On Bunch Road, between Reedy Fork Creek and I-73, a 120-acre site becomes a public park on Sunday, November 8. The Town of Summerfield has set the grand opening for 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. The town broke ground on January 13, and construction began in early 2026. Piedmont Land Conservancy described the work as running through summer and fall.
There's a playground and a picnic shelter, but most of the acreage goes to trails. Bandera Farms Park is a horse park that walkers can use too. It also holds a one-mile trail segment that was planned to someday continue all the way to Winston-Salem. That gives Summerfield its first piece of a regional trail system, and it sits well away from the US-220 corridor where the town's existing greenway runs.
A park laid out around the horse trailer
The town's project page calls Bandera "a nature-based, equestrian-focused preserve." The main feature is about 4.5 miles of dedicated horse trails. Piedmont Land Conservancy, which bought the land in 2020 and later handed it to the town, says those trails are open to pedestrians as well. The North Carolina Horse Council put $50,000 toward the project. Its announcement of the opening is addressed to riders: "A new place to ride is here. Come celebrate & come ride!"
You can see the horse focus in how the site is organized. WGHP reported in August that the park has two parking lots and two restroom buildings, one pair for each side of the property.
| Zone | What's there | Who it serves first |
|---|---|---|
| Playground side | Parking lot, restroom building, adventure playscape, picnic shelter | Families, picnics, short visits |
| Trailhead side | Parking lot, restroom building, horse-trailer parking, trail entrance | Riders, hikers, anyone heading out on the trails |
That second restroom almost didn't get built. The Northwest Observer reported in June that it was dropped in 2025 as part of $2 million in cost cuts. The Town Council put it back with a $400,000 draw from reserves. Town Manager Charles "Twig" Rollins told the paper that "people have always wanted the second bathroom," and that installing it during construction meant hiring a crane once instead of twice. Grants paid for nearly all of the $4.39 million project.
The playscape was the last piece on the construction schedule. WGHP reported it was expected to be installed in late August, with natural elements meant to encourage creative play.
The town's third major park
Rollins explained to WGHP how Bandera fits with the town's other parks:
"This is our third major park. We have an athletic park. We have a community park, and now we're going to have this equestrian park that will have normal walking trails, equestrian walking trails, another playground."
It will also be the largest of the three. Staff told WGHP that town surveys in recent years showed people mostly wanted more space to enjoy the outdoors. Summerfield Athletic Park on US-220 already hosts the town's big gatherings, including Touch-a-Truck in early October and the December tree lighting. Bandera is meant for a quieter, longer afternoon outside.
The day-to-day setup is different too. A town maintenance employee is living in the house on the property. WGHP reported that the caretaker opens the gates each morning, then checks the trash cans, trails and bathrooms before the park fills up. The Northwest Observer reported that having someone on-site became more urgent after a dirt bike damaged trails that were still under construction, and that the caretaker also starts each day with rounds of the town's other parks. WGHP reported dawn-to-dusk hours for the park. The town's final posted rules are the ones that count once the gates open.
The mile that points toward Winston-Salem
The greenway is the newest thing at Bandera. A one-mile segment of the Piedmont Greenway runs through the park, parallel to the horse trails.
Piedmont Land Conservancy describes the Piedmont Greenway as a planned 19-mile shared-use path linking Greensboro and Winston-Salem through Summerfield, Oak Ridge, Kernersville and Triad Park. Roughly 11 miles would be in Guilford County and about 8 in Forsyth. In Guilford, the route mostly follows Reedy Fork Creek. That's the same creek along Bandera's edge, and the park's design adds protective buffers along it because Reedy Fork supplies Greensboro's drinking water.
The conservancy's greenway page calls Bandera's segment "one of the first completed sections" of the route. A separate segment from Salem Lake to Hastings Hill Road in Kernersville was under construction in 2026. The mile at Bandera starts out as a natural-surface trail. Paving is planned once the full greenway is built.
For now, the mile begins and ends inside the park. The conservancy's plan calls for access points no more than 2 to 3 miles apart, and for the greenway to eventually connect with the A&Y Greenway, Greensboro's Watershed Trails, the Bicentennial Greenway and the Mountains-to-Sea Trail.
Two greenways, two parts of town
Most Summerfield residents who walk a greenway today use the A&Y. The town's trails page describes it as following the old Atlantic and Yadkin Railroad bed from downtown Greensboro, through Bur-Mil Park, across Lake Brandt and Strawberry Road, and into Summerfield. Its Summerfield stops all follow US-220:
- Anna Long Marshall Wayside parking lot