About the State Trail
The Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail stretches roughly 330 miles from its southern terminus in South Carolina through North Carolina and into Tennessee and Virginia, and follows the paths that the patriot militia took as they mustered to fight the Battle of Kings Mountain in 1780. This battle proved to be pivotal in the Revolutionary War.
The Overmountain Victory State Trail will follow the 225 miles of the planned route of the National Historic Trail that passes through our state. The N.C. Division of Parks and Recreation will work closely with the National Park Service on the development of the trail.
The OVST blaze features the powder horn that carried black powder for rifles during the American Revolution. It is engraved with the state flower, the dogwood, and the strap evokes the mountains that the Overmountain men traversed on their way to the Battle of Kings Mountain.
Trail Use
Planning
While section sponsors build, maintain, and manage their section of a state trail — deciding on location, design, surface, permitted uses and amenities — N.C. Division of Parks and Recreation staff are responsible for the overall corridor planning and coordination, as well as providing guidance and assistance to all section sponsors.
Planning Documents on Issuu
Please note: These documents are published on Issuu (a third-party publishing website) for the best viewing experience. By clicking one of these links, you will leave the NC Trails website and be directed to Issuu's website.
- Overmountain Victory State Trail: Master Plan – Spruce Pine, Tenn. to Lake James
- Overmountain Victory State Trail: Master Plan – Lake James to Morganton
- Overmountain Victory State Trail: Master Plan – Elkin to W. Kerr Scott Reservoir
- Overmountain Victory State Trail: Master Plan – Lenoir to Morganton
- Overmountain Victory State Trail: Master Plan – Morganton to Rutherfordton
- Overmountain Victory State Trail: Master Plan – Rutherfordton to Chesnee, S.C.
Partner Organization
The OVNCST Friends was formed in 2021 to support efforts on the Overmountain Victory State Trail in North Carolina.
About Partner Organizations
The legislation that created the Complete the Trails program requires that funds be distributed by the N.C. Division of Parks and Recreation to a nonprofit partner for each trail. To be the recognized partner, an organization must have a Memorandum of Understanding with the Division and an approved 3- to 5-year plan for deploying the funds to develop the state trail.
As part of the Complete the Trail Program, each state trail partner organization was required to submit a five-year plan, outlining priorities and goals until 2027 for their trail. Excerpts from the plan are outlined below.
Capacity Building Fund Projects:
The Overmountain Victory North Carolina State Trail Friends group will use their capacity building funds to hire a part-time Executive Director to complete administrative duties and cover administrative costs for fiscal years 2022 to 2023 and 2023 to 2024. Funding will also be used to develop a website to increase awareness of the organization and trail, and fund a contractor for project development and oversight services as needed.
Priority CTP Projects:
- Section Master Plans for N.C. State Line to Spruce Pine and W. Kerr Scott Reservoir to Lenoir
- Norris Recreation Complex – Phase I (0.25 mile)
- Cub Creek Connector (0.75 mile)
- Smoot Park Trailhead Gateway
- Black Bear Project (3.5 miles), a partnership with the Friends of Fonta Flora State Trail and Burke County
| Estimated cost for all OVST priority projects | $550,000 |
|---|---|
| Estimated cost for all OVST projects | $3,000,000 |
| CTP allocation for OVST | $1,614,053 |
Banner photo by C. Peek: Closeup of the Overmountain Victory Trail at Lake James State Park