The Piedmont Environmental Center  is one of our favorite places for a local hike. There are eleven miles of foot trails and the Bicentennial Greenway pass through 376 acres of beautiful hardwood and pine forests and lakeside habitats with many hiking option that can be mixed and matched for just about every level of hiking skill.

Dogs are welcome on the trails but must be kept on a leash.  Many critters call the PEC home so you’ll really want to give them their space.  We’ve seen deer, beaver, black snakes, ground hogs, and just about every local bird you can think of.  I have not seen any copper heads personally, but I am quite sure they are around so it’s a good idea to keep the pup on a close leash.  The city doesn’t allow pets in High Point City Lake since it the city’s water supply.

We usually take the Lakeshore Trail with Raccoon Run add on and it takes maybe an hour to make the loop.  I’d say it’s moderate on the intensity list but there are a couple of ways to shorten your trek if you’re getting tired.

The trails are:

• Bill Favor Lakeshore Trail (white marker) – 1.8 miles
• Fiddlehead Trail (yellow marker) – .2 miles
• Pine Thicket Trail (red marker) – .2 miles
• Dogwood Trail (orange marker) – .4 miles
• Chickadee Trail (green marker) – .3 miles
• Raccoon Run Trail (blue marker) – .6 miles
• Wildflower Trail (purple marker) – .4 miles

Along with hiking the PEC has several other offerings to keep folks busy:

• 6.6 miles of natural trails and access to the Bicentennial Greenway
• Classroom
• Educational classes for all ages, school groups and individual programs
• North Carolina Mapscape – 70 by 30 foot walk-on topographic relief map
• Small animal exhibit.

The PEC building and restroom access hours are – Sunday-Saturday, 9:00 am – 5:00 pm and the Trail Hours are sunrise to sunset.