The Carolinas Thread Trail
The Carolina Thread Trail is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that coordinates a regional network of 425+ miles of trails and 170 miles of blueways across 15 counties in North and South Carolina, serving 2.9 million residents through 88 municipal partners.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2007
- HeadquartersCharlotte, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What The Carolinas Thread Trail does
The Carolina Thread Trail is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit regional trail network founded in 2007 as a project of the Catawba Lands Conservancy, headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. The organization coordinates the planning, funding, and partial construction of a connected network of greenways, trails, and blueways spanning 15 counties across North and South Carolina, reaching a population of approximately 2.9 million people. As of the most recent reporting, the network comprises over 425 miles of trails and 170 miles of blueways open to the public, with more than 1,175 additional miles remaining to be built toward an ultimate goal of approximately 1,600 total miles. The organization is the second-largest completed trail network in North Carolina and the largest when planned miles are included, and it is the only trail initiative spanning two states with coordinated master planning.
The core product is the trail network itself, supported by an interactive online trail map (carolinathreadtrailmap.org), an Environmental Benefits Calculator that quantifies ecological outcomes of conservation projects, and 24 anonymous activity counters that record trail usage. CTT does not sell trails or charge user fees; all trails are free and open to the public, with limited regulated access at sites such as Spencer Mountain. The organization's revenue model is nonprofit in nature, drawing on capital campaigns, corporate and foundation grants, and municipal matching. A $13 million capital campaign launched in 2021 has secured more than $11 million, with a $1 million lead gift from the David Belk Cannon Foundation, and CTT has distributed over $6.7 million in catalytic grants to communities over the past decade. Private investment is matched at up to 20-to-1 by local government commitments, a structure that effectively multiplies the impact of donated capital.
CTT operates as a coordinator and capacity-builder rather than a direct builder or operator. Trails are owned, built, and maintained at the local level by 88 municipal partners, county governments, land trusts, and neighborhood associations. The organization supplies technical assistance, master planning, corridor planning, and grant funding to local implementers, and convenes the regional network through events such as the annual Trail Forum conference, National Trails Day festival, and bi-monthly Trails on Tap gatherings. CTT has 1-10 employees, shares offices with Catawba Lands Conservancy, and is governed by a board chaired by Lat W. Purser III with Bart Landess serving as Executive Director.
The Carolinas Thread Trail firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- The Carolinas Thread Trail
- Legal name
- Carolina Thread Trail
- Website
- https://carolinathreadtrail.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2007
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- The Carolina Thread Trail is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that coordinates a regional network of 425+ miles of trails and 170 miles of blueways across 15 counties in North and South Carolina, serving 2.9 million residents through 88 municipal partners.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
The Carolinas Thread Trail industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Regional Trail and Greenway Network Services
- NAICS
- Environment, Conservation and Wildlife Organizations (813312)
- SIC
- Services-Social Services (8300)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Technical Outdoor Guiding Services (Hiking, Trekking, Mountaineering) (THAAALAA)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Hiking, Trekking & Mountain Guiding (THAJABAA)
Keywords
Where The Carolinas Thread Trail is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Charlotte
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
The Carolinas Thread Trail business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others
Revenue model
- Grants and Fundraising: The organization raises funds through capital campaigns (such as the $13 million campaign launched in 2021), corporate donations, foundation grants, and municipal matching. Private dollars are matched at rates as high as 20-to-1 by dollars committed by local governments. Grants awarded to communities for trail implementation are funded through these contributions.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels8 records
The Carolinas Thread Trail product offering
Product offeringCore offering
The Carolina Thread Trail is a regional, free public network of connected greenways, trails, and blueways spanning 15 counties across North and South Carolina. The organization coordinates master planning, distributes catalytic grants, and provides technical assistance to municipalities, while trails are built and maintained at the local level by partner governments and nonprofits. It serves 2.9 million residents with 425+ miles of trails and 170 miles of blueway open to the public, with plans for an additional 1,175+ miles.
Product overview
The Carolina Thread Trail is a regional network of connected greenways, trails, and blueways that serves as the core product offering. The network comprises over 425 miles of trails and 170 miles of blueways open to the public, with plans to build over 1,175 additional miles across 15 counties in North and South Carolina. The organization supports its trail network through complementary offerings including an interactive trail map for user navigation, an Implementation Grant Program that provides catalytic funding to communities for trail development, annual events like Trail Forum and National Trails Day for community engagement and professional development, and an Environmental Benefits Calculator tool for quantifying conservation project benefits. The network connects 2.9 million people and is operated in partnership with Catawba Lands Conservancy.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Carolina Thread Trail Network A regional network of connected greenways, trails, and blueways spanning 15 counties across North and South Carolina, providing free public access to outdoor recreation, transportation, and conservation for 2.9 million residents.
