KINGS MOUNTAIN GATEWAY TRAIL
We previously mentioned the
interconnected trails along Kings
Mountain’s ridgeline. On
another day we explored part of a trail system located in the city of Kings Mountain, North Carolina,
not to be confused with Kings Mountain National
Military Park
and Kings Mountain
State Park in South Carolina.
The City of Kings Mountain
(originally known as White Plains) took the name
Kings Mountain in 1874 commemorating the 1780
Battle of Kings Mountain 10 miles away. This small city had periods of
prosperity from the railway, mining, and textiles. According to this sign, “The
mine yielded one million dollars in gold by the time it closed in 1895.” That’s
a lot of money for that time.
The Kings Mountain Gateway
Trail is a network of multiuse trails. Unlike the trails we mentioned in our
previous posts these are wide, smooth paths; some parts are even paved.
The best way to describe the
route we took is to show you a map.
We walked the Rail Trail
Loop (yellow), Plateau Loop (blue), and Cardio Hill (red). The Rail Trail was
flat; the other two paths climbed hills. In fact they could have both been
named Cardio Hill. We saw Kings
Mountain’s ridgeline
through the trees.
We heard lots of noise on
one portion of the hike as we were just above a quarry in full operation. (The
quarry is barely visible in this picture of the ridge.) On the other side of
the hill all we could hear was cicadas.
There was a trail called the
Butterfly Highway
at the top of one of the hills.
Several days after our hike
a woman came into the Kings
Mountain National
Military Park
asking where the butterfly trail was. We knew right where it was and we had to
tell the woman she was at the wrong Kings
Mountain.
The Kings Mountain Gateway
Trail is part of the Carolina Thread Trail, a collection of 260 miles of
greenways and trails some connected and some not.
In the meantime, we enjoyed
exploring this section of the Kings Mountain Gateway Trail.
