Mount Airy, North Carolina’s 8-mile riverside trail is a delight in many contexts, including fishing and jumping in.
Photo Above: The greenway is nearly level throughout its 8 miles.
Photos Courtesy of Leonard M. and Laurie Adkins.
Surry County, North Carolina, has an abundance of outdoor recreational opportunities: Five hundred miles of designated bicycle routes, four rivers with 100 miles of renowned kayaking and canoeing, 36 miles of stocked trout streams and more than two dozen miles of hiking trails in Mount Pilot State Park. Yet, it is an undemanding, easy urban paved trail, the Granite City Greenway, entirely within the city limits of Mount Airy that is second only to the state park as the county’s most utilized recreation facility. Laurie and I recently walked a 3.5-mile section of the 8-mile greenway, looking forward to seeing what drew so many people to it.
Almost immediately we found that a major attraction is the easy access the greenway provides to the Ararat River. Starting the walk in Riverside Park, we saw two teenage boys whooping and hollering as they used a rope tied high up in a tree to swing out and do cannon ball drops into the water. A few tenths of a mile later, three young women waded in from a small sandy beach.
Two kayakers floated by while we watched numerous anglers cast a line from shore or mid-stream. Area resident Mike Hiatt said, “The river is well-stocked with trout and I like how this becomes a social experience when talking with someone you just met, from another state or surrounding area.” Hiatt’s son Brandon added, “The ability to have top-notch fishing right in town has allowed me to enjoy my hobby without having to drive hours to some other place.”
The greenway borders the city’s elementary, middle and high schools and Catrina Alexander, a teacher at Mount Airy Middle School, told us that its outdoor learning opportunity is a creative way to motivate her students and reinforce classroom education concepts. “These resources connected to the school set us apart from most communities.”
The scenic river was in sight the entire walk and, in fact, was even visible from the Chase and Charli Restaurant’s patio, where we enjoyed lunches of a sriracha shrimp wrap and chicken salad sandwich. (We passed on what looked like very delectable homemade cakes.)
Beyond the restaurant, we encountered only an occasional bicyclist or jogger (and one family of a mom, dad and three children who seemed to really be enjoying each other’s company), so we were able to concentrate more on our surroundings. The river took on an almost grotto-like setting with flat rocks providing cool places to rest, courtesy of shade trees arching over the water.
When he was the Parks and Recreation director, City Manager Darren Lewis sent out a call to local artists to paint the many above-ground concrete manhole covers. The response was enthusiastic and close to two dozen brightly and sometimes whimsically decorated concrete canvasses now decorate the pathway.
Our walk came to an end soon after the greenway made a horseshoe bend to leave the Ararat River and begin winding its way upstream along Lovill’s Creek, another trout-stocked stream. We could now turn our attention to the original reason we had come to Mount Airy—a walking tour of the downtown area with its many sites paying tribute to hometown son, Andy Griffith (the subject of a future Good Walk column).
When You Go
The Walk: The Granite City Greenway is 8 miles (with more miles planned) of nearly level walking. Laurie and I walked 3.5 miles, beginning at Riverside Park.
Getting There: From the intersection of US 52 and West Pine Street in Mount Airy, drive 1.2 miles eastward on West Pine Street, turn left onto Riverside Drive and continue .2 mile to make a right turn into Riverside Park.
More Information: A link to a greenway map is on mountairy.org/Facilities/Facility/Details/Granite-City-Greenway-System-14.
Leonard has written 20 books on the outdoors and travel. Find out more at www.habitualhiker.com. He also writes Mountain Wildflowers, found on blueridgecountry.com.
The story above first appeared in our January / February 2025 issue.
