American Tobacco Trail
Section of the Trail near Scott King Road
Length	22 mi (35 km)
Location	North Carolina
Trailheads	Durham to Apex
Use	Multi-use
Trail Difficulty	Easy
Season	Year-round

The American Tobacco Trail (ATT) is a 22-mile long Rails-to-Trails project located in the Research Triangle region of North Carolina, running along an abandoned railroad bed originally built for the American Tobacco Company in the 1970s. The route crosses through the City of Durham, Durham County, Chatham County, and Wake County. The ATT is part of the East Coast Greenway. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1728x2304, 1688 KB) Summary Picture taken by me on American Tobacco Trail in June 2005 Licensing I, the creator of this work, hereby grant the permission to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free... Official language(s) English Capital Raleigh Largest city Charlotte Area  Ranked 28th  - Total 53,865 sq mi (139,509 km²)  - Width 150 miles (240 km)  - Length 560[1] miles (901 km)  - % water 9. ... Durham is a city located in Durham County, North Carolina. ... The historic downtown district of Apex, NC. Apex is a town located in Wake County, North Carolina. ... This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... Railbanking is the practice of preserving railroad rights-of-way by using them as multi-use trails. ... The Research Triangle, commonly referred to as the Triangle, is a region in the piedmont of North Carolina in the United States, anchored by the cities of Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill and the major research universities of North Carolina State University, Duke University, and the University of North Carolina... Official language(s) English Capital Raleigh Largest city Charlotte Area  Ranked 28th  - Total 53,865 sq mi (139,509 km²)  - Width 150 miles (240 km)  - Length 560[1] miles (901 km)  - % water 9. ... The American Tobacco Company was founded in 1890 by J. B. Duke as a merger between a number of tobacco manufacturers including Allen and Ginter. ... The 1970s decade refers to the years from 1970 to 1979, also called The Seventies. ... Nickname: Location in North Carolina Country United States State North Carolina County Durham County Government  - Mayor Bill Bell Area  - City  94. ... Durham County is a county located in the state of North Carolina. ... Chatham County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. ... Wake County is a county located in the state of North Carolina. ... The East Coast Greenway, or ECG, is a project to create a 2,600-mile urban path linking the major cities along the Atlantic coast of the United States, from Maine to Florida for non-motorized human transportation. ...

Route

The ATT begins in the City of Durham across Morehead Avenue from the Durham Bulls Athletic Park. Trail users can park in a gravel parking area underneath the Durham Freeway (NC 147), except on game days. The trail is a 10-foot wide asphalt paved greenway with gravel shoulders. It is open to walkers, cyclists, rollerbladers and wheelchair users. Nickname: Location in North Carolina Country United States State North Carolina County Durham County Government  - Mayor Bill Bell Area  - City  94. ... Durham Bulls Athletic Park is a baseball stadium in Durham, North Carolina that is home to the AAA affiliate of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays of Major League Baseball. ... “Footpath” redirects here. ...

The American Tobacco Trail traverses 6.75 miles south through the City of Durham to its current end at NC Hwy. 54 just north of I-40. This segment of the ATT is a designated portion of the East Coast Greenway. Plans are underway to construct a pedestrian bridge across I-40 between exit 274 and 276, connecting two major portions of the ATT. The East Coast Greenway, or ECG, is a project to create a 2,600-mile urban path linking the major cities along the Atlantic coast of the United States, from Maine to Florida for non-motorized human transportation. ...

South of I-40 there is a 3-mile natural or existing surface segment that is currently open. This portion, extending from Massey Chapel Road, past the Chancellor's Ridge subdivision, under Fayetteville Road, crossing a trailhead at Scott King Road and ending at the now undecked Northeast Creek trestle, is currently under reconstruction by the Triangle Rails-to-Trails Conservancy (TRTC) under a grant from the Durham Open Space and Trails Commission. TRTC has regular 1st and 3rd Saturday workdays on this portion of trail which meet at the Scott King Road trail intersection. Interstate 40 (abbreviated I-40) is a major west-east interstate highway in the United States. ...

