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Welcome to the Chinqua-Penn Walking Trail!  We invite you to explore this special place in the heart of Rockingham County, North Carolina.

​The Chinqua-Penn Walking Trail (CPWT) is a 1.6 circular trail located on Wentworth Street in Reidsville, NC, on the 835 acres of the Upper Piedmont Research Station (UPRS), which is a partnership between NCSU College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and the NC Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

This site was part of the Chinqua-Penn Plantation, an innovative working farm of 1000 acres owned by Betsy and Jeff Penn in the first half of the 20th century.   The land was donated to the state by Betsy Penn in 1954.   In addition to the Research Station, this area is home to the Betsy-Jeff Penn 4-H Educational Center, created in 1964. 

The trail, mostly gravel and dirt, winds through old-growth forest, skirts two ponds, and follows the fence lines of pastures where you’ll see cows, bulls, and calves grazing. They are descended from Jeff Penn’s prized Black Angus herd from the 1940s. 
Parts of the trail are farm roads and carriage trails that date back to the 1920s.   You can still see the remains of structures built of locally quarried stone where the Penns would entertain guests.  Of course, the mansion was also built from logs and stone from the area, and even though it is no longer open to the public, you can catch glimpses of the home from the trail.

The CPWT was created in 1997 by Dr. Joe French, then the superintendent of the UPRS, and a handful of local individual volunteers and community organizations to benefit the public.  Since then, the trail has been managed and maintained by volunteers, with kind assistance from the UPRS staff.  All maintenance to and improvements to the trail are funded by grants and contributions, and all donations go to the upkeep of the trail.    

But really, the trail belongs to you, and to everyone who visits!   We are all stewards of the trail, and all who visit have an impact on the trail.    We thank you for admiring and respecting this beautiful piece of the natural world!

Jeff Penn's invitation to friends still resonates in this special place :   “Come, and you may find some meditation for the mind, some solace for the soul, some harmony for the heart. Anyhow, come!”