2023 marks the 50th anniversary of the NC Trails System Act, and the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources is celebrating with the Year of the Trail campaign, where all types of trails are being celebrated across the state. Join us as we conclude our three-part series exploring the “sights, sounds, and people” of North Carolina’s trail system. In this episode, we are joined by Secretary D. Reid Wilson for a special retrospective interview. We learn about the origins of the Year of the Trail Campaign, some of the great trail events that have gone on around the state, and we discuss finding peace through hiking.   

Primary Sources:   

General Assembly Session Records, May Session 1973, House Bill 436, “An Act to Create a Scenic and Recreation Trails System and to Provide for the Designation, Administration, Regulation, and Acquisition of Scenic Trails and Trail Rights-of-Way,” SR.66.8  

https://axaem.archives.ncdcr.gov//solrDetailPages/series/NCA/Series_detail.html?fq=seriesLevelId:series-31391   

Secondary Sources:  

https://www.dncr.nc.gov/programs-services/featured-programs/nc-path 

https://greattrailsnc.com/  

https://www.alltrails.com/?ref=header  

Other Links: 

https://digital.ncdcr.gov/collections/carolina-christmas