Facilities

Overview

This fully accessible trail is either paved or gravel surfaced and mostly flat. The Greenway welcomes walkers and runners, cyclists and wheelchairs, strollers and hikers. It follows and crosses the South Fork of the New River through open meadows and colorful forests. There's a historic ruin, plentiful resting benches, picnic tables and shelters, and interpretive signs about natural and human history. Two easy loops invite a quick stroll, one of them, with great bird-watching and flower viewing. 

The trail may be a little tame for serious hikers intent on high adventure, but it's perfect for novice hikers, families or anyone wanting to sample the beauty of the Boone Area without going to extremes. Dogs must be on leash (and picked up after), and rollerbladers and bikers should yield to walkers and runners.

Core of the Greenway Trail

Many places along the greenway, surrounded by forest, green summits, and a remarkably clean mountain stream, you might not imagine that Boone even exists. The trail, with three bridges, provides a wonderful barrier-free route through open fields blooming with goldenrod in late summer, past meadows, and along shady stream banks near the sound of rippling water. There is ample evidence of wildlife.

About 0.6 mile from both the Casey Lane access and the covered bridge near the Clawson-Burnley Park, there is a historic site and picnic area with two tables, one with a roof. Hiking the entire core part of the trail makes a nice out-and-back hike of about 3 to 3.5 miles from either entrance.

North on the Greenway Trail

Heading north from the covered bridge near the Clawson-Burnley Park, a connector crosses the athletic fields if you don't want to amble along a big bend in the river. There are benches at intervals, and vistas of green ridges dipping into a little valley.

North from the covered bridge, the trail crosses the river, hugs the tree-lined bank to the next bend and the picnic area at the historic dam site, about 1.3-miles from the complex. Not far beyond, a side trail to Watauga High School goes left. This is a nice 1.2-mile out and back to the school for cyclists or walkers (there's no parking at that trailhead). The path follows a quiet side valley along a rushing tributary stream. Continuing north, the main trail crosses another bridge and goes left along the river through rhododendron and white pines past the town's wastewater treatment plant to the Casey Lane trailhead.

Between the covered bridge and the connector to the High School, and entire trail system of woodsier gravel or dirt paths lie on the other side of the river and are attractive to more serious hikers and mountain bikers. A trail sign at the covered bridge shows the trails (accessible across the adjacent sports field at the edge of the woods.) There's also a connector at a sign that says "Kennedy Trails" at the middle bridge along the main greenway.

Clawson-Burnley Park

Perhaps the best parking area for the Greenway is located at the Clawson Burnley Park across from the National Guard Armory. Clawson-Burnley Park is a great destination in itself with wonderful interpretive signs about Boone Area riverside flora and fauna that make this a nice place for nature study and birding. A handicapped-accessible picnic shelter, roofed picnic tables, and many benches afford spots to soak up the scenery. The Clawson-Burnley Park is also home to the Clawson Burnley Wetlands

The more urban side of the Greenway lies south from Clawson Burnley Park and the Watauga Recreation Complex. The trail crosses Hunting Hills Lane and runs past sports fields and the National Guard Armory then along Winklers Creek to a "trail cloverleaf" at State Farm Road. The trail goes under the road to other sports fields, but also across the stream on the trail bridge to greenway sections that go east and west. Right beside this trail bridge in Winkler Creek is the Town of Boone's first Trash Trout.

Information from Explore Boone