Beginning at the Central YMCA @ Sunset Dr. and Glade St.

common beginning:

all of the routes from the YMCA start on Sunset Dr. at the YMCA parking lot and go around Hanes Park counterclockwise (Sunset to West End Blvd, to Reynolda Rd., to Northwest Blvd, past Reynolds H.S. gym and Wiley Middle School), then:

• right (north) on Hawthorne Rd. and under the RR bridge; and
• left (west) on Runnymeade Rd, which crosses Stratford Rd. and turns into Warwick Rd.
• 1.5 miles: around Hanes Park, on the perimeter sidewalk (running counterclockwise, the sidewalk borders Sunset Dr., West End Blvd., Reynolda Rd., Northwest Blvd (past Reynolds H.S. gym and Wiley Middle School), Hawthorne Rd., and Glade St.
• Note: there are dirt trails and a 400 meter track inside the park

3.5 miles: common beginning; then

• continue west on Warwick Rd.
• go around the traffic island at Warwick and Rosyn Rd.
• retrace the route back to the YMCA.

5 miles: common beginning; then

• continue west on Warwick Rd;
• Warwick ends at Reynolds Dr.; continue west on Reynolds
• Reynolds ends at traffic circle at Forsyth Country Club; go around circle
• retrace the route back to the YMCA.

10 miles: common beginning; then:

• continue west on Warwick Rd.
• right (north) on Arbor Rd.
• right (east) on Forest Dr.
• left (north) on Oaklawn Ave.
• Oaklawn ends at Coliseum Blvd; cross Colisium and enter Graylyn estate
• right (east) at the fork in Graylyn's internal road
• exit Graylyn, cross Reynolda Rd., and enter Reynolda estate
• follow the estate's internal road past an open field and the main house and thereafter bear right at each intersection
• follow the internal road / path across the bridge to Faculty Dr. on the Wake Forest U. campus
• right (east) on Faculty
• stay on Faculty to its end at a circle
• go around the circle and retrace the route back to the YMCA.

13.1 miles:

the Mistletoe half-marathon course, which uses most of the 5 and 10 mile courses described above (all miles on the race course are marked in white paint): from the YMCA parking lot, jog east on Sunset Dr. and West End Blvd and begin the course at West End and Pilot View

• complete the rest of the common beginning; then
• continue west on Warwick and then Reynolds Rd. to the traffic circle at Forsyth Country Club
• go entirely around the circle and back (east) on Reynolds
• retrace the route east on Reynolds and then Warwick
• from Warwick, left (north) on Arbor Rd.
• right (east) on Forest Dr.
• left (north) on Oaklawn Ave.
• Oaklawn ends at Coliseum Dr.; cross Coliseum and enter Graylyn Estate
• on Graylyn's internal road, bear right (east) at the fork
• cross Reynolda Rd. to Reynolda estate's internal road
• on the internal road, pass a large field and the main house, and thereafter bear right at each intersection
• still on the internal road, cross the bridge and continue on the paved path to Faculty Dr. on the Wake Forest U. campus
• from the path, right (east) on Faculty
• right (south) on Timberlake Dr
• left (east) on Royal Dr., which returns to Faculty
• right (east) on Faculty to the circle at the end of Faculty
• around the circle and return (west) on Faculty
• right (north) on Wake Forest Rd and follow it around the campus, always keeping the main campus on your left;
• Wake Forest turns into Gulley Dr and thereafter take the first right to return to Faculty Dr. NOTE: very easy to get lost here
• right (west) on Faculty
• down the hill on Faculty to the internal path to Reynolda estate
• retrace the route through Reynolda estate, through Graylyn estate, south on Oaklawn, west on Forest, and south on Arbor
• at Arbor and Warwick, turn left (east), cross Stratford Rd, to Runnymeade
• on Runnymead, run with traffic
• retrace the route back to the YMCA.

Beginning at Salem Lake - off Reynolds Park Road

one loop - 7 miles:

park in the gravel lots, to the right of the entrance road, outside the fence, or in the asphalt lot inside the fence. Bathrooms, drink machines, and the lake office are inside the fence

• most runners go around the lake counterclockwise on the dirt path
• it's hard to get lost; if in doubt, bear left at any intersection
• half-way is Linville Rd.; look for the water fountain
• at 6 miles, you cross a short, low wooden bridge
• at 6.5 miles the trail turns to asphalt, and you hit a short, steep hill
• at the bottom of the hill, the path forks
• take the left fork to return to the start point

extend your run

• at the fork of the asphalt trail, just past 6.5 miles
• take the right fork; the path runs next to Salem Creek and continues to Central Park and Salem College - about 3.5 more miles - turn around whenever and return to the lake