South Fork Trail

Dogs Leashed

Features River/Creek · Swimming · Views

The South Fork River trail is a 2 mile natural surface trail adjacent to the South Fork of the Catawba River and suitable for hiking and mountain biking. This hike is an out-and-back, totaling 4.2 miles round trip.

Special Note: While the trail is relatively flat, there are a number of areas that have the potential for flooding during heavy rainfall. Hikers, mountain bikers, and runners should take caution on this trail after heavy rainfalls.

Heading north from the trailhead, the trail sneaks under the I-85 bridge and quickly meanders through a quiet section of woods along the river. The trail is marked at the 0.5, 1.0, and 1.5 mile points, ending near the cul-de-sac of a residential neighborhood. While no parking is available at this end of the trail, there is pedestrian access for neighborhood residents. The land surrounding this trail is on the Pharr Yarns Preserve, a 94.8-acre preserve protected through the Catawba lands Conservancy.

A mile into the trail is Cable Point. A lookout area dedicated to Dave Cable, a former Catawba Lands Conservancy Executive Director and visionary, for his years of service to our region.

Parking is available at 119 Willow Drive, McAdenville, NC 28101 (Google Maps says Gastonia).

This is a historic trail that was originally used by the Native Americans and then utilized by settlers for textile mills. There were two mills in the woods along the trail. One was the Ferguson Mill and the other one was nicknamed Pinhook. Opened in August 1852, the Pinhook Mill was the second mill to operate along the South Fork River. According to Gaston County historian Robert Ragan, the mill received its name because mill workers' would use bent textile pins to fish for lunch outside the building's windows.

During the Civil War, a small detachment of Union soldiers were sent to burn down Pinhook Mill, which was producing cloth for the Confederacy. Upon hearing the soldiers coming, mill superintendent William Sahms ran out to meet the Union troop, only to find them led by his Pennsylvanian childhood neighbor. Sahms convinced the soldiers to spare the mill and the soldiers burnt the bridge instead. The stone pillars of the bridge are still in the river.