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Trail News from
the Mountains to the Sea May
2025
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Stunning
Reroute Opens at Chimney Gap in Linville
Gorge
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Friends of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail
celebrated the opening of a new trail
reroute in the Linville Gorge near Table
Rock. The original MST route was
horribly eroded and unmaintainable,
which necessitated a reroute of the
trail. Not only is the newly-built trail
more sustainable, it also opens up
tremendous views of Linville Gorge that
hikers would have previously missed.
Friends of the MST's Associate Director
Betsy Brown and I were so grateful to
join members of the US
Forest Service, NC
State Parks and Wild
South,
our partners for the trail reroute, on a
gorgeous day in the gorge to walk the
new trail and thank everyone for their
hard work. Due to the remote and rugged
location of the reroute, a professional
trail crew was brought in through Wild
South for the more difficult stages of
the trail building process.
Friends of the MST’s dedicated volunteer
crew in the area, led by Doug Veazey,
were also instrumental to the project
and several members of the volunteer
group also joined us for the opening
hike. The entire project was a team
effort from start to finish, once again
highlighting how the MST is only
possible thanks to our partners and
volunteers across the state.
To see more pictures of the new trail, click
here.
The easiest way to access to this area
is by parking at the Spence Ridge
trailhead and hiking towards Table Rock
and then continuing westward on the MST
through the Chimneys towards Chimney
Gap. The access road and parking at
Table Rock remain closed.
Keep reading for more updates and
exciting news from across the trail.
Thank you so much for your support,
Brent Laurenz, Executive Director
and the team at Friends of the MST
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Hurricane
Helene Recovery Continues
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As of this week, approximately
two-thirds of the MST has reopened from
the western Terminus at Kuwohi through
Stone Mountain State Park. Nearly all of
the MST has reopened through Linville
Gorge, thanks to the hard work of US
Forest Service, Wild South, Central Blue
Ridge Task Force and many volunteers.
The MST along the Blue Ridge Parkway
remains closed for long stretches, from
the Folk Art Center northwest of
Asheville to near Marion and then again
from southwest of Boone through Devil's
Garden Overlook near Stone Mountain
State Park.
At this time, with such significant
portions of the trail through the
mountains closed, including several key
sections that cannot reasonably be
bypassed, completion of the MST is not
possible unless a hiker has previously
completed Segments 2-5. Section hikers
can complete the Piedmont and coastal
sections and work toward completion on
open sections in the mountains, but
thru-hikes or other completion will not
be recognized unless all closed sections
were completed before September 2024.
We hope that in the coming months,
enough of the trail will reopen that
completion of the mountain segments will
be feasible again. Completion will
almost certainly require detours on
nearby trails and roads, and/or
mandatory vehicle shuttles, around badly
damaged sections of trail that will
remain closed.
For up-to-date information on trail
closures and reroutes (soon to be posted
for Devil's Courthouse in Segment 3 and
around Harper's Creek Falls in Segment
4), check
out our Hurricane Helene page.
You'll find general updates on progress
and two great resources: a table with
detailed information on open and closed
sections and a detailed map showing
what's open, closed and reroutes, once
available. We also encourage you to
check the Blue Ridge Parkway's construction
status page to
follow along on the progress that they
are making. Many parkway projects are
slated to wrap up this summer and fall,
and once that happens, we will be
working to reopen the trail.
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In the coastal plain, significant
progress is being made in Johnston,
Sampson and Bladen counties.
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In Johnston County, a ribbon cutting
will be held later this month to
open more new trail at Bentonville
Battlefield. Extending roughly 1.2
miles, this new section will add to
the existing 4.5 miles already on
the ground and marks the first trail
development on the northern end of
the battlefield, moving hikers off
road near the historic location of
the town of Bentonville. For the
first time in nearly 160 years,
visitors will be able to follow in
the footsteps of Union soldiers as
they launched the final attack on
day 3 of the battle.
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In Sampson County, work has begun to
construct parking near the Pondberry
Bay Preserve, which will open up the
first natural surface hiking trail
in the entire county! On the other
side of Roseboro, we are making
exceptional progress by securing
easements on a large property
connecting the trail as it makes its
way out of town.
