pile ups and create a narrow corridor of the trail route, oftentimes needing GPS to find the trail. Once the first pass was cut and areas were deemed safe for volunteers, our crews got to work.

Carolina Mountain Club, in partnership with the Blue Ridge Parkway and Friends of the MST, led a weeklong work blitz through the MST Asheville corridor, with Friends of the MST volunteers coming from as far as Ohio and our Croatan Task Force. CMC provides trail work and advocacy for the MST and other trails throughout the western part of NC and, along with our other task forces, has been instrumental in pushing for trails to reopen.

The Central Blue Ridge Task force has been steadily working through the Linville Gorge section with weekly workdays, with upwards of 35 volunteers out some days. As a result, 80% of the MST in that area has reopened. Elkin Valley Trails Association has just gotten the trail reopened through Stone Mountain. That is the good news.

Now to the less good news, as we begin to think in terms of work that will take months and years. Friends of the MST has been working with land managers and others to compile an updated map of trail conditions, including what is open, closed and uncertain. Click here to access the map. The map below is a screenshot taken March 25, 2025.

Green represents trail that has been opened by the land manager and we have on the ground reports that it is safe for hikers. Yellow is trail through land that has been opened by the land manager but we haven’t yet had eyes on the ground reports about the trail conditions. Red is closed by the land manager and off limits. And keep in mind that where the Blue Ridge Parkway is closed it is closed for everything – ALL recreation, hiking, and volunteer trail work.

To help understand the recovery, it’s easiest to divide the mountains into four large sections. The first section is from the terminus at Kuwohi to Asheville, second is from Asheville to near Marion, third from Marion to Beacon Heights near Grandfather Mountain, and then from Beacon Heights to Stone Mountain State Park.

Kuwohi to Asheville

From the western terminus to approximately milepost 44 on the Blue Ridge Parkway in segment 2, the trail looks good as the storm wasn’t as impactful further west. Once in the Devil’s Courthouse area near milepost 44, there begin to be closures on the parkway. A couple of these have somewhat easy short-term reroutes, that we are working to get approval for, and in other locations, the parkway has prioritized road reconstruction. Several of these projects are already underway around Asheville and just north of the Folk Art Center. Superintendent Tracy Swartout, Trails Coordinator Neal Wilcox, Landscape Architect Jeff Curtis and Volunteer Coordinator Jonathan Bennett have been outstanding in their work on behalf of the MST.

Asheville to Near Marion

Further north, between Craven Gap and Mount Mitchell, there is a long stretch of red. There are two landslides on either side of Mount Mitchell that will require significant infrastructure to rebuild the roadbed. State Parks is working with the National Park Service on a time frame to restore access to Mount Mitchell State Park, but it will be lengthy. In this long stretch of closed trail, the footpath is buried under huge hardwood tree pile ups in areas where it is routed high on the ridges. In other spots, the tree cover is mostly smaller trees like birch and beech and didn’t suffer the catastrophic and widespread type of damage, so the trail appears to be in better condition, but it is not accessible because of the landslides.

Based on what we know from the land managers, it appears likely that the MST could remain closed here from approximately I-40 to either NC 80 or US 221 for upwards of 3 years. Our goal is to create convenient access points for thru hikers to shuttle around, and we are finalizing that guidance soon.

Marion to Beacon Heights

Moving on to the next section through Linville Gorge from approximately US 221 to Beacon Heights near Linn Cove Viaduct and Grandfather Mountain. More than 80% of the MST has reopened due to the strong partnership with the US Forest Service under the leadership of Lisa Jennings, the nonprofit contractor Wild South and Friends of the MST’s Central Blue Ridge Task Force.

The nearly 200-foot bridge over the North Fork of the Catawba River was lost, and the US Forest Service is exploring options to replace that. One half of the steel bridge traveled a short distance before lodging itself on the riverbed and the other went much farther downriver, scooting under a railroad bridge without damaging it. Forest Service staff and Wild South plan a temporary wet crossing location that will help hikers cross the river until a replacement bridge can be built.

There are plans to clear the remaining closed areas with most to be reopened by summer. Those areas that are longer-term closures can be avoided by accessing nearby trails.

Beacon Heights to Stone Mountain State Park

Moving on to the northern mountain section, the MST comes out of Linville Gorge and again follows the Blue Ridge Parkway from Beacon Heights to where the trail drops off the parkway into Stone Mountain State Park.

