On May 30, 2025, Friends of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail officially opened a section of the MST at Bentonville Battlefield State Historic Site. This new 1.2 mile section of the MST was built with funding from the Complete the Trails Program, an unprecedented and critical investment in trails by the state of North Carolina. In partnership with Bentonville Battlefield State Historic Site, this is the first significant trail on the northern side of the battlefield and creates new historic interpretation opportunities on the property. 

Our partners at Bentonville Battlefield, State Parks and the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources have been instrumental to building new trail here, and we’re excited to officially add this new section to the existing 3.6 miles of MST at the historic site.

The MST relies on partnerships and communities across the state in order to be successful, and our partnership at Bentonville Battlefield exemplifies what can be accomplished with committed, dedicated and trusted partners. Thanks to this great partnership, we anticipate additional trail miles to be added in the years ahead here too.

The Complete the Trails Program was created in the 2021 state budget and marked the first significant investment in North Carolina’s state trails. State funding through this program has allowed Friends of the MST to create new miles of trail, like here at Bentonville, build necessary bridges to expand trail routes, install an eastern terminus marker for the MST at Jockey’s Ridge State Park and acquire access to new land for trail expansion.

 

Friends of the MST is thankful for the state’s leadership in funding for trails across North Carolina, and thrilled to add this new section to the Mountains-to-Sea Trail.