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In Bladen County, the final
construction plans for the nearly
200-foot bridge over Turnbull Creek
have been submitted to the State
Construction Office and we are
eagerly awaiting their approval.
Once that arrives, construction can
begin! When the bridge is completed,
12 miles of MST will open through
the area, connecting Jones Lake
State Park, Bladen Lakes State
Forest and Turnbull Creek
Educational State Forest, making it
a hot spot for hikers looking for
longer natural surface mileage in
the coastal plain.
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Eastern
Terminus Overtaken by MST Hikers
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Friends of the MST came together for a
fun and sun-filled Gathering of Friends
in March on the Outer Banks! More
than 200 people attended the multi-day
event, which featured guided hikes,
tours, a welcome reception, Friends of
the MST’s annual meeting, a group hike
to the new terminus marker at Jockey’s
Ridge State Park and capped off with
sunset and s’mores at Jockey’s Ridge. We
were also thrilled to have Secretary
Cashwell from the Department of Natural
and Cultural Resources and Brian Strong,
director of NC State Parks, join us.
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One of the highlights of the event every
year is spending time with so many
passionate members of the MST community
and seeing new connections being made by
people from across the state. Friends of
the MST’s staff and board returned from
the weekend energized and inspired to
continue our work to build, maintain and
promote the MST.
Where will we be in 2026 and 2027 when
we celebrate 50 years since the MST was
first proposed? Announcements will be
made in the coming months but until
then, you can submit your guesses to info@mountainstoseatrail.org and
whomever gets both right wins a prize
pack!
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Tackle
the 40 Hike Challenge
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Since a thru-hike isn't possible right
now, it's the perfect time to tackle the
40 Hike Challenge! Experience the MST in
small chunks and earn this super cool
patch by completing (nearly) all the
Great Day Hikes profiled in Jim Grode's
bestseller Great
Day Hikes on North Carolina's
Mountains-to-Sea Trail. With
day hikes 6, 7, 11 and 12 closed, find a
hike of similar mileage anywhere on the
MST to substitute for the closed hikes
until they reopen.
Find out more about the challenge, how
to get the book, and get a handy
tracking document here.
From now until Memorial Day, pick
up the book for $20 (20% off regular
price) on our website.
And members get an additional 10% off
that!
If you do decide to start section hiking
the trail, make sure to
register with
us so we know you've started the
journey. It's helpful for us to know
who's working on the trail. Check out
all the helpful information, beyond the trail
updates page,
including our FAQs,
how to report
trail issues and hiker
and trail angel etiquette.
Happy hiking!
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Lunch and
Learn about our new volunteer system
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If you are a volunteer with the Friends
of the MST, and haven't yet started
using our new volunteer system, CERVIS,
then join Sherri Seagroves for a lunch
and learn session on May 28th at noon.
She'll be holding lunchtime sessions on
the last Wednesday of every month for as
long as necessary to help volunteers set
up their profiles, link to volunteer
events, and log their hours. Take a
moment to review the "how
to" document on the Volunteer page of
our website prior to joining the call.
Sign up here for dates from now through
August. The
Zoom link will be distributed before the
session. Space is limited to 25
volunteers per date.
The MST simply would not be possible
without the thousands of volunteers and
tens of thousands of hours they give
each year. If you've not yet gotten
involved, check
out ways to take that first step here.
Volunteer workdays are often listed on
the calendar
on our website or
through CERVIS.
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ONE: Become
a member by donating $35 or more today.
Members have access to the most current
trail guides and save 10% in our online
store.
TWO: Buy an MST license plate.
$20 of your annual fee will come back to
Friends of the MST. Order your plate directly
from NC DMV.
THREE: If your employer hosts a
workplace-giving campaign, look for
Friends of the MST as a giving option.
We are a member of EarthShare
NC which
promotes workplace giving for
conservation and environmental groups.
We are a giving option in the North
Carolina state employee campaign and in
many local government and corporate
campaigns too. Friends code numbers are:
State employee campaign - 1102; United
Way of the Triangle - 60001159.
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Volunteers are the heart of
Friends of the MST.
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We need people with a wide
variety of skills and
interests to build and care
for this beautiful trail.
From trail building to
tabling at events, from
fundraising to trail
maintenance, learn
how you can get involved.
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3509 Haworth Drive, Suite 210,
Raleigh, NC 27609
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