Distance: 2.7 mile loop
Degree of difficulty: Easy
Elevation Change: Gain, 39 feet; loss, 39 feet
Source: Great Day Hikes of North Carolina’s Mountains – to – Sea Trail
Burgaw is a small town in Pender County, located in the Coastal Region and Segment 14 of the Mountains to Sea Trail. This hike around Burgaw is another great example of how trails and greenways can uniquely tie a community and many of it’s features together.
The MST actually follows along with the Osgood Canal Greenway until the MST continues east on NC 53 and the greenway continues in a loop. We began our walk at the Pender County Museum and headed through the downtown area. The greenway includes sidewalks and paved walkways. There are several street crossings and a few of the busier roads actually have pedestrian activated caution lights at the crosswalks.
Crossing through the downtown area, the trail passes the Burgaw Train Depot. An interesting fact that we learned is that this station is the oldest in North Carolina (1850’s).
The depot was part of the railroad line that at one time was the longest – from Wilmington to Raleigh. It was a crucial stop in the Civil War and is therefore included in the NC and National Civil War Trails.
After leaving the downtown area, the path continues on the sidewalk through a quaint neighborhood and schools. Soon the greenway continues on a paved section through woods and alternates between woods and neighborhood before circling back to the start of our trip.
Burgaw is a peaceful, laid back type of community that I am sure makes a great trail town for thru-hikers as they make their way through the Coastal Region of the MST. Burgaw is also home to the NC Blueberry Festival in June- a great time to plan this hike.
This was one of the first “hikes” that I have done from the 40 Hike Challenge that is a planned walk through a town and local neighborhoods. When I was doing my initial planning and reading through the description of the Burgaw Greenway trail, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. However, I must admit that I was pleasantly surprised and thankful that I was able to experience this portion of the MST.
A complete list of the 40 Hikes and their Blog Posts can be found here
Another very interesting report, thanks for sharing