Happy Hiking in Chinquapin Updated May 2025
- Martha Dobson
- May 20
- 3 min read
Trail Usage:
Horses,e-bikes and bicycles, foot traffic -- Natures Walk Trail, Wilderness Road, Red Trail, Gray Road
Wilderness Road--Cars can only travel on the Wilderness Road between the Fish Shack and Roaming Road. The rest of the road is for UTVs and 4wheel drive vehicles only. Serious damage will be done to other vehicles. Vehicles are defined as cars, trucks, 4wheel drive and UTVs/side by sides.
All trails & Wilderness Road—hiking
No Motorized Vehicles signs mark most of the trail heads. Even though the trail looks wide enough for the vehicle (remember those logging roads?), motorized traffic is not allowed.
Trail etiquette: Stay on the trail, no shortcuts through the woods. Use trails for their proper uses.
ALL trail traffic yields to horses. Hikers/bikers/vehicles stay still on the trail until the horse is completely past you, to avoid startling it.
Vehicle/bike/e-bike users yield to hikers.
Vehicle traffic gives yields to all other trail users.
Vehicle speed needs to be such that suddenly coming upon hikers or horses doesn’t cause an accident or damage to the trail/road surface.
Off road trails info for owners
The Chinquapin trails are a big draw for folks, encouraging them to buy property in the neighborhood. The trail system got its start when the Carlton family bought the property from Liberty Life Mutual Insurance Company around 1977. Liberty Life had logged the land, creating “roads” to get the equipment in and the trees out. These roads are the basis for the trails. That logging explains why so many Chinquapin trees are similar sizes; they are the new forest.
Most of the trails are named by a color: purple, pink, orange, black, yellow, green, brown, navy and gray, except for the Honeydew Trail off the Green Trail/Wilderness Road. Trail users will see a few waterfalls and bridges named after Carlton family members: Julie Falls, Charlie Falls, Sam’s Bridge, and others.
The Carlton family placed a number of acres in a conservancy which is managed by NALT, North American Land Trust. Will Gandy, at the Asheville office, covers the Chinquapin area.
Because of the conservancy requirements and the nature of the trails, they can be used in certain ways.
On the Maps & Trails tab on the website, there’s a link to mapped trails. These were mapped with a hiking app recording a person’s actual hike, making them very accurate. So, download those maps BEFORE you start a hike. The trail markers, or blazes in hiking-speak, are affixed to trees and are diamond shapes painted the color of the trail’s name The Navy Trail’s blazes are light blue
The trails areas have limited to no cell service. Cell phones should not be counted on for communication devices on the trails. The trails’ elevation varies in the surrounding mountains, which challenges signal reception, a reality of being in a mountainous area. To insure communication, use a device that communicates via satellite. SPOT Tracker, InReach, and Zoleo are examples of such devices. Tell someone where you’re going and when you’ll return.
In warm/hot weather, especially on the Pink Trail, rattlesnakes enjoy the open rock faces, so be alert if hiking in warmer weather. Rattlesnakes in this area are protected; do not kill them. Do take a photo and GPS coordinates when you sight one and send that to NC Wildlife who is tracking rattlesnakes. Email the info to rattlesnake@ncwildlife.gov.
When hiking anywhere, leave the natural things in place that you see. As Leave No Trace guidelines say, take only pictures, leave only footprints. https://lnt.org/why/7-principles/
Owner Dave Barnett oversees Chinquapin trail care. Dave works with NALT for rerouting trails that lost sections due to development, and Lucas Murdock repairs such like bridges. If you want to get involved with the trails, contact Dave. His contact information is on the private owners directory, under the Owner Resources tab.
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