10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 C M Y K THE NEWS & OBSERVER THURSDAY, AUGUST 2, 2007 Life, etc. 5E Susie Post Rust F P W R St. pauses as she um The American Tobacco Campus/downtown Durham: g 98 rides with an Plan to end your trip at the northern trailhead, M Durham Bulls daughter Rosie, then head across Morehead Avenue and under Athletic Park in carrier, and KEY the Durham Freeway to the American Tobacco Main Durham son John on the Campus for pizza, sushi, a brewski or coffee in 22 miles St. P Parking Durham portion the courtyard. St. W Water of the American Fwy. Tobacco Trail Co Forest R Restrooms BYP rnwall Roxboro Hills Park near the Durham 15 is H Horse trailer 501 Rd. Bulls Athletic access 751 BUS Park. F Food 15 501 Creek Busy intersection ck 1 MILE Primeval forest: Ro A mile-long stretch of forest shrouded Rock in kudzu shuts out the neighborhoods Creek 15 and businesses that lie just beyond. 20.1 miles spur 501 Rd. Riddle Riddle Open late: Road The American Tobacco Trail is open dawn to dusk, 19.1 miles spur except for a 6.6-mile section from N.C. 54 north to downtown Durham. To accommodate a growing AMERICAN M Cornwallis number of commuters, this section of the trail is artin Lut open 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. her P W R K ing Rd. DURHAM Jr. 17.8 miles Solite Pkwy. TOBACCO Park Rd 18.25 miles St. ley 16.6 miles lle Creek Val ttevi d. e R Fay Hope dc For k Woo roft y. kw P TRAIL d Barbee Jordan Lake r Thi game lands F P W R Southpoint Crossing shopping center: hen completed, the American Tobacco Trail will be the longest trail A good place to start and end your in the Triangle, stretching 22 miles from western Wake County north trip, with water, restrooms and various to downtown Durham. At present, about 20 miles of trail are open: 15.4 miles types of food. W 6.7. miles in Wake County, 4.7 miles in Chatham County and 9 in Durham County. Missing 40 bridge The main hurdles to completion: two bridges using old railroad trestles in Chatham Streets at Southpoint County and a pedestrian bridge over Interstate 40 in Durham near the Streets at mall 54 d. Southpoint mall. Because of these breaks, the trail is divided into four sections. R Rd. Grandale The ATT is the backbone of a Triangle-wide effort to link as many cities and neigh- ek Cre Chapel Massey e 55 ill borhoods by greenway and bike path as possible. In one such scenario — a sce- Little ev D P tt r. nario that is about three-quarters complete — using ATT and other greenways, pe Faye Ho it will be possible to ride a bike, run or walk from Raleigh, through Umstead State 13 miles Water warning: Park, Cary and Apex, then catch the ATT to downtown Durham. There is no water Creek New south of here. We made the Wake County end of the trail our starting point at the bottom of P W R Plan accordingly. the map at left so the mileage marks are from south to north. C.M. Herndon Park Scott King Rd. STAFF PHOTOS BY JULI LEONARD RTP Creek 11.8 miles DURHAM CO. DURHAM CO. WAKE CO. d CHATHAM CO. ke o 10.8 miles Bridge-to-Bridge stretch: Cro Don’t ford the creek: Kit The most natural part of the People have been known to Missing Cre trail. Unimproved surface keeps cross Northeast Creek — bridge ek the aerobic types away, making including a trio of mountain for a more peaceful, solitary eek O’Kelly saunter. Eventually, most of this bikers. But we don’t know Cr 4.7-mile stretch through how they did it and we Chapel wouldn’t recommend it. Chatham County will consist of Rd. a 10-foot-wide paved greenway 9.75 miles and a parallel 6-foot-wide 751 Northeast screened, crushed gravel Ford the creek: P surface, making the 11.3-mile Though this bridge currently Wake and Chatham sections equestrian friendly. $2.2 million consists only of supports Panther (and no decking), at low has been awarded in grants for water it is possible to cross Branch this section of trail, including Cre Nancy two pedestrian bridges to be Panther Creek on foot. Watch e Branch your footing, though; it’s a k built using the existing trestles. The finished trail with bridges steep drop down to the creek Morris Missing could open by the end of 2008. — and an equally steep climb e Church p bridge Rd. On the Wake County end, the ATT runs across Beaver Creek in New Hill. up the other side. Ho Carpenter Fire Station New Rd. Other bridges need to be built to make the 22-mile trail complete. P Cre il ek Yates Lake Indian Tra n S da tore In the or J CARY Jordan Lake R d. Game Lands TRAIL SURFACES Future trails: you might Screened, crushed gravel Tobacco 6.7 miles Eventual connections with spot a box Cary’s White Oak Creek Currently, an irregular surface consisting greenway. This greenway will turtle. The of dirt and some crushed gravel. connect with the greenway at Chatham Eventually, this section will consist of a Bond Park in Cary and run County can 10-foot-wide paved greenway and an Ameri through Umstead State Park section is op Rd. adjoining 6-foot-wide path of screened, Sh and into Raleigh, near N.C. the wildest crushed gravel. Lewter State. More than half of this part of the trail is complete. Currently, irregular surface consisting of W trail. dirt and some crushed gravel. Eventually, hite O this section will be a 12-foot-wide paved ak greenway. 5.3 miles P R H eGre Unfinished trail (this is roughly the route). Chu n ch n Leve rch 12-foot-wide paved greenway with Bra l Rd. screened, crushed gravel shoulders. C d hu rch For Gre en Rd. Level nch Rd. ky Bra Wim Clark ill Roc berl If you are M M CO. O. y B ra out for a nch E C nature walk, 3.65 miles P try the part WAK CHATHA R d. of the trail marked in White Rd. Oak Creek blue in the Jenks APEX map. But be sure to carry 2.3 miles your own Hardhat area: water. Watch for golf balls 64 from the adjoining driving range. nch Bra New 1.2 miles Mile marker: dy Oliv Ree e Chapel A five-foot concrete obelisk Beavers at work: - Hill Rd. bearing a “16” is a remnant A stretch of dead trees Oli of mile markers once found along the trail in wetlands ve along the old railroad. Robert Frye is the work of industrious of Apex Cha C beavers who dammed a ver reek walks his p Bea Area stretch of Beaver Creek e DURHAM l dogs, Willy, about five years ago. shown Rd. left, and Jake, on the ATT at New WAKE Hill. Frye Future trail: CHATHAM walks the A 20-mile multiuse trail is P R H trail two or in early discussions. It three times would extend to Harris 0 miles Lake County Park and on to a week. 1 Raven Rock State Park on ek U.S the Cape Fear River. Its Beaver Cre Old working name: ATT South. Little STAFF ILLUSTRATION BY TOM MOSIER 5E-N, THURSDAY, AUGUST 2, 2007 C M Y K 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90.