RALEIGH, N.C.—On Saturday, June 3, 2006, Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne named the House Creek Greenway, which connects the North Carolina Museum of Art to the Capital Area Greenway System, a National Recreational Trail. The designation was announced in conjunction with the observance of National Trails Day.

A National Recreational Trail (NRT) designation indicates that the trail is an example of what Secretary Kempthorne calls “the Four Cs”: conservation through communication, consultation, and cooperation.

“The Greeenway is already frequented y bicyclists, joggers, and families with babies in strollers. Along the way, they discover works of environmental art and self-guiding signs on the ecology of the site,” said Joseph Covington, Museum Park Curator. “The NRT designation will hopefully get even more people onto the trail.”

As an NRT, the House Creek Greenway will benefit from the prestige and increased visibility of being part of the National Trail System. The trail will be added to the on-line National Registry of Trails at www.AmericanTrails.org and will be eligible for additional funding opportunities. In addition, the NRT logo can be used in appropriate settings along the trail and in trail publications.

About National Recreational Trails
NRTs provide for numerous outdoor recreation activities in a variety of urban, rural, and remote areas. Over 900 trails in all 50 states, available for public use and ranging from less than a mile to 485 miles in length, have been designated as NRTs on federal, state, municipal, and privately owned lands. The NRT on-line database includes information on most designated trails. American Trails is working with the National Park Service, the USDA Forest Service, and the Bureau of Land Management on the National Recreation Trails Program. Trails may be nominated for NRT designation each year.

The House Creek Greenway
The Greenway winds through woodlands and across House Creek and then crosses the Raleigh Beltline via the longest pedestrian bridge in the state. Installed along the trail are monumental works of art that are unique in North Carolina. The Greenway is a joint project of the Raleigh Department of Parks and Recreation, the N.C. Department of Transportation and the N.C. Museum of Art.

The North Carolina Museum of Art Park
The Museum Park consists of 164 acres of woodlands, open areas and streams filled with trails and monumental works of environmental art. The combination of an important art museum and a large natural area offers a rare opportunity to explore art and ecology together.

For more information about the N.C. Museum of Art or the Museum Park, visit www.ncartmuseum.org or call (919) 839-NCMA (6262).

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The North Carolina Museum of Art’s permanent collection spans more than 5,000 years, from ancient Egypt to the present, making the institution one of the premier visual arts museums in the Southeast. The Museum uses its collection to provide educational, aesthetic, intellectual, and cultural experiences for the citizens of North Carolina and beyond. The Museum offers a series of changing national touring exhibitions, classes, lectures, family activities, films, and concerts.

The North Carolina Museum of Art, Lawrence J. Wheeler, director, is located at 2110 Blue Ridge Road in Raleigh. It is the art museum of the State of North Carolina, Michael F. Easley, governor, and an agency of the Department of Cultural Resources, Lisbeth C. Evans, secretary. Museum hours are Tuesday–Thursday and Saturday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.; Friday, 9 a.m.–9 p.m.; Sunday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Closed Monday. Admission is free. For information call (919) 839-NCMA (6262), or visit the NCMA’s Web site at www.ncartmuseum.org.