Northeast Creek Trestle

Another natural or existing surface segment, running from the undecked Northeast Creek trestle, crossing O'Kelly Chapel Road, past the Old Chatham Golf Course, crossing the end of Pittard Sears Road, crossing the now undecked Panther Creek Trestle, and ending at New Hope Church Road, is also being cleared and open for foot, bike and equestrian use by TRTC. As with the Southern Durham section described in the preceding paragraph, use at your own risk. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (2304x1728, 1776 KB) Summary Picture taken by me of the Northeast Creek Trestle along the American Tobacco Trail Licensing I, the creator of this work, hereby grant the permission to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (2304x1728, 1776 KB) Summary Picture taken by me of the Northeast Creek Trestle along the American Tobacco Trail Licensing I, the creator of this work, hereby grant the permission to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of...

Wake County opened, in 2003, the first 3.5 mile segment from New Hill-Olive Chapel Road to Wimberly Road. Currently, this unpaved segement is now 6.4 miles in length, followed by a usable but unimproved 1.9 mile portion. The improved greenway is a 10-foot plus in width granite screening composition trail open to hikers, cyclists, wheelchair users and equestrians. Users can access this portion of the greenway at a trailhead off New Hill-Olive Chapel Road, two miles south of US 64; as well as at trailheads on Wimberly Road and White Oak Church Road. The towns of Apex and Cary have plans to connect their municipal greenway systems to the ATT in the future. Wake County is a county located in the state of North Carolina. ... Apex is a town in Wake County, North Carolina, a suburb of Raleigh. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

In total, 8.3 miles of continuous unpaved trail is usable in the southernmost portion and 6.75 miles of continuous paved trail is usable in the northernmost portion. A traverse of approximately 10 miles on public roads is required to get between these two continuous sections.

History

The American Tobacco Company was founded by J.B. Duke in 1890 and dominated the industry by acquiring the Lucky Strike Company and over 200 other rival firms. The company built processing plants and warehouses in Durham which were served by several rail lines built in 1905. Antitrust action begun in 1907 against the American Tobacco Company broke the company in 1911 into several major companies: American Tobacco Company, Liggett & Meyers Tobacco Company, Lorillard, and British American Tobacco. In the 1970s the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers built the Jordan Lake reservoir in Chatham County necessitating the relocation of the New Hope Valley rail line that connected tobacco fields near Bonsal, North Carolina to the American Tobacco Company facilities in Durham. A new rail line was built on higher ground a few miles to the east. American Tobacco left Durham in 1987 and the tracks were removed from the right-of-way. In the 1980s the Triangle Rails to Trails Conservancy (TRTC) was formed to preserve the corridor as a multi-use trail and developed a Master Plan for the ATT in 1992. The American Tobacco Company was founded in 1890 by J. B. Duke as a merger between a number of tobacco manufacturers including Allen and Ginter. ... 1890 (MDCCCXC) was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar). ... 1905 (MCMV) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar). ... Year 1907 (MCMVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Monday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... Year 1911 (MCMXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Saturday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... Liggett Tobacco, formerly known as Liggett and Meyers Tobacco Company. ... Lorillard Tobacco Company is an American tobacco company which holds a significant share of the American tobacco market. ... British American Tobacco Plc (LSE: BATS, AMEX: BTI) (BTI on the American Stock Exchange) is the third largest cigarette company in the world. ... The 1970s decade refers to the years from 1970 to 1979, also called The Seventies. ... United States Army Corps of Engineers logo The United States Army Corps of Engineers, or USACE, is made up of some 34,600 civilian and 650 military men and women. ... Jordan Lake is a man-made lake in central North Carolina within the New Hope River Valley, lying mainly within northeastern Chatham County. ... Chatham County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. ... Bonsal is a small community located in extreme southwestern Wake County, North Carolina off of the original alignment of US_1. ... Year 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link displays 1987 Gregorian calendar). ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Year 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1992 Gregorian calendar). ...

External links

• TRTC website
• Photographs and stories from a daily ATT bicycle commuter
• Video of entire paved and unpaved trail labeled with distances, cross streets, and other items