Beaver Lake Perimeter Trail

Dogs Leashed

Features Birding · Lake · Views

No parking fees, residential neighborhood, plenty of stores/grocery/gas nearby. Lock your car.

The trail follows the shore of Beaver Lake in North Asheville. With a parking lot at the northwest corner of the lake and a lot by the bird sanctuary at the east end of the lake, the trail goes through neighborhood roads, open singletrack, and canopied dirt and gravel trails. There are a number of terrain changes, from paved road to gravel to rooty and rocky singletrack, this trail is manageable for beginner runners who can watch their step, but not possible for a stroller.

There are a few steep elevation changes, but most of the shore is relatively flat with the occasional gradual incline as you move toward or away from the water.

It has amazing views of the beautiful and historic neighborhood in addition to the view of the lake and the surrounding mountains. The change from the neighborhood along Glen Falls and Lakeview Dr, the open shoreline closer to Merrimon, the forested bird sanctuary, and the run along Merrimon provides a surprising amount of variety for a two-mile run.

If you park at the northwest lot off Glen Falls, you have the option of just running a figure-eight loop next to Merrimon that circles the fields between Merrimon and the lake, or you can do the loop around the whole lake.

Note that, if you take the loop around the whole lake, you'll have to run about 40 meters from the Bird Sanctuary parking lot, onto the shoulder or Merrimon Ave, to link back up to the singletrack path in the park.

Alternatively, you can start at the bird sanctuary, head out south through the Perimeter Trail leading into the woods and use the loop in the grassy part and head back (as an out-and-back, avoiding running on the grass next to Merrimon), making it more like a 4+ mile out-and-back.

Plenty of birding opportunities and riparian flora.