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Historic Trails

Hiking Trails in the Blue Ridge Mountains Are Some of the Most Historic Places in NC

History buffs visiting the North Carolina mountains and foothills can retrace several historic routes that mark significant chapters in our nation’s history. These routes provide access to many historic sites in NC.

Hiking Access to Historic Military Sites in North Carolina

The 330-mile Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail commemorates the marching route of citizen militia to the pivotal Battle of King’s Mountain during the Revolutionary War.  The hiking trail is being developed, but visitors can follow a Commemorative Motor Route.

Click on the link below to hear more in Living Traditions Moment

Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail

The North Carolina Civil War Trails are a collection of interpreted Civil War sites connected by suggested driving tours.

Hiking Access to Historical Cherokee Sites in NC

The Trail of Tears National Historic Trail commemorates a tragic chapter of our nation’s history—the forced removal of the Cherokee from their mountain homelands to the plains of Oklahoma in 1838-1839. Interpretation and signage for the Trail is planned for sites in Western North Carolina, where the removal began.

Hiking Access to Other Historic Trails

The Bartram Trail is a 100 mile memorial trail maintained by the North Carolina Bartram Trail Society in honor of the Philadelphian naturalist, William Bartram, who traveled throughout the southeast from 1773 to 1777. During these travels, Bartram wrote vivid descriptions of the plants and animals he saw, and the Native American peoples he encountered, which he later published under the title Bartram’s Travels.

The Appalachian Trail is historic in that it was the first trail to be designated as a National Scenic Trail.  It traverses 88 miles of its total 2175 miles in Western North Carolina.