Task forces in the Grandfather Mountain and the Tanawha Trail area, and a short portion of the trail in Watauga County around the Boone area, have cleared much of the trail and it is easily passable. Julian Price Park is still closed, and we haven’t received an update there from the National Park Service. The campground should open for the summer, but the trail still remains closed.

There is a very long closed stretch coming up from the Boone area all the way to Devil’s Garden Overlook where the trail then joins into Stone Mountain State Park. This stretch is closed because of on-going roadbed reconstruction and paving. In the past, volunteers could access the trail from side roads or walk in. This wasn’t ideal, especially for sawyers carrying heavy gear, but in most cases it was feasible. And hikers were allowed to walk the trail.

Now, with the new enforcement of “any closure on the parkway is a 100% closure,” our volunteers have not been able to do trail work since the hurricane. In early February, we began negotiations to allow our trail volunteers in by coordinating with the paving contractors’ schedules. Our crews have been admirably patient but are frustrated because they take much personal pride in keeping the trails safe and beautiful for all to use. It’s been a long time off the trail, and the trail needs their attention. We can safely assume that the trail is degrading through this area and will need much work to return it to good shape.

As we finish up the mountain section, the MST has been fully cleared and reopened through Stone Mountain State Park.

The National Park Service and US Forest Service have had significant reductions in staff, which has the potential to hamper and delay trail recovery efforts in these areas. Amid the ongoing uncertainty around staffing at federal agencies, we will continue to support our agency partners as they move forward and our organization, from staff to volunteers, stands ready to pitch in where we can to ensure the path to recovery for the MST, and other trails and facilities across the mountains, remains a priority.

We remain optimistic and cannot stress enough the work we’ve put into the relationships with these hardworking champions of the trail and the work that they have put in on our behalf.

Associate Director Betsy Brown is overseeing hurricane recovery and is in constant communication with our mountain partners, task force leaders and other nonprofit and trail groups. While it may seem like a slow process, the amount of work, planning and energy going on is thoughtful and complex. In time, the MST will reopen more sustainably and with additional amenities. Until then, we invite you to explore the trail in open mountain areas and support those communities as they get back to business. Jim Grode and Betsy Brown are working on guidance for those who wish to complete the MST, and should have that ready in the next few weeks.

We wish we could give you a timeline, next steps and a reopen date. Some of the MST may be closed for a few years, some may reopen sooner. In the meantime, check the map for the most updated trail information, reach out if you have specific questions and we’ll do what we can to get the answers. In the meantime, there are many miles of MST to explore in the Piedmont and the Coastal Plain.

And when we are allowed back on the trail, whether it’s next month or next year, we’ll need the MST Community to show up, as we know you will.

The post Current Conditions of the MST in Western NC, March 2025 appeared first on Mountains-to-Sea Trail.

Several land managers have reopened portions of the lands that the MST crosses to volunteer work. Just yesterday morning, we had an update call with the Blue Ridge Parkway, which has reopened 46 miles south and west of Asheville from mile post 423 to 469. In those areas, Carolina Mountain Club is working, not just on the MST, to make sure the trails are cleared and safe. Before the trail can be reopened to volunteers, BRP staff, emergency response teams and other professionals have cleared dangerous tree tangles and assessed that our skilled volunteers can finish the restoration work. There is work for all volunteers from sawyers and those who can rebuild trail beds, to those with strong backs and energy to haul debris from the trail corridor.

The good news coming out of our call is that we are planning a workday in coordination with the Parkway and Carolina Mountain Club in the new year to clear the majority of the unopened trail corridor in the Asheville area. Watch for news on that early next year. We’re very encouraged by the work that the National Park Service has done in this popular area and expect that significant portions of that area to be reopened before too much longer.

Near Grandfather Mountain, our Tanawha Trail Task Force has assessed the open trail there and will begin work to clear those miles of trail, with the addition of new volunteers from the running community and Appalachian State University. An additional four miles is open to the north on the parkway and our Watauga Task Force has cleared those, meaning that the trail from mile posts 286 to 305 is or soon will be passable.

The trail is closed along the remainder of the Blue Ridge Parkway, either because of catastrophic damage to the roadbed, shifting landslides or unfathomable amounts of downed trees. The descriptions of the landscape are incomprehensible, and we understand that these areas are still being assessed. Additionally, our crews in parts of Watauga and Ashe counties are not able to access the trail because previous paving projects have been restarted after a pause for hurricane cleanup.

