Mountain-to-Sea Trail Connector

The Mountains-to-Sea Trail is approximately 1,175 miles of footpath stretching from Clingmans Dome in the Great Smoky Mountains to Jockey’s Ridge in the Outer Banks of North Carolina Coast. 

The Town of Oak Ridge is the headwaters of the Haw River and home to a portion of the Mountain-to-Sea Trail. To improve both facilities and provide better access, the Town and DMP worked on a route, through an existing developed residential area to construct a pathway with a natural feel. The pathway now connects part of the Mountain-to-Sea Trail system and provides a corridor along the headwaters of the Haw River.

DMP provided planning, design and permitting assistance for a proposed section of the Mountains to Sea Trail (MST) in the Town of Oak Ridge. The project was approximately 2,600 feet long on the north side of Haw River Road from the existing Mountains to Sea Trail – north of Haw River Road, down to the Haw River following Pepper Road. As part of the design process, DMP evaluated multiple material options for the MST and selected, with the Towns’ concurrence to utilize a blue slate pea gravel. This provides a more rustic natural look for the MST to more appropriately blend with the surrounding rural environment. DMP completed location, grading, erosion, construction plans, easement maps and a topographic and limited boundary survey.