Historic Occoneechee Speedway Trail
320 Elizabeth Brady Road, Hillsborough, NC, USA
Dawn to dusk
$
hikes, run
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NASCAR fan or not, this family-friendly trail is full of history and has some fun sites to see.
This historic track is located in the city of Hillsborough just 40 minutes from Raleigh. The Occoneechee Speedway Trail is a walking trail through the natural and cultural history of NASCAR. The original track was a half-mile horse track built by Julian Carr for Occoneechee Farms. It was later expanded to a mile track by NASCAR in 1949 for their inaugural season. Cars raced here from 1949 to 1968, attracting the best stock car drivers and thousands of spectators. Today this track is enjoyed by hikers, joggers, and other sports enthusiasts. This 44-acre site gives you 4 miles of trail that goes along the Eno River and on the only surviving dirt track NASCAR track. At the parking lot, you will walk a small distance to the track. You will enter through the original entrance of the spectators. From here you will walk along the track and detour onto the trail along the river. This part of the trail loops and brings you back out onto the track to finish the course. The stands are still present along with the flag stand and some old stock cars. This trail is well-shaded and easy for the whole family. You could easily walk a jogging stroller through most of this trail. The trail system near the Eno River is smaller and single track, so a stroller would have a tough time going through there.
If you are looking for more hiking, the mountain-to-sea trail connects with this spot and you can continue along the Eno River for another hike. This is part of segment 9 of the mountain to sea trail system. We hiked from the Occoneechee Speedway trail to the Highway 70 bridge and back for about 2 miles total. This hike has some elevation gain and single-track areas. This would be better suited for older children to hike. For more information about the mountain to sea trail visit mountainstoseatrail.org.
If you are a fan of NASCAR or not, this is an amazing place to walk around. Once you're done here, check out Hillsborough for local eats and treats.