How does a town open four new greenway connections in one year and still have no route that crosses it? Almost none of this year's new pavement came from a stand-alone greenway project. Each piece came with something else: a road extension, a church parking lot, a new neighborhood connection, a state funding allocation. Each one reaches a different set of back doors, and few of them reach each other.
That explains how the network feels on a fall morning in October 2026. Friends of Harrisburg Greenways, the volunteer nonprofit that tracks the system, counts 5.2 miles constructed against 28 miles proposed. The built pieces are good. They just behave like separate trails, and right now the best way to use them is to know which trailhead is closest to you.
The Number That Explains the Hurry
The Town of Harrisburg's own capital project overview, dated October 12, 2026, sums up the pressure in two figures. In the town's 2025 Community Survey, 85% of respondents were satisfied with the park system. Only 50% were satisfied with the trail and multiuse path system. The town's overview calls that "the single largest gap identified by the survey."
That leaves a 35-point gap between the two. For a town of more than 25,000 people that has grown quickly over two decades, the paths haven't kept up with the rooftops. Under the FY2027 budget, the town is setting aside $950,000 for new greenway design and construction and states that this "begins to close that gap."
That money is new. The 2026 openings came before it, and each one shows the piece-by-piece method at work.
Four Openings, Four Different Ways They Got Built
| Segment | Opened | How it got built | Who it reaches |
|---|---|---|---|
| Back Creek trailhead at The Burg Church | January 2026 | Approved September 2025 as a new trailhead plus 660 feet of path tied to the church parking area | Anyone who drives in; public parking on site |
| Davis Creek extension at Cambridge Drive | June 2026 | Built as part of the Cambridge Drive extension into Town Center | More than 100 households near Town Center |
| Back Creek to Raging Ridge Road | July 2026 | Council approval in May, open about ten weeks later | Walkers coming from Camellia Gardens, including Hickory Ridge students |
| Fuda Creek to The Crossings at Robinson Church and Fenton Dell | August 2026 | Built with no Harrisburg tax dollars, per Friends of Harrisburg Greenways | 171 additional homes |
Look down the third column and the pattern shows. The Davis Creek segment is 950 feet of greenway that came with a road project. When the Town Council approved the construction contract in July 2025, the work covered both the greenway and the extension of Cambridge Drive into Town Center, with completion estimated for July 2026. It opened June 28, inside that estimate, and Mayor Jennifer Teague cut the ribbon at a ceremony the Friends group posted in late August.
The Raging Ridge Road connection on Back Creek was the fastest of the year. Friends of Harrisburg Greenways posted the council approval on May 11 and the opening on July 19, and it credited the Town for "the remarkable speed with which this project was completed."
With its August addition, Fuda Creek is now the longest continuous greenway in town, according to the Friends group.
Why the Pieces Still Don't Touch
A segment built alongside a road project goes where the road goes. A segment built alongside a neighborhood connection goes to that neighborhood. That explains the most visible gap from this year's openings. Davis Creek is now two separate sections. The Friends group's opening notice says plainly that "the two sections of Davis Creek Greenway will be connected by a future project."
Back Creek shows where the pieces are supposed to lead. The Burg Church trailhead segment is planned to tie into the Hickory Ridge Sidewalk Project and, over time, to run east to west across Harrisburg as one continuous corridor. The town's FY2027 list keeps matching funds going for the Hickory Ridge Pedestrian Facility and adds sidewalks at Raging Ridge Road, two road-side projects that serve the trail too. Neither line item in the overview has a completion date.
Lines drawn on future-route maps are less settled than they look. The Friends of Harrisburg Greenways map page notes that proposed alignments are approximations based on a 2015 study, not final routes. Anyone hoping a planned segment will pass behind a particular street should treat that line as a direction, not an address.
Where to Start a Walk Right Now
Since the network works one segment at a time, a walk starts with picking a trailhead. These are the access points with confirmed locations:
- Back Creek Greenway at The Burg Church, 7155 Hickory Ridge Road. This is the newest trailhead with public parking. The Friends group and Harrisburg Library's Miss Amanda held this fall's Story Walk here, and more than 50 people came out for the October program built around Acorn Was a Little Wild. From here the path now reaches Raging Ridge Road.
- Fuda Creek Greenway behind the Churchill Farms Clubhouse, 8257 Breton Way. The Friends group used this trailhead for the 2025 Story Walk. It sits on what is now the town's longest continuous greenway, which includes the boardwalk featured in the group's photos.
- Pharr Mill Park, 6775 Pharr Mill Road. The Carolina Thread Trail lists the Pharr Mill Park Trail at 0.40 miles one way on boardwalk and pavement, with 40 parking spaces. The Town's Pharr Mill Park page describes a boardwalk overlook on the Rocky River and a link to the Carolina Thread Trail.
- Davis Creek near Town Center, off Cambridge Drive. This is the newest 950-foot section and the most walkable one for errands, since the Cambridge Drive extension leads into Town Center.
Families with kids 10 and under can turn any of these walks into the Friends group's Junior Explorers program. Kids finish trail challenges like spotting landmarks, sketching wildlife, and picking up litter. They earn a Safari Hat, a certificate, and a free kids' cup of ice cream from Rocky River Coffee. Rocky River Coffee Co. is at 4350 Main Street.
The Mallard Creek Connector in Founders Reserve is another segment volunteers looked after this year. Cub Scout Pack 83 and a team from Credit Karma swept it during Earth Week, along with Back Creek and Fuda Creek, and logged more than 90 volunteer hours.
The Next Pieces, and How Long They Take
The next confirmed segment works the same way as this year's openings. In September, the Town Council moved a half-mile Fuda Creek extension into design. It would run from the existing greenway behind the Courtyards at Robinson Church to Somerset Lane. According to The Cabarrus Compass, which adapted a Town news release, the council voted September 14 to put a $225,000 state allocation toward the project. The Friends group says the extension will connect the Camelot and Huntwick neighborhoods and bring greenway access within reach of 235 more homes. Design alone is expected to take about 15 months, which puts it into late 2027 before construction can begin.
These are the other items on the FY2027 list:
- Finalize the design of Historic Pharr Mill Park and present construction plans to Town Council
- Finish previously approved upgrades at Pharr Mill Park and Harrisburg Park
- Baseball infield renovations at Stallings Park
- Continue expanding and connecting the town-wide greenway system
- Keep planning to acquire a new park for the southernmost part of town
One project people have been waiting on isn't on that list. In September 2025, the council approved design for the Harrisburg Rail Trail, a one-mile route linking Caldwell Road to Harrisburg Park with a railroad crossing near the new YMCA. The town's October 2026 capital overview does not name the Rail Trail or give it a construction schedule. Until the Town publishes a date, it is still a design.
Next year's design work follows the same pattern as this year's openings, with a half-mile here and 950 feet there, each piece paid for by a different source and each reaching a new group of homes. The $950,000 FY2027 allocation is set aside specifically for new greenway design and construction. That is the line to watch at council meetings over the coming year, because it is the money that can pay for connectors like the one Davis Creek still needs. Friends of Harrisburg Greenways posts each milestone on its updates page as it happens.
For more on everyday life east of Charlotte, our Harrisburg and Mint Hill neighborhood guide and our look at the area's restaurant cluster and summer calendar cover the restaurants and events these trails lead toward.
At The Alexander Realty Group, we track which Harrisburg streets now sit a short walk from Back Creek, Fuda Creek, or Davis Creek, and which ones are waiting on the next connector. If you'd like to talk through how a trailhead near your street fits into your plans, let's connect.
