Hike & Chill at Clayton River Walk on the Neuse

Clayton River Walk on the Neuse is a beautiful 4-mile, 10-foot wide paved trail that begins at the Wake County/Johnston County line and parallels the Neuse River under Covered Bridge Road. It is part of the 1,000-mile Mountains-to-Sea Trail (MST), which will connect Clingman's Dome in North Carolina's Great Smokey Mountains National Park to Jockey's Ridge State Park and all the way to the coast. If you would like to learn more about how to section or through hike on the MST, visit the Friends of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail. Clayton's section has also been designated as part of the 2,500-mile East Coast Greenway that will extend from Maine to Florida, linking cities in every state on the eastern seaboard.

Clayton River Walk on the Neuse connects with the recently completed Sam's Branch Greenway, a 1.25-mile, 10-foot-wide paved multi-purpose trail, which was also made possible with $600,000 in funding from the North Carolina Department of Transportation. A section of Sam's Branch is adorned with a public art project involving local artists and school children.

To ease access to these trails, the Town of Clayton just finished a trailhead/parking lot and access ramp at the intersection of the Neuse River and Covered Bridge Road. It was made possible by grant money from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources Division of Water Quality.

Please feel free to invite friends. We want you all to get some much-needed adult time. Our events are designed to be a way for adults to relieve the stress of adulting, welcome newcomers to the area, and make new friends. We love the kids but please don't bring them to the hike.

Fun Facts about Clayton River Walk on the Neuse Trailhead and Parking

Did you know that from 2686 Covered Bridge Road to:

• Pedestrian Bridge over Neuse is 0.5 miles south
• Outdoor public art is 1.2 miles south
• Sam's Branch Trailhead is 2.25 miles south
• Wake County Line is 3 miles north
• Mial Plantation Road Bridge is 4 miles north
• Falls Lake Dam in Raleigh is 30.5 miles north