Greensboro’s Bike trails are a beautiful way to explore one of North Carolina’s most charming cities. With over 25 miles of dedicated trails and bike friend routes, there’s plenty to keep your wheels turning. This piece features interactive maps of the bike trails in Greensboro, plus suggestions for rides that will help you enjoy cycling the city or planning a biking getaway.

Overview of Greensboro Bike Trails

Below is an interactive map of bike trails in Greensboro that includes color-coded points of interest (including bike shops!) with native Google Map Pins, so click around to take a virtual tour of cycling in Greensboro, including additional pictures and reviews.

If you open this map on your mobile device, it will include your current GPS location and allow you to access Google Navigation (be sure to choose the bike option). If it doesn’t load right away, just hit the refresh button. We think it’s worth it

Greensboro Arboretum Trails (1 mi ★★★★)

The Greensboro Arboretum Trails earn four stars because, mile for mile, they might be the best riding in the city. They’d be five-star if they formed a loop and weren’t so short. It’s a perfect place for kiddos to get pedaling or as a launching point for longer rides. The 17-acre arboretum features 14 plant collections, display gardens, and distinct structural features visible from the dedicated paved pedestrian paths.

We loved riding through the wide variety of plants and installation art; there’s even a bike repair station in Lindley Park adjacent to the gardens to help you get out on the trail. The garden is open year-round, and admission is free.

Guilford Courthouse NMP Loop (2.37 mi ★★★★)

Biking the Guilford Courthouse National Military Park Loop is a true “only in Greensboro” riding experience, earning it a four-star rating. It would be five stars if it were just a little longer, and you didn’t have to share the road with cars. Fortunately, the park traffic is one-way, very light, and low speed.

 Sorry for the upcoming history lesson, but Guilford Courthouse is where the town’s namesake, Nathanial Greene, fought General Cornwallis in one of the most decisive battles of the Revolutionary War. Don’t worry; even without the history, this is a beautiful place to ride. However, the historical context makes it extraordinary.

Got your history hats on? Let’s go… By 1778, the British had largely abandoned operations in the north and pursued victory through subjugation in the Southern Colonies. They gained ground as Cornwallis chased the Patriots from Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina.

When General Nathanael Greene took over as Continental Army commander, he engaged in a strategy of avoidance and attrition against the British. The armies fought a string of battles, most of which were tactical though pyrrhic victories for the British.

On March 15, Cornwallis engaged Green at Guilford Courthouse. The British, tactically, won the battle, but strategically, the heavy losses left them weakened, while the Continental Army remained largely intact to continue fighting.

Greensboro was as far as Cornwallis would push into North Carolina. After the battle, he began his retreat to Yorktown, where his surrender seven months later marked the end of the Revolutionary War.

 The Guilford Courthouse National Military Park tells this remarkable story through a one-way interpretive loop through the battlefield, including a 9-stop cell phone tour available for free from the Visitor Center. If you’re not a history buff, you can skip the tour and enjoy a ride through the woods on a low-speed, low-traffic, one-way road with plenty of statues and monuments. Either way, it’s a fine and pleasant journey.

One more final note, the parking lot inside the park closes at 5:00 PM, so park at the lot off Old Battlefield Road if there’s even a chance that you’ll run late.

City of Greensboro County Park (3 mi ★★★½)

The City of Greensboro County Park occupies the same forest as Guilford Courthouse NMP (along with Forest Lawn Cemetery). It has some features that the NMP Loop doesn’t have, such as lakes and car-free roads. However, it only earns 3.5 stars because it lacks historical context, and half the mileage is through parking lots and access roads (traversing from the Copperhead Trails to Stoner-White Ball Field).

However, once you reach the lakes, the biking is excellent. A one- way loop circles the lakes clockwise that’s closed to traffic. There’s a little hill climbing, some good views, and lots of shade. You’ll find the Science Center and carousel on the east side of the lakes, with ample parking and restrooms throughout the park (see the Battlegrounds Parks District Map for details).

Lake Daniel / Lantham Park Greenways (3.4 mi ★★½)

It’s rare that I give dedicated greenways anything less than 3-stars, but the Lake Daniel and Lantham Park Greenways were a little underwhelming. First off, the trail surface was nothing more than a sidewalk. There was at least one place you had to dismount to ride under a bridge, and the road connection between the greenways wasn’t intuitive.

On the upside, the greenways provide a natural connection to downtown and travel through several small parks. You won’t find much shade, but you don’t have to fight traffic either.

Downtown Greenway (4 mi ★★½)

The Downtown Greenway has similar demerits as Lake Daniel and Lantham Park Greenways, namely trail condition (mostly double wide sidewalk) and some funky street crossings. By the time you get a good pace going, you’ve stopped at a crossing again. There’s also a significant amount of the trail that parallels city streets.

On the upside, there’s an increasing collection of installation art and street murals, plus access to some neat shops downtown. I love the concept of these urban greenways, but they aren’t where you’ll crank out any serious mileage.

Arboretum to Battlefield Parks Connector (5.6 mi ★★★)

Perhaps this says something about me as a rider, but I give the Westridge Road bike lanes and neighborhood connectors a composite rating of three stars, which is higher than the last three greenways reviewed in this piece. The Westridge Road bike lanes are an excellent place to set a pace and crank some miles. They also connect the riding areas of the Yakin Atlantic Trail and Battlefield Parks to the arboretum, which is one of the premier long rides in Greensboro that you’ll see later in this piece.

Apart from functionality, it’s interesting to loop through the old money of the Starlight neighborhood. One thing to note is Friendly Ave isn’t very bike friendly. I would recommend emphasizing crossing at the light where Westridge meets Lakewood Drive, which is why the interactive bike map shows a jog at Lake Hamilton.

