Join Us For The 2nd Annual Old Fort Trails and Trains Festival next Year (2025)!

June 6 & 7, 2025!

Click Here for a Full Schedule of Events

See you at the 3rd annual Trails & Trains Festival on June 6 & 7th, 2025! Mark your calendar and help us celebrate North Carolina as the Great Trails State by joining us in downtown Old Fort, North Carolina. Come celebrate with us the rich history of our Blue Ridge Mountain community by focusing on its pathways and connections through the town’s notable railroad and Pisgah National Forest history.

Key Events

Fonta Flora
Fun 5K RunFonta Flora Fun Run

Fonta Flora Fun run 

Ridge to Rails
Half & 10k

Ridge To Rails

We Need Volunteers!

Fly Fishing Film Tour

Catawba Falls Grand Reopening

The US Forest Service celebrated the Catawba Falls with a public reopening celebration on May 31, 2024.  Come rediscover Catawba Falls in Old Fort this summer!  Shuttle Rides from downtown Old Fort to the Catawba Falls Trailhead will be available Friday and Saturday!

EventLocationDay/Time
Trail Shuttles to Catawba FallsDowntown Old Fort Fri. & Sat. 10 a.m.
Tour Fonta Flora Park Fonta Flora ParkFri. 10 a.m.
Block PartyMountain Gateway Museum AmphitheaterFri. 3:30 p.m.
Ridge to Rails Half & 10KOld Fort Gateway Trailhead Sat. 7 a.m.
Fonta Flora 5KOld Fort Town Hall Sat. 9 a.m.
Book Mobile Old Fort LibrarySat. 10 a.m.
Tour MTCC Trail School McDowell Tech Sat. 10 a.m.
Adventure Writing & Story WalkOld Fort LibrarySat. 1 p.m.
Story Hour: Railroad Convicts Mountain Gateway Museum AmphitheaterSat. 2 p.m.
Naturalist Hike & Plant IdentificationGateway Meadow Loop Trail Sat. 2 p.m.
Mill Creek Duck RaceMill Creek Sat. 3 p.m.
Fly Fishing Film Tour Euda Wine Sat. 6 p.m.
Waffle Breakfast Davis Country Store Sun. 8 a.m.
The Gateway Express Youth MTB RaceOld Fort Gateway TrailsSun. 8 a.m.
Hikers in the Pisgah National Forest of Old Fort NC.

Outdoor Adventures

The McDowell Trails Association will host guided hikes, the G5 Trail Collective is hosting a youth mountain bike race on site at the new, Old Fort Gateway Trail System, the Friends of Fonta Flora State Trail is hosted a 5k run/walk with registration proceeds benefiting this non-profit and their work to create trail across three Western North Carolina counties.

Vendor Village

No street festival would complete without an awesome lineup of vendors. Located in downtown Old Fort, discover a variety of food trucks, vendors, and live demonstrations designed to teach new skills with your outdoor adventure equipment

The train depot and arrowhead statue in Old Fort NC

Train Experience

Reflecting the rich rail history in Old Fort, we will have exhibitors and speakers sharing the growth, expansion and development of railroads in the region. Take part in a self guided tour of the Old Fort Train Depot at 25 West Main Street in downtown Old Fort.

2024 Fly Fishing Film Tour​

Get tickets now for the single largest fly fishing event in the world. The Fly Fishing Film Tour is truly unique, with well over 300 shows globally, including Old Fort, NC. This year’s films will inspire anglers young & old.

Film Festival is from 7-9pm
Film Festival Doors will open at 6:00 

Location is Euda Wine, in Old Fort.