Nestled just a few miles from campus on 750 acres of University-owned land, Carolina North Forest is a hidden gem of tens of miles of trails ideal for students in Chapel Hill and Carrboro looking to get away without even having to leave town.
Acquired by the University in the 1940s, portions of the land have served many purposes in recent decades.
Since 2006, the land has become designated as the focus of the University’s plan to create a satellite campus called Carolina North — part of an long-term initiative to expand the University to accommodate its ever-growing student body and infrastructural needs.
While the latest plans do not proscribe development overtaking the entire site, it is clear that the forest in its current state will not be around forever.
Efforts have been made to make the forest more accessible with a paved greenway beginning at its northern edge of Homestead Road. It currently leads, however, to an endpoint at an unpaved loop trail. With so much development planned for the area, it would make sense for paved greenways to at least make connections between points of entry to the forest.
Additionally, sections of roads which border the forest, including Seawell School Road and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard do not have sidewalks near forest entrances. These should be provided to make those sections conveniently accessible to pedestrians and runners.