The one exception is at Doughton Park, where National Park Service and MST volunteers have been clearing the trails. That is a challenging location to access because the parkway is closed on both sides for another paving project and the park is only accessed by side roads and trails.

Outside of these opened areas, the parkway and the MST that runs alongside it have a long, long way to go. The damage is historic and will need time and much funding to overcome. The Parkway will be a changed experience for drivers and hikers, though there will be positive outcomes including building a more sustainable trail and continuing to strengthen our relationship with National Park Service. There is help on the way, and we are hopeful.

Elsewhere, our Central Blue Ridge Task Force has been assessing the MST in the Linville Gorge area once the Pisgah Ranger District of the Pisgah National Forest reopened to volunteers recently. The reports are somber, with descriptions of massive amounts of downed trees with huge root balls, washed out roads creating impassable areas, and completely missing sections of trail especially near the water crossings. We have lost a major bridge in the area, crossing the North Fork of the Catawba River, with half of the nearly 200-foot span lodging itself nearby but the other half traveling a long distance downstream, threading under a railroad trestle before creating havoc where it landed. This bridge was installed in the early 2000s, and there is no current safe way to cross the river here.

Much of the infrastructure in the forest will need to be restored before trails can be accessed, as initially only 20 percent of the roads in the Pisgah Ranger District were passable. Other groups including Wild South and the Backcountry Horsemen are working in this area as well, with progress happening.  Our crew is working steadily, and we plan to add additional volunteers to some of these partner groups next year.

The trail coming down from the Blue Ridge Parkway from Devil’s Garden Overlook through Stone Mountain is still closed through the State Park. Elkin Valley Trails Association, Friends of Stone Mountain and Friends of the MST held a joint workday there recently to work on other trails through the park and are on standby to help when needed. There are some nasty tree tangles that will require professional crews before volunteers are allowed in.

Elsewhere across the western part of the state, we have been humbled by the work that MST volunteers have done to help with general recovery and to rebuild other trails. We aren’t surprised by the generosity of this community, as we’ve felt it for years and continue to feel it every day but have been heartened to see so many pitching in where they can.

We encourage you to support our mountain communities and trails during the recovery, and to help you, we’re tracking what is open to hikers. You can find the most updated list of trail conditions and openings on our trail conditions page. While these sections are open, remember that not all have been fully assessed or cleared. Hike at your own risk and let others know where you are before heading out.

Photo credits: K. & S. Lee – one half of the washed out bridge that stood over the North Fork of the Catawba River. This is the half that traveled a significant distance from where it originally stood. Note the change to the river bed, now a sandy beach.

The post Hurricane Helene Recovery Update – 3 Months Out appeared first on Mountains-to-Sea Trail.

In September 2024, Hurricane Helene barreled through western North Carolina causing unprecedented damage, including to the Mountains-to-Sea Trail. The storm brought down thousands of trees, created washouts, landslides and many other hazards in the mountain region. Through much hard work, recovery is underway throughout the region and on the MST.

As of mid-October 2025, all but about 38 miles of the trail from Kuwohi to Stone Mountain State Park has reopened or has viable walking detours. We are humbled by the work done by Friends’ volunteers, along with National Park Service and US Forest Service staffs and contractors. In the most damaged areas along the Blue Ridge Parkway, between Mt. Mitchell and NC 80, access remains impossible, and our volunteers, although willing, have not been able to restore the trail. Between Asheville and Mt. Mitchell, although the road has recently reopened, the current government shutdown has restricted our ability to assess and repair trail, so several of those sections remain closed. Please continue to follow guidance from Friends of the MST and land managers as to whether a trail is open for hiking.

Trail Status Information

In addition, the Blue Ridge Parkway has created a detailed Hurricane Helene page with information about the road status, including before and after images of a few cleanup locations.

MST Completions

Friends of the MST has resumed recognizing new completions of the trail even when the mountains were not completed before the storm.

The remaining closed portions are mainly in one 60-mile stretch between the Folk Art Center in Asheville and US 221, which can be bypassed easily with a vehicle shuttle. Some sections of the trail within this stretch are open but accessible from only one end. Because these distances are not significant compared to the overall length of the trail, and completion of the open sections would require backtracking, we do not currently require them.