- Interactive Trail Map An online mapping tool that allows users to find trails, blueways, and outdoor recreation locations near them across the Carolina Thread Trail network.
- Greenway Trails Paved and natural-surface trails for hiking, biking, and running that connect communities across the 15-county region.
- Blueways (Water Trails) Water trails for kayaking, canoeing, and paddleboarding on rivers including the South Fork Catawba River, Catawba River, Rocky River, and Pee Dee River.
- Implementation Grant Program A catalytic funding program that provides grants to communities and nonprofit organizations to support trail construction, design, land acquisition, and corridor planning across the 15-county region.
Quantifiable outcome
- Each trail studied supports over $3 million in annual business sales and local jobs
- +5 more outcomes
Companies that use The Carolinas Thread Trail
Customer profileNamed customers11 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
The Carolinas Thread Trail technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature1 record
The Carolinas Thread Trail partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
21 partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.
- Catawba Lands ConservancycoreCatawba Lands Conservancy is the lead organization for the Carolina Thread Trail. The two organizations share the same office, and most staff work for both entities. This arrangement consolidated expertise in land conservation and trail development under one roof.
- Foundation For The CarolinascoreFoundation For The Carolinas partnered with Catawba Lands Conservancy to establish the Carolina Thread Trail, providing stable support structure and administrative foundation for the trail initiative.
- 88 MunicipalitiescoreLocal governments that partner with CTT to plan, fund, and implement trail segments within their jurisdictions. Private dollars are matched up to 20-to-1 by local government commitments.
- MicrosoftmajorPartnered with Society for Ecological Restoration and Catawba Lands Conservancy on habitat restoration in Catawba County Park through Microsoft's Community Environmental Sustainability program. Volunteers from Microsoft participated in planting native shrubs.
- Society for Ecological Restoration (SER)majorAwarded grant as part of SER Standards-based Restoration in Action program, collaborating on habitat restoration in Mountain Creek Park.
- National Park ServicemajorWorking with CTT on Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail (OVVI) corridor development. NPS oversees Cowpens National Battlefield and Kings Mountain National Military Park.
- Cherokee County, SCmajorRecipient of FLAP grant for planning and designing approximately 26 miles of trail associated with OVVI corridor and CTT. Leading local steering committee including multiple municipal partners.
- Tarheel TrailblazerscoreLocal mountain biking advocacy group involved in trail development, including Rocky Branch Trail and Mountain Island Park Trail mountain bike sections.
- FROGS (Friends of the Greenway)coreFriends of the Greenway volunteer organization involved in Mount Holly trail development and maintenance.
- Duke EnergycoreLeases Mountain Island Park to Mount Holly and partners on trail development. Provided support for Mountain Island Park Trail construction.
- Capstone Climbing & AdventureminorCabarrus County outfitter offering guided half- and full-day paddling trips on the Rocky River portion of the Blueway for groups of six or more.
- Catawba Riverkeeper FoundationcoreHeadquarters relocated to McAdenville adjacent to the Thread Trail's South Fork Trail and Blueway access point. Provides guided river tours and kayak shuttles from Spencer Mountain.
- Friends of North Stanly Trails and ParkscoreNonprofit dedicated corps of volunteers maintaining the Falcon Trail and other Stanly County trail segments, working to keep trails safe and maintained.
- N.C. State University Institute of Transportation Research and Education (ITRE)majorConducted economic impact study of six trails within the Thread Trail network, finding over $3 million in annual business sales and local jobs per trail studied.
- Town of WaxhawcorePartnered with Lancaster County on Cross-State Bridge project, contributing 1.4-mile Twelve Mile Creek Greenway that connects to the trail network crossing state lines.
- Lancaster County, SCcorePartnered on Twelve Mile Creek Cross-State Bridge (180-foot suspension bridge), the first trail segment linking NC and SC. Contributed 3.5-mile Twelve Mile Creek Trail.
- City of Mount HollycoreCollaborated on National Trails Day events hosting 1,200-1,500 people. Partner with CTT on Mountain Island Park Trail and broader greenway development.
- Girl Scouts Hornets' Nest CouncilcorePartnered on Girl Scouts Hornets' Nest Trail at Dale Earnhardt Environmental Leadership Campus at Oak Springs. Completed major trail reroute and bridge reconstruction project.
- Levine Scholars Program (UNC Charlotte)minorUNC Charlotte program that designates students for non-profit internships; Atticus Kenney completed summer internship with Catawba Lands Conservancy through this program.
- WBTV / Gray TelevisionmajorOwner of Spencer Mountain property; worked with Catawba Lands Conservancy to create legal easement agreement permitting public trail access to Spencer Mountain summit.
