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Biking the Guilford Courthouse National Military Park Loop is a true “only in Greensboro” riding experience, earning it a four-star rating. It would be five stars if it were just a little longer, and you didn’t have to share the road with cars. Fortunately, the park traffic is one-way, very light, and low speed.
Sorry for the upcoming history lesson, but Guilford Courthouse is where the town’s namesake, Nathanial Greene, fought General Cornwallis in one of the most decisive battles of the Revolutionary War. Don’t worry; even without the history, this is a beautiful place to ride. However, the historical context makes it extraordinary.
Got your history hats on? Let’s go… By 1778, the British had largely abandoned operations in the north and pursued victory through subjugation in the Southern Colonies. They gained ground as Cornwallis chased the Patriots from Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina.
When General Nathanael Greene took over as Continental Army commander, he engaged in a strategy of avoidance and attrition against the British. The armies fought a string of battles, most of which were tactical though pyrrhic victories for the British.
On March 15, Cornwallis engaged Green at Guilford Courthouse. The British, tactically, won the battle, but strategically, the heavy losses left them weakened, while the Continental Army remained largely intact to continue fighting.
Greensboro was as far as Cornwallis would push into North Carolina. After the battle, he began his retreat to Yorktown, where his surrender seven months later marked the end of the Revolutionary War.
The Guilford Courthouse National Military Park tells this remarkable story through a one-way interpretive loop through the battlefield, including a 9-stop cell phone tour available for free from the Visitor Center. If you’re not a history buff, you can skip the tour and enjoy a ride through the woods on a low-speed, low-traffic, one-way road with plenty of statues and monuments. Either way, it’s a fine and pleasant journey.
One more final note, the parking lot inside the park closes at 5:00 PM, so park at the lot off Old Battlefield Road if there’s even a chance that you’ll run late.
