It is a great starting part for a short ascent up either of these. Joe Moffitt Trailhead is on Thayer Road, which rides between Little Long Mountain and King Mountain. If heading south from the parking lot, you will begin a steep climb on the north side of Dark Mountain. On, you find this segment of trail called the Uwharrie Extension Trail. To continue to the recovered sections, from the parking lot, head across the road and over the bridge and you will see where the trail continues. Hiking northbound, Jumping Off Rock Trailhead marks the end of the Uwharrie National Recreation Trail, but the beginning of the Uwharrie Trail recovery effort. Jumping Off Rock Trailhead – Flint Hill Road Head north from here for about 2 miles and you will find a nice section of trail along Spencer Creek. The gap between Woodrun and the NC109 trailhead is the largest among the trailheads on the Uwharrie Trail – approximately 11.8 miles. From my experience, most of the people who park here are not hiking the Uwharrie Trail, at least not beyond a mile or two. This is the most popular trailhead since there are several trails in the area, including the Dutchman’s Creek Trail and numerous bike trails. It is located on Highway 24/27 in Troy, NC. This is where you should start if you are planning a nobo hike of the Uwharrie Trail. There are also additional access points that are not official Uwharrie Trail trailheads, but still offer access to the trail, either directly or via a short connector trail. If you do not want to thru-hike the 40 miles in one trip, these trailheads make it easy to pick back up where you left off. There are a handful of trailheads that offer direct access and parking for a hike on the Uwharrie Trail. And while all the segments combined are deemed the Uwharrie Trail, only the southern 20-mile section carries the label of a national recreation trail. Unofficially, the trail was completed in 1975.

As of 2021, only a road walk of approximately 3.3 miles is required to complete a thru-hike. However, with help from the Three Rivers Land Trust and the Uwharrie Trailblazers, many of these miles have been recovered within the last 10 years. Now, a road walk is required to complete a thru-hike of the Uwharrie Trail. This resulted in a large section lost between the Jumping Off Rock Trailhead and the Birkhead Mountain Wilderness. Unfortunately, some lands changed ownership and other owners changed their minds about allowing a trail through their property.

However, the work of Joe Moffitt was loosely held together by handshake deals with private land owners. This segment of the trail has remained since its completion. While Joe Moffitt concentrated on what is the northern section of the Uwharrie Trail, Jumping Off Rock to Tot Hill Farm Road, Robert Carey lead the efforts on the southern half of the trail from Jumping Off Rock, heading south to the Woodrun Area. It was Joe who had the vision of a long-distance trail for his scout troop, so in the late 1960s, he began work. The primary name associated with the Uwharrie Trail is Joe Moffitt, of whom Joe Moffitt Trailhead is named after.

Tot hill farm