- Great Rivers GreenwayminorSt. Louis-based greenway organization; CEO Susan K. Trautman delivered keynote at 18th annual Trail Forum, sharing insights on regional trail development.
Scale indicators10 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
The Carolinas Thread Trail competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- The Circuit Trails (Greater Philadelphia): A coalition-led regional trail network across the Philadelphia metro area linking hundreds of miles of greenways across counties and states. Closely analogous in structure — nonprofit coordinator, multiple counties/municipalities, regional trail coalition model.
- Catawba Lands Conservancy: The lead organization for Carolina Thread Trail; shares offices and most staff with CTT. A regional land trust focused on conservation easements and stream restoration, directly comparable as the parent and operational backbone of CTT.
- Atlanta BeltLine: A multi-county, multi-city trail and transit corridor network encircling Atlanta with similar regional coordination, capital campaign fundraising model, and catalytic-grant approach to municipal partners.
- East Coast Greenway Alliance: Plans and coordinates a 3,000-mile multi-state urban trail network running from Maine to Florida. Comparable as a long-distance, multi-state greenway coordinator relying on municipal partnerships and private fundraising.
- Chattanooga Greenways: A network of connected greenways across the Chattanooga region championed by a nonprofit coalition and supported by municipal partners. Comparable as a multi-county/municipal regional greenway network with similar coalition-funding model.
- Capital Trails Coalition: Coalition coordinating a 900-mile trail network across the Washington, D.C. region spanning DC, Maryland, and Virginia. Directly comparable as a multi-jurisdiction greenway coordination nonprofit with similar partnership and funding structure.
- Bay Area Ridge Trail Council: Plans and funds a 550+ mile trail encircling the San Francisco Bay Area, coordinating across many jurisdictions and land managers. Comparable as a regional trail-building nonprofit with phased buildout and donor-supported model.
- Great Rivers Greenway: St. Louis-region greenway district that builds and connects a network of trails across multiple counties and municipalities. Directly comparable to CTT as a multi-county trail network coordinator; CTT's CEO Bart Landess invited Great Rivers Greenway's CEO Susan Trautman to keynote the 2024 Trail Forum.
- Friends of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail: North Carolina-based nonprofit coordinating the 1,175-mile Mountains-to-Sea Trail across the state. Closely comparable as an in-state regional trail coordinator relying on volunteer groups, grants, and donor funding to build out a long-distance trail.
Broad incumbents
- Rails-to-Trails Conservancy: National nonprofit that advocates for and supports a growing network of rail-trails across the U.S. Comparable as a higher-level, broader-scope trail network organization that supports regional trail efforts and convenes funders.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks7 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
The Carolinas Thread Trail social profiles
Digital presenceThe Carolinas Thread Trail financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
The Carolinas Thread Trail leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles8 records
The Carolinas Thread Trail funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
The Carolinas Thread Trail M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about The Carolinas Thread Trail
What does The Carolinas Thread Trail do?
The Carolina Thread Trail is a regional, free public network of connected greenways, trails, and blueways spanning 15 counties across North and South Carolina. The organization coordinates master planning, distributes catalytic grants, and provides technical assistance to municipalities, while trails are built and maintained at the local level by partner governments and nonprofits. It serves 2.9 million residents with 425+ miles of trails and 170 miles of blueway open to the public, with plans for an additional 1,175+ miles.
Is The Carolinas Thread Trail a public or private company?
The Carolinas Thread Trail is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was The Carolinas Thread Trail founded?
The Carolinas Thread Trail was founded in 2007. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is The Carolinas Thread Trail based?
The Carolinas Thread Trail is headquartered in Charlotte, United States, in the North America region.
How does The Carolinas Thread Trail make money?
One revenue line is on record: grants and Fundraising.
Who are The Carolinas Thread Trail's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are The Circuit Trails (Greater Philadelphia), Catawba Lands Conservancy, Atlanta BeltLine, East Coast Greenway Alliance, Chattanooga Greenways, Capital Trails Coalition, Bay Area Ridge Trail Council, Great Rivers Greenway and Friends of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail. Rails-to-Trails Conservancy is listed as a broad incumbent.
Does The Carolinas Thread Trail have an API?
No public API is recorded for The Carolinas Thread Trail.
What industry is The Carolinas Thread Trail in?
The Carolinas Thread Trail's product category is Regional Trail and Greenway Network Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is THAAALAA, Technical Outdoor Guiding Services (Hiking, Trekking, Mountaineering), with a secondary code of THAJABAA, Hiking, Trekking & Mountain Guiding. Its NAICS code is 813312 and its SIC code is 8300.