First hike on Wayne part of Mountains-to-Sea trail held
By Phyllis Moore
Published in News on May 1, 2016 1:45 AM
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News-Argus/CASEY MOZINGO
Greg Olson looks back at his son Luke, 2, laughing because his father was rocking him back and forth in a hiking carrier backpack Saturday as they wait to start the inaugural Mountains-to-Sea Trail at Waynesborough Park.
Becky Craig would be perfectly happy to have Goldsboro become known as a "trail town," she says.
"We already have a water trail, but we're trying to come up with things for bikes and walkers," said the chief financial officer at Wayne Memorial Hospital, who also heads up Friends of Wayne County Greenways.
"We need a safe place -- walking outside in nature is cost effective and it promotes mental health."
On Saturday, the group participated in the first hike on the Mountains-to-Sea Trail, held at Waynesborough Park.
"The goal of this, called 'unveil the trail,' is to educate our citizens about the great trails we already have in Wayne County," she said. "It's called an urban trail, at Waynesborough Park.
"It's already designated part of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail, which is statewide, a 1,000-mile trail which connects Clingman Dome in the western mountains, which borders Tennessee, to Jockey's Ridge on the Outer Banks."
The state also designated Wayne and Lenoir counties as part of that trail, she said, with volunteers maintaining the route. There was some frustration, though, when efforts stalled on getting the trails connected, resulting in an alternate route being developed, Mrs. Craig said.
"(Now) the goal is to get from Bentonville into Waynesborough Park -- this is the urban part of the trail," she said.
Well over 100 people turned out for the four-mile hike Saturday morning -- trekking from Waynesborough Park to Elm Street, down Center Street, with a pit stop at the Wayne County Museum, before culminating at Stoney Creek Park. Once there, Mrs. Craig said the YMCA provided a bus to return participants to their vehicles.
The event was a GoWayneGo effort, which also attracted such sponsors as the hospital, the YMCA, Goldsboro Parks and Recreation, BB&T, Do It Downtown Goldsboro, the state parks and the Friends of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail.
"We're trying to bring attention to the great things that are already here," she said. "We've got a whole lot of people that did not know this trail existed."
The trail is actually part of the state Parks and Recreation Plan, one of five designated trails -- and the longest one, she pointed out.
"We want to generate interest from Wayne and Lenoir counties," she said. "We want Goldsboro to be a trail town.
"You're getting the full North Carolina experience. You're getting mountains, you're getting towns, all the way up to the beach."
This will definitely not be the last effort to spark interest in walking trails.
Friends of Wayne County Greenways has a Facebook page and updates can also be found at meetup.com/friends-of-wayne-county-greenway.
Walks have also been scheduled throughout the summer, for both individuals and groups, Mrs. Craig said.
Self-led walks are held every Saturday, May through August, at 9 a.m. Information can be found on the GoWayneGo homepage and Facebook page.
The summer schedule for one-hour walks, every Thursday at 6 p.m., includes the following:
*May 12, Old Waynesborough Park Walk
*May 19, Meet at courthouse steps; also city bike ride, meet at corner of Chestnut and William streets
*May 26, Stoney Creek Greenway Rugged Crawl, Elm to Slocumb backwoods; meet at corner of E. Elm and Stoney Creek Parkway
*June 9, WMH two-mile trek, meet at rear parking lot of WMH
*June 16, Courthouse steps, Walnut Street
*June 23, Goldsboro Events Center Walk, meet at 1501 S. Slocumb St.
*June 30, Courthouse steps
*July 14, Mount Olive, meet at Steele Memorial Library
*July 21, Seven Springs, meet at Neuse River boat ramp
*July 28, Courthouse steps
*Aug. 4, Courthouse steps
*Aug. 11, Walnut Creek, meet at 508 Lakeshore Drive
*Aug. 18, Pikeville, meet at Railroad and Mill streets
*Aug. 25, WMH, meet in rear parking lot.