How To Bike the Art to Heart Trail (NC Museum of Art – Downtown Raleigh)

If you love bike rides and greenway trails as well as modern art, then you may want to saddle up and bike the 6-mile Art to Heart Trail in Raleigh. This was a fun family activity to do on a weekend, as it has plenty of pit stops for coffee, lunch and drinks in Downtown Raleigh, as well offers a chance to explore more natural areas between the usual high-rise landscape.

If you’re thinking of riding this cycle route and not sure how to do it, where to begin, or what to expect, here is everything you need to know!

What is the Art to Heart Trail?

The Art to Heart Trail is a point-to-point trail that connects the North Carolina Museum of Art (NCMA) to the heart of Downtown Raleigh. This trail begins at the NCMA, which is home to the state’s premiere collection of art, situated within a 164-acre sculpture park. This 6-mile trail is a short segment of the larger East Coast Greenway, a developing trail system linking major cities of the eastern Seaboard between Canada and Key West – totaling 2,900 miles! 

We love how bike friendly and walkable Raleigh is, and one of the cool things about living in Raleigh is the Capital Area Greenway Trail System, which is one of the most extensive greenway systems in the USA with 104 miles of trails and 28 individual routes. The Museum of Art is one of the most popular museums in the city and admission to the museum’s permanent collection and outdoor park, is FREE – parking is also free!

Before starting the bike ride to downtown, consider taking a stroll through the Ann and Jim Goodnight Museum Park. There’s a paved trail lined with outdoor art featuring more than a dozen commissioned works of art. This trail then connects to the greenway system that takes you to downtown!

Biking the Art to Heart Trail

The Art to Heart Trail is NOT a loop. You can of course bike one way in to downtown and then back again, but if you don’t want to do that, you can get an Uber back. We decided to stay in downtown for lunch, so I caught an Uber back from downtown to pick up our car from the museum car park and then drive back into the city to meet up with the others. Before setting off, decide whether you want to bike one way (6 miles) or return the same way (12 miles).

The Art to Heart trail is a paved trail that starts by winding its way through the museum’s 164-acre park. The trail then winds through the Eastern portion of the park, and then passes behind Meredith College and cuts through the main campus at North Carolina State University.

It then connects to a woodland trail as it passes by Pullen Park, over a pedestrian bridge and through Boylan Heights, then finishes in the heart of the city just outside of the Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts – or wherever your heart desires (pardon the pun). You can view the trail and the stops we took on the following map:

The trail largely stays off the main roads and is shaded by trees for most of the way. It proved to be one of the best kid-friendly trails in Raleigh for us. As a family, we love to get outside and explore unique areas and neighborhoods in Raleigh whilst passing through parks, green campuses, and quieter downtown neighborhoods that avoid traffic and loads of other cyclists. 

This trail is a multi-use trail, so you can expect some walkers, but it was wide enough that you can easily avoid people. Along the trail there’s a good mixture of flat trail and some small inclines, bridges to cross, tunnels to go through, and lovely tree lined streets and nature areas. Overall, it was moderately easy, and children can do it. Our 9-year-old managed it easily, though cycling back would have been too much for her.

Stop 1: NC Museum of Art

Before you set off, be sure to pop into the NC Museum of Art. It’s free admission and only has two buildings – the West and East Building. Sometimes there are special events on, such as the Art in Bloom event, which require a ticket, but generally it’s free to visit and doesn’t take too long to wander around.

After that, safely lock up your car in the free parking lots, and then grab your bike and start cycling! First cycle through the museum park, and head to the eastern portion of the park to connect to the Reedy Creek Trail.

Stop 2: Crossing Wade Avenue

After a short section cycling through the trees, you will hear the sounds of the highway.

Don’t worry, you don’t have to cross it, you can take the bridge over US-440 and then through a tunnel under Wade Avenue. If you keep following the trail, it wraps around the outside of Meredith College.

Coffee Break

At the entrance gates to Meredith College on Hillsborough Street, across the road is Lucky Tree, one of our favorite coffee shops in Raleigh.  

