Two Ecusta Trails for Now: How the White Pine Closure Splits the Ride Through Laurel Park

"No, the Ecusta Trail is still open!" That's how the Friends of the Ecusta Trail answer the question they get most often in their US 64 project FAQ. It's true, as far as it goes. Since July 6, though, nobody has been able to walk or ride the paved route straight from downtown Hendersonville to Horse Shoe. A construction zone at White Pine Drive in Laurel Park splits it in two. That closure was planned to end August 5. As of the October 5 update, it's still in place.

So this fall you're really choosing between two shorter trails, each with its own way in, its own stops and its own parking. You'll get the same choice again next spring.

Why a one-month closure ran into October

The work belongs to NCDOT's US 64 project, U-5783. It's improving the highway between White Pine Drive in Laurel Park and Blythe Street in Hendersonville, and part of that is building roundabouts at White Pine and Daniel Drive. The original schedule had White Pine closed from July 6 to August 5. The whole roundabout was estimated at 65 days of work.

The holdup was a retaining wall. NCDOT's August update named it Wall #6, a 250-foot segmental block wall built along the trail to hold back the fill slope. The update said it would add "additional weeks" to the closure. On August 28, crews were working on the west wall, severe storms had added delays, and NCDOT hadn't given an estimated reopening.

The October 5 update moved things forward:

"The large retaining wall has been completed, along with fill work and initial paving of the new trail at grade to the new intersection."

Next on the list, starting the week of September 28, was pouring concrete for the detectable warning surfaces, the wide curb ramps where the trail meets the road. A little more paving might follow, which the update said "shouldn't require much time to complete." The update still gives no reopening date. Henderson County's Ecusta Trail page lists the first six miles as open and shows the White Pine closure alert right beside that status.

There's also no safe detour around the gap. Between private property and roadside ditches, a walking or biking detour isn't feasible, and you can't get on the trail from White Pine Drive while the work is going on.

What's on each side of the gap

The trail runs from South Main and South King streets in Hendersonville to Brevard Road at Battle Creek Road in Horse Shoe. Heading west, the named crossings on the 2025 grand-opening route come in this order: Kanuga Road, Third Avenue, South Whitted Street, Fifth Avenue, Daniel Drive, Elijah Mountain Gem Mine, Allstar Lane, Hunters Glen Lane and US 64 West in Horse Shoe. The closed stretch sits in Laurel Park between Daniel Drive and White Pine Drive.

The Hendersonville side is where most of the trail's amenities are. The Welcome Center Trailhead has parking, restrooms and a water-bottle fill station. Its pavilion is also home to Blaze, the bear sculpture Mast General Store donated and moved over from its Main Street spot. Within the first mile, Lennox Station has Trailside Brewing Co., its Trailside Table restaurant, Ecusta Market & Café, and Venture Ecusta, which rents standard bikes, e-bikes, children's bikes and trailers. The trail map asks trail users to park in Ecusta Market & Café's upper lot beside Lennox Park Drive. The same map puts Dry Falls Brewing in the first mile and Southern Streams CoffeeHouse in the second. Daniel Drive, at the edge of the closed stretch, is the crossing the map links with Crate Wine Market, YAM Yoga and the Hendersonville Racquet Club.

The Horse Shoe side is quieter and takes more planning to reach. The grand-opening schedule lists Horse Shoe Gap Village at Allstar Lane, Cognative Cafe at Hunters Glen Lane, and Root & Bone and the Barn at Packa's Place at US 64 West. The trail map puts Cognative Cafe between miles 5 and 6, with a parking marker, and Root & Bone at mile 6. We couldn't confirm a public county lot at the Horse Shoe end. The Friends group says its business partners offer amenities like parking on a volunteer basis, so it's worth asking the business before you park. The trail map also lists Guidon Brewing's taproom at Elijah Mountain Gem Mine, with on-site parking, between miles 2 and 3. The published material doesn't say which side of the White Pine work zone it sits on, so call ahead if you're planning around it.

Whichever side you start from, Henderson County asks people to get on the trail only at crossings marked with the blue crossing sign, and not at unmarked spots along the road.

The same split comes back in spring

White Pine is only the first of two intersections. The FAQ says the two would be built back to back, with Daniel Drive estimated at 40 days. Earlier in 2026, the plan was to close Daniel Drive this fall. The April advisory committee notes gave a September 8 start date. The October 5 update replaced that. Trail impacts at Daniel Drive now move to late winter or early spring 2027, with an estimated start of March 15.

If that date holds, the timeline looks like this:

1. July 18, 2025: the six-mile Phase I officially opens, with a ribbon-cutting at the bridge near Fresh Market on Greenville Highway.
2. July 6, 2026: the White Pine closure begins.
3. October 5, 2026: the wall, fill and first paving are done; curb ramps are next; no reopening date yet.
4. Around March 15, 2027: the estimated start of the Daniel Drive impacts.

Between White Pine reopening and Daniel Drive closing, there should be a few months of continuous trail. That window falls over late fall and winter.

A slightly higher trail when it reopens

The section through Laurel Park won't be the same when it reopens. The project has to bring the area beside the road up to grade, level with the road, for safety and structural reasons. That means a retaining wall, a trail rebuilt slightly higher than before, and improved trail crossings at both new roundabouts. NCDOT's June 3 release describes the same work: raising the trail at White Pine and Daniel Drive to road grade and rebuilding the crossings as part of the roundabouts.

Other finishing work along Phase I is still underway. In April 2026, county staff were planning flexible bollards at the South Whitted Street location and landscaping to make nearby parking clearer. The July advisory committee notes targeted a September start for trail amenity work and completion by year's end. We found no later confirmation that the work has started or finished.

Past Horse Shoe, the dates moved back

Once White Pine reopens, the trail is still only six miles long. In August 2025, the projection was that the entire trail could be done by late 2027. Newer figures push that out.

Henderson County's Phase II is the five-mile stretch from US 64 at Battle Creek Road in Horse Shoe to the county line. NCDOT has signed a construction contract with Crowder Construction. The estimated cost is $24.7 million, including preliminary engineering, and the completion goal is 2029. In Transylvania County, the Hendersonville Lightning reported on October 3 that Brevard says it has the money to build the final eight miles. The 65%-design estimate is $26.2 million, not counting new restrooms or added parking. Construction is expected to start in late summer or early fall 2027 and take 18 to 24 months, which puts the full route on track to be rideable by late 2029. Brevard's funding includes a $24.5 million federal RAISE grant from 2023.

Over the next three years, then, the Hendersonville-to-Horse Shoe section is the whole trail, and for parts of 2026 and 2027 it's two separate pieces. The Friends of the Ecusta Trail FAQ has been the first place to post each construction update, and it's the page to check before you head to White Pine.

If the trail is part of why you're looking at homes near Laurel Park or Horse Shoe, it helps to know which crossing a property is closest to. Sandra Thomas can show you how individual streets connect to the trail's access points. Let's Connect.