Marion Peavine Rail Trail’s Path to Community Greenway
Background
The trail traces its origins to the late 19th century, when the Georgia and Carolina Midland Railway Company opened a rail line southward from Marion toward Camden, South Carolina in 1890. As the line wound its way through the rolling foothills and creek valleys of McDowell County, locals affectionately nicknamed it the "Peavine"—a nod to how its curves twisted through the landscape like vines across a garden trellis. Over the decades, the corridor changed hands, eventually operating under Southern Railway and later Norfolk Southern, hauling timber, textiles, and freight essential to Marion’s industrial economy before declining traffic led to its abandonment.
The corridor found new life in 2010 when the City of Marion purchased 2.4 miles of the abandoned right-of-way from Norfolk Southern with the vision of converting it into an accessible linear park. Today, approximately 1.5 miles of the crushed-stone and grass path are open for walking, running, and cycling. The northern trailhead sits just steps from downtown Marion at State Street (adjacent to the old McDowell Rescue Squad building), gently carrying visitors past quiet residential neighborhoods and tree-lined hollows before reaching its current turnaround just south of Rutherford Road.
Current Status
Spanning 1.5 miles one-way, the Peavine Trail offers an easy, family-friendly walk or ride along a flat, gentle historic rail grade. Its surface combines crushed stone, ideal for walking, running, biking and leashed dog walks. Access the main northern trailhead and parking lot at 143 State Street, with secondary parking at the First Christian Church lot off Rutherford Road (closed to trail visitors during Sunday morning services).
At the southern turnaround near Rutherford Road, trail users meet one of the corridor's most striking historical relics: the soaring, multi-tiered wooden railroad trestle. While the trestle remains barricaded for public safety due to structural deterioration, it serves as the focal point for the trail's next chapter.