Therefore, in order for Friends of the MST to recognize a valid completion, the hiker must have walked (or, where allowed, biked or paddled) all sections of the trail between Kuwohi and the Folk Art Center, and between US 221 and Jockey’s Ridge, including any recognized detours. Contact Jim Grode at jgrode@mountainstoseatrail.org for guidance regarding crossing the North Fork of the Catawba River in Segment 4.

Although the bypassed section is not currently required for completion, it includes some of the most beautiful and rewarding stretches of the trail, and we strongly encourage completers to return and fill in the gaps when they reopen.

Trail Angels or commercial shuttle services may be available to assist with bypassing the closed section. As a reminder, we maintain a list of all commercial shuttle services we are aware of, and the list of our Trail Angels is available to registered hikers.

Thank You!

Huge thanks to all the Friends of the MST volunteers, staff and contractors with the US Forest Service and National Park Service and many others who have worked countless hours to restore and reopen the MST. There is still much work to do and we will sound the call when more help is needed.

Read our update from March 25.

The post Hurricane Helene Update appeared first on Mountains-to-Sea Trail.

As we break ground on a new one-mile section of trail this month at Bentonville Battlefield State Historic Site, we wanted to introduce you to those working on the ground to make this possible. Derrick S. Brown is the Operations Manager at Bentonville Battlefield. He, site director Colby Stephens, and their hard-working staff have been instrumental in the development and maintenance of the MST and other trails at Bentonville.

Derrick has worked at Bentonville since 2006 and been operations manager since 2009. He received a BS from Western Carolina University in 2003 and a MA in History from UNC-Wilmington in 2010. Derrick is from Sneads Ferry (another trail hotspot!) and currently resides with his wife and two children in nearby Duplin County. Derrick is also the co-author of Bentonville Battlefield State Historic Site, an Images of America book, which shares the photographic history of the work to preserve the site post-Civil War.

We’ve asked Derrick to answer a few questions that help define our very strong partnership. We’re thrilled to keep adding more miles of trail in southern Johnston County!

1 – How does the Battlefield fit into the MST Community? How do we work together?

Bentonville Battlefield is a proud partner of the MST. The state administers over 2,000 acres here on the battlefield which provides greenspace for the MST. We need trails for access to historic areas off the beaten path and the MST provides us the logistical and financial support to get that done. In turn the battlefield provides a way for MST hikers to get off the highways. A perfect symbiotic relationship.

2 – How has the relationship between the MST and the Battlefield evolved/grown/changed from when you first got involved?

When I arrived at Bentonville our trail system paled in comparison to other battlefields of comparable size to us.  We did have a single .4 mile trail and shortly began to build more. This was slow going before the MST because we had limited equipment, funding, and most importantly knowhow. This has all changed since our partnership with the MST. We have grown to over 6 miles of trail, most of which is along the MST.

3 – What challenges do you see in developing/maintaining the MST in your area?

Our biggest challenge is a good one to have. It is the sheer volume of trail that we now have and how to go about maintaining it with a full-time maintenance staff of 1. MST and other volunteers are crucial for us to maintain and continue to expand.

4 – How does the MST benefit your community? What community impact does it have?

The MST benefits Bentonville by bringing people to the battlefield who may not necessarily be considered “traditional visitors,” those who are not necessarily history nerds like me.  Bentonville has become a destination for not only battlefield stompers but nature lovers and hikers alike.

5 – What have you been most excited about, or what gives you hope, when working on the MST?

I remain super excited about the trail that was built by the MST and the Friends of Bentonville Battlefield south of Harper House Road in the area the soldiers called the “Bull Pen.” It was such an inhospitable area for visitors that I doubted it ever being opened to the public during my tenure at Bentonville. This partnership made it happen.

6 – Do you have a favorite spot on the MST?

My favorite spot on the MST in Bentonville is our boardwalk over a small creek just east of the visitor center area on the historical Reddick Morris farm. It is shady, secluded, and quiet which belies the fact that thousands of soldiers jousted for control of Morris’s farm in March 1865.  I particularly like it when the water is flowing under the boardwalk after a rain. That has not been the case much in the summer of 2024.

(Photo courtesy of NC Division of State Historic Sites – Derrick, in blue, is leading a hike on the MST near the Bull Pen)

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