[SammyJane]

Hello all. I'm moving to Chapel Hill about the third week in June and I have a couple of bike related questions. I'm trying to make some living arrangements and will be coming into town in two weeks to secure an apartment. I'm looking at some different places in Carrboro, just standard complex type places. I won't have a car so I need to be close to campus and I'd also like to be within a reasonable riding distance to trails.

Sooo, are there any local trails close (within easy-ish riding distance) to Carrboro? Any ideas of distance and road conditions? I'd prefer not to be sluggling along on a highway. I've read about the Chapel Hill High School trail, how far is this? Any comments would be greatly appreciated.

When I get into town I'm going to hook up with various riding groups, tarwheels, GRID, etc. But, a little imput before choosing an apartment would be great. Thanks so much, and again, any info would be great.

Sam

 

[bmateo]

Welcome in advance! High School trails are some very good trails IMO. You can easily get a 20+ mile ride in without repeating anything in the same direction. To find the general local of the trail-head, do a map-quest on Seawell Elementary School, that is where us folks coming from a longer distance park to ride the trails.

CHill is a very commuter friendly area. Carboro and CHill are pretty much one in the same, and it should be no problem to get to those trails. If you have a car, you'll also have access to a lot of other singletrack (Probably close to 100 miles of trail within an hour drive!)

Also, check out TriangleMTB.com in addition to the groups you mentioned.

I'd encourage you to look into these LBS: The Clean Machine in Carbor, or Franklin Street Cycles (FSC) in CHill. Performance Bike's Flagship store is also in Carboro if you're into that, and I think they have some rides there.

Hope something here is helpful. It's a great place to live.

 

[sasquatch303]

welcome

The high school trails are definitely awesome and more or less within Carrboro. From downtown Carrboro, I can ride to the trails in 5-10 minutes, easy. Once you get here, definitely check out The Clean Machine, which is the best bike shop in town (Franklin Street Cycles is great, too). Personal opinion, of course, but whatever.

In addition to the other way mentioned, another way to get to the trails is to start downtown at Weaver Street Market (major landmark, it'll make sense when you get here). Go north on North Greensboro St past Estes Rd and Wilson Park. Go another hundred yards or so and turn right on Hannah St. Go to the end of Hannah St and turn left on the trail at the dead end. Follow that trail down and to the right for about 200 yards and cross the big creek at the bridge. Once you're across, just explore. You can't get lost because you'll always hit the creek or a fire road. You can also get there through Wilson Park, but that's a little tougher to describe.

 

[SammyJane]

Awesome, thanks to both of you. I won't have a car so I wanted to make sure there was at least one trail within a reasonable distance that I could ride to. Thanks again.

Sam

 

[BMF]

Awesome, thanks to both of you. I won't have a car so I wanted to make sure there was at least one trail within a reasonable distance that I could ride to. Thanks again.

Sam

You're actually in luck. I live in Durham and ride all over the area. I think the Chapel Hill trails are the best in the area. Enjoy.