Saluda Grade Trail Sets North Carolina Priorities

Organizers have identified Landrum to Tryon and Saluda to Bell Park as the first North Carolina sections for design and construction.

Updated on Nov. 2, 2026 in National Parks

Photograph of a grassy former railroad bed curving through forested North Carolina foothills, with rails partly overgrown and a red clay embankment. — Organizers of the Saluda Grade Trail have named Landrum to Tryon and Saluda to Bell Park as North Carolina's first priority sections for design and construction. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

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Organizers of the Saluda Grade Trail announced that the Landrum to Tryon and Saluda to Bell Park sections are the priorities for the first phase of North Carolina design and construction. Conserving Carolina is seeking federal funding for those two sections.

Why it matters

Corridor acquisition is complete in both South Carolina and North Carolina, but design and engineering have not yet started in North Carolina. Securing funding for the priority sections determines when the trail can move from planning toward construction.

Organizers anticipate 18 months to two years for North Carolina design after funding is secured, with construction projected at one to two years. Funding for those phases has not yet been secured, and organizers are still working with local communities to decide which track sections should remain.

The players

Conserving Carolina

A nonprofit land conservation organization that is seeking federal funding for the North Carolina sections of the Saluda Grade Trail.

Norfolk Southern

A major freight railroad that received the corridor acquisition funds directly, enabling the rail corridor to be transferred for trail development.

The details

The North Carolina priority sections run from Landrum to Tryon and from Saluda to Bell Park, and organizers are working with local communities, historians, and the North Carolina Steering Committee on the rail decisions. Corridor acquisition funds were paid to Spartanburg County government and then directly to Norfolk Southern rather than through the nonprofit project partners.

Oct. 21, 2026: Organizers issued the update identifying North Carolina priority sections.
September 2026: Progress and funding source breakdown was provided.
Spring 2027: Organizers aim to solicit South Carolina construction contractors.
Late spring 2027: The first South Carolina five-mile segment is expected to be fully permitted and ready for construction.
2028: Organizers hope at least part of the trail will be available.

Roadmap

The Saluda Grade Trail follows the rail-to-trail model used by the Swamp Rabbit Trail in Greenville County, South Carolina, converting a former rail corridor into public recreation space. Its North Carolina portion is now the next phase that depends on securing design and construction funding.

Trail users in the Landrum, Tryon, Saluda, and Bell Park areas will not have access to North Carolina segments until design and construction are funded and completed. Visitors planning around the trail should expect the first sections to become available gradually rather than all at once.

The takeaway

Trails built on former rail corridors depend on sequenced funding, with land acquisition often finishing well before design and construction can begin. Following the funding milestones for North Carolina sections will show when the trail becomes usable.

What happens next

Organizers plan to solicit South Carolina construction contractors in spring 2027, and the first South Carolina segment is expected to be fully permitted by late spring 2027.