Yadkin-Atlantic Greenway (6.1 mi ★★★★½)

The Yadkin-Atlantic Greenway is some seriously fun riding on a dedicated paved trail which is how it earns its 4.5 stars. It’s a little on the short side, but you’ll see how it combines with other paths to form some nice rides up to 29 miles long in the Best Bike Rides of Greensboro section.

The southern 1/3 of this greenway is ok, but the northern 2/3rds totally rocks. Once you cross Lake Brandt Road, there’s nothing but smooth sailing on shady paths with some stellar views of Lake Brandt. Bur-Mil Park even has bathrooms and water close to the trail’s northern terminus.

Bicentennial Greenway (North) (6.9 mi ★★★)

As I mentioned earlier, three stars are my opening rating for all greenways. The northern half of the Bicentennial Greenway from Old Battlefield Road to Market Street does just enough to keep this rating. There are too many street connections and patches of sidewalk labeled as a greenway for my liking, but it is almost seven miles long. Plus, a strong rider could make the connection to the southern half of the greenway to get some serious miles in.

Looking at the map, I was excited to ride the section off Drawbridge Pkwy along Horsepen Creek, only to find it wasn’t paved. There are a couple of places where you do get out of suburbia and into the Horsepen Creek drainage, but for the most part, the north half of Bicentennial Greenway is a nice sidewalk along people’s back fence, which isn’t bad, but it’s not going to crack the 3-star barrier.

Bicentennial Greenway (South) / High Point Greenway (11 mi ★★★★½)

The southern half of the Bicentennial Greenway comes close to getting full marks, but in and of itself, it’s one of the best bike rides in Greensboro. If it were longer with a few more signature features, this might be a candidate for five stars.

The pavement is new and fresh, with plenty of shade throughout. It runs through the heart of the Deep River Drainage with features like observation decks over the wetlands and views of High Point Lake. The Bicentennial Greenway ends more or less at the Piedmont Environmental Center, but you can continue riding the High Point Greenway into town. Nature gives way to urban High Point, including wineries, breweries, more furniture stores than you can shake a stick at, and the 32′ tall World’s Largest Chest of Drawers.

Best Cycling Routes in Greensboro

Greenways and bike trails are fine and good, but can you actually link them together for a decent ride? Long story short – heck yes. We’ve linked a MapMyRide route into each entry for more details and precise directions, and our points of interest are on the interactive map above. Without further ado, these are our four best cycling routes in Greensboro:

• The Best 10 Miles in Greensboro – This 10-mile ride combines the Guilford Courthouse Loop with the best parts of the Yadkin Atlantic Trail for a fabulous little ride.
• Yadkin Atlantic and Battlefield Parks – A 17-mile ride that combines all of the Yadkin Atlantic Trail with riding the Battlefield Parks’ park roads.
• Extended Yadkin Atlantic Ride – This 29-mile ride combines the Greensboro Arboretum with the Yadkin Atlantic and Battlefield Parks via the connector route along West Ridge Road for a long and flowing ride through Greensboro.
• Bicentennial Greenway to High Point – A 21-mile out-and-back down the best parts of the Bicentennial Greenway and High Point Greenway into charming downtown High Point.

Planning Your Romantic Biking Weekend in Greensboro

We’ve really only called out two unique routes in the Best Cycling in Greensboro section: the Extended Yadkin Atlantic Ride and Bicentennial Greenway to High Point. However, that’s fifty miles of phenomenal riding that’s more than enough to anchor a biking getaway.

The trick is making it romantic, which you accomplish by choosing to base out of the Proximity or O’Henry Hotels. They’re sister properties that earn their 4-star ratings with comfortable rooms and premium amenities like afternoon tea, farm-to-table on-site restaurants, and even romance packages. Proximity is more industrial chic while O’Henry focuses on old-school elegance, but they’re both excellent and bike-friendly.

You can start the Extended Yadkin Atlantic Ride from the lobby or drive 2-miles to the arboretum. You’re also only 12 miles from the start of the Bicentennial Greenway to the High Point route, so these hotels are excellent choices for a home base to bike Greensboro.

If you’re planning a bike getaway to Greensboro, be sure to check out some great riding in nearby Raleigh, Greensville, and Fayetteville to see if you want to make an extended cycling trip to central North Carolina.

Greensboro Bike Shops

Local bike shops are the backbone of any biking community. They’re a place you can stop in for quick repairs or something you left at home. They’re also the best resource for current trail conditions and biking tips.

Here’s a list of Greensboro bike shops in no particular order:

• cycles de ORO, Inc. – 701A Hill St, Greensboro, NC 27408, 336-274-5959
• Galactic Bikes – 2925 Battleground Ave suite e, Greensboro, NC 27408, 336-558-3229
• eBike Central – 400 State St, Greensboro, NC 27405, 888-876-6473
• REI – 3334 W Friendly Ave Suite 140, Greensboro, NC 27410, 336-323-3117
• Recycles Bike Shop – 908 Spring Garden St, Greensboro, NC 27403, 336-370-9099
• GetOutdoors Pedal & Paddle – 1515 W Gate City Blvd, Greensboro, NC 27403, 336-294-3918
• Revolution Cycles – 1907 Spring Garden St, Greensboro, NC 27403, 336-852-3972

Final thoughts on Greensboro Bike Trails

We’ve taken a romantic biking getaway where we rode most of the Greensboro bike trails and researched extensively for this article. However, conditions change over time, and we want to keep this article current and fresh. Please let us know if you see anything in here that doesn’t line up or should be corrected.

We want this page to be a functioning resource for the bike community so people can get out and go riding in Greensboro