But nearly every Saturday for the past several years, members of the Triangle Rails-to-Trails Conservancy have turned neglected patches of woods into walking trails. Their work eventually will become part of the American Tobacco Trail, a historic 22-mile path winding over a former Norfolk Southern railroad bed through Wake, Chatham and Durham counties. And they are always looking for more volunteers.

Creating a trail is not just about filling holes and clearing fallen trees, said Bill Bussey, president of Rails-to-Trails.

"It's a project larger than ourselves, and it will help [future] generations," he said. "They're going to use it for transportation, recreation, fitness and general well-being."

A clear path

The group formed in 1989 to push plans for the American Tobacco Trail.

The idea was inspired by communities in other states that were turning abandoned railroad corridors into trails for walking and cycling.

It made sense, said Curt Devereux, a member of the Rails-to-Trails board.

The land already had been cleared and graded, and the rails already marked a path from town to town.

With some of the infrastructure already in place, the opportunity was just waiting to be snatched up. Governments had to act fast, before the pathways were lost to private developers, he said.

The process started on paper, with annexation, rights-of-way and other red tape, Bussey said. But with such a large project, there were some pieces of the trail that would take longer to complete than others.

That's where the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy stepped in to help, adopting some sections, Devereux said.

In Durham, the group adopted a three-mile section from about Massey Chapel Road south to the Chatham County line, Devereux said. In Chatham County, the group adopted a 3.5-mile stretch from Northeast Creek south to New Hope Church Road, he said.

More than a thousand people already use the three-mile Durham path each month, Devereux said.

Once the paths are finished and connected to the larger American Tobacco Trail, the possibilities are endless, Bussey said.

"It goes where people want to go," Bussey said. "It goes from business districts to offices and shops. Parents could send their kids to the movies on their bikes. ... That's the real gem of it."