Underground Railroad in Guilford College Woods

As guides are available*, we offer tour opportunities for groups, and are happy to accommodate requests as possible. Our goal is to share this essential and incredible history of resistance on the land now called the Guilford College woods, upon which Freedom Seekers navigated the Underground Railroad in their efforts toward self-emancipation. Please use this request form to share information about your group, and the Tour Scheduler will contact you. For more specific questions, please email: undergroundrr@guilford.edu.

Tours last 1 - 1.5 hours (beginning at trailhead or in the Alumni Gym parking lot depending on group size). 

Please note that priority in scheduling is given to public school classes which are using this curriculum. 

We encourage our guests to offer an honorarium for the tour to support this important work including. Donations support staff time, trail maintenance and improvements, and continuing program development. If you are able, guests can make a donation on the website here- please note in the gift description, "Underground Railroad Tour." Thank you!

If you would like to visit campus and explore with a self-guided tour, please register via this online form.

The Underground Railroad Trail begins at trailhead on Nathan Hunt Rd. beyond the Guilford Lake on the left (see woods map). There is very limited parking (and no parking allowed along road) marked with wooden posts at the trailhead, so we encourage folks to use drop offs, or to utilize Visitor Parking spaces for multiple cars and buses (see campus map). 

It is best to visit during daylight hours. Please "leave no trace" and note that there are current residences in the woods- there are no restrooms or trashcans currently available on the trail.

The trail was created in 2017 as a way to tell the story of how freedom seekers navigated this land, in collaboration with free and enslaved African-Americans and European-American abolitionists and allies. The trail leads to a champion tulip poplar tree, over 300 years old, known as the Underground Railroad Tree.

We cannot know if this tree served as a guide to assist enslaved Africans seeking freedom, but know it was present at that time and place. We talk about the tree as a silent witness; we encourage visitors to pause on viewing platform and reflect on its symbolism, and how one might be moved to create justice and spaces of refuge in our lives and communities. 

We encourage folks who would like to take a self-guided tour to print out The History and the Stories pages, or to pull them up on mobile to read while visiting the woods or before your visit. You can also explore the Underground Railroad Curriculum pages for more information, videos, resources, timelines, and material that will aid your personal exploration. 

Guilford County Schools 4th, 8th and 11th grades utilize curriculum developed with the support of the Tannenbaum-Sternberger Foundation to learn about Underground Railroad activities which took place locally, including a field trip option to visit the Guilford College Woods. Teachers at any school interested in booking tours can contact the Tour Scheduler using this request form. For more specific questions: undergroundrr@guilford.edu.

Tours last 1 - 1.5 hours (beginning at Trailhead). 

Our goal is to share this essential and incredible history of resistance on the land now called the Guilford College woods, upon which freedom seekers navigated the Underground Railroad in their efforts toward self-emancipation. We are happy to accommodate private as well as public school groups. Please note that priority in scheduling is given to public school classes which are using this special curriculum. 

Guilford College classes can learn, through tours by trained guides*, about the courageous collaboration of enslaved and free African-Americans and European-Americans, as part of the Underground Railroad in the New Garden (now Guilford) Woods. 

Professors interested in booking tours can contact the Tour Scheduler using this request form. For more specific questions: undergroundrr@guilford.edu.

Tours last 1 - 1.5 hours (beginning at Trailhead). 

Please note that priority in scheduling is given to public school classes which are using the Underground Railroad curriculum.

See section above on Self-Guided Tour to the Underground Railroad Tree.

If you have comments to share about your guided tour visit, please share them here. If you have feedback about the self-guided tour, please email: undergroundrr@guilford.edu.

Thank you!

Most of our current tour guides are Guilford College, Faculty, Staff, and students. We occasionally host tour guide trainings on campus and invite interested community members who have shown a dedication to this history to join as guides. If you are interested in attending a tour guide training or finding out more information about how to volunteer or be involved, please fill out this form: URR Program & Tour Guide Training Form