Kings Mountain Gateway Trail — Attraction in Kings Mountain

Rail trail, Greenway biker here.

Kings Mountain does a phenomenal job with parking, restrooms, and their paved trails.

They also maintain the gravel "Foote Trail" very well, but perhaps in some cases due to erosion control, too well for bikes, lol.

Two things keep it from being five stars, number one (and it's probably just a fact of life that has to be dealt with to maintain the trail), but there is a lot of large, yet not packed down gravel in many spots especially as you go downhill and into some tight corners.

It's somewhat difficult to maintain control of your bike as the gravel tends to move your front tire left and right and your choices are go down as slow as possible using near full brakes or just banzi it down the hill and hope for the best (and hope you can make the corner at the bottom.)

Just the topography of the trail makes it where washouts could be a big problem, but they do very very good with maintaining erosion control with the wood "steps" in steep sections, and the aforementioned gravel.

That's not throwing stones at Kings Mountain and the people that maintain the trail it's just something that makes it less than perfect for a gravel bike/greenway bike.

The trail is very nicely maintained and there was never a spot where you felt like it had been neglected.

I will say this, the Kings Mountain end of the trail there is a very nice bathroom facility but there's also quite a bit of signage and information that is jumbled enough that somehow I missed (if it was there) a caution that was posted at the far end of the trail.

When I got to the road that ended the trail on the other side of i-85, when I turned around to go back the other way I saw a sign that said danger "do not use this trail alone and always carry bear spray."

I certainly rode it alone, and I certainly had no bear spray lol.

I also nearly ran over what was either a copperhead about to molt, or a water snake in the sections where the swamp canals flank the trail.

It is a natural area and anyone using the trail should plan accordingly.

Where Foote Trail branches off of the paved loop trails a sign similar to the one at the other end warning of using it alone and the potential for bears, would probably go a long way.

I will ride this trail many many more times in the future, as gravel trails go, the elevation changes and topography changes are just great and it was a lot of fun.

Well done...

I do not enjoy walking but I have to do it and it makes it significantly better when I find a well-cared-for path that is either paved or not uneven. They have signs about bears everywhere but don't let that scare you. (I'm not saying that if you walk after dark and/or alone there wouldn't be a chance to run into wildlife. I'm just saying it didn't appear to be a path that bears would be interested in normally. Dogs are frequently walking with people (leashed as far as I saw). People were spaced just outside of view but if you stopped walking it would be no more than a minute or two before you encountered someone. So, I always felt safe and was able to finish walking and enjoy the beautiful feel of nature...

I enjoyed the walk and they have a story book walk right now that has a children's book on 17 slides through the walk that would be great for kids. A very well thought out fitness trail that anyone could find challenging. Butterfly garden at the top and an optional 10 mile round-trip hike around a lake that you can do that is right off the trail. Bikes are welcome. You can chose a low walk or a good strenuous climb to butterfly garden or cardio hill. Nice views of Kings Mountain and a interesting look at a quarry but it is fenced off with 8 foot fence so no safety worries. Not very crowded most times and pets are welcome. Could be a fun quick outing or a long all day affair you can chose great area to...