Although this stop is fairly early on in the bike ride, we were on a leisurely pace and wanted to stop in for a coffee, a bite to eat, and a bathroom break. Lucky Tree is a bit of a hidden gem in Raleigh being slightly out of the heart of downtown, but it’s next to the popular Brickhouse Sports Bar and Raleigh Brewing, so if you want a beer instead, you have options!

This coffee shop offers a wide selection of coffee options, and great vegan and gluten free bakery goods. The other cool thing is it doubles as a local art and gift shop. We grabbed a latte and chocolate chip and banana nut muffins.

After our 30-minute break, we jumped back on our bikes and back on the Reedy Creek Trail and past the Athletic Field at Meredith College. 

Intersection of Hillsborough & Gorman Streets

We then came to the intersection of Hillsborough and Gorman. Once here, you go over the crosswalk and then take a RIGHT on Gorman St and head towards Sullivan Drive. When going down Gorman St you’ll bike over another bridge over some train tracks and then to Sullivan Drive. 

Take a LEFT on Sullivan Drive and pick up the Rocky Branch Greenway.

Sullivan Drive and Rocky Branch Greenway takes you through NC State University’s North Campus passing Miller Fields and behind Carmichael Gymnasium. Follow the signs for Pullen Park and you’ll pass under a tunnel (under Pullen Rd), and then pastPullen Park on your left that runs parallel to Western Blvd until you come to Ashe Ave.

When you get to Ashe Ave, take a LEFT and bike for a short distance until you get to the entrance gates to Pullen Park. Cross the road here and continue along Rocky Branch Trail (parallel to Western Blvd). 

Stay on the greenway trail until you get to W. Cabarrus St and follow this street into the Historic Boylan Heights neighborhood, one of the best neighborhoods in Raleigh. 

Then take a RIGHT on W. Lenior St which takes down into the heart of the city and to the “unofficial” end at the Martin Marietta Center for the Performing Arts.

As mentioned, we decided to go for drinks at one of our favorite breweries and eateries in Raleigh, Wye Hill Kitchen & Brewing, which is in the Boylan Heights neighborhood. So instead of taking a right on W. Lenior we continued through and took a LEFT on S. Boylan Ave, across Boylan Bridge to Wye Hill. 

We also continued on to the Glenwood South District and had burgers and wings at the Hibernian Irish Pub.

Video: Watch us bike ride the Art to Heart Trail

TOUR IDEA: If you don’t want to bike this on your own, or to elevate this Art to Heart Trail experience, you may love the Ghosts, Mysteries, and History ebike tour along the Art to Heart Trail. Switch on the Turbo boost to get up the hills (no pedaling needed) and make stops along the way to learn history and ghostly tales. We recently did it and LOVED it! You can use the code THISISRALEIGH for a 10% discount. This is a really great half day out in Raleigh!

Extension: Reedy Creek Trail at NCMA

The Art to Heart trail is connected to the Reedy Creek Trail, which actually begins at Umstead State Park and Schenck Forest to the west, before connecting to the West Building of the NC Museum of Art. Because our girls enjoy cycling, we decided to extend our Art to Heart trail by starting at Umstead State Park and cycling along the Reedy Creek Trail.

Even though we did this on a Saturday, and it was a lovely 77 degrees out in November, it was not too crowded and the trail is easy to navigate past other bikers or joggers. 

Would we recommend the Art to Heart Trail?

Whether you’re visiting Raleigh or if you live here like us, I highly recommend you grab your bikes (or walking shoes) and do this trail as it’s one of the best bike trails in Raleigh. And whether you bike it or even walk it, there’s plenty of nearby food and drink options along Hillsborough Street and all the best places to eat in downtown Raleigh at the finish.

• Download a map of the Art to Heart trail here.
• You can download the current Raleigh greenway trail map here.

Don’t forget the Ghosts, Mysteries, and History ebike tour along the Art to Heart Trail as an alternative, or in addition to. You can use the code THISISRALEIGH for a 10% discount. This is a really great half day out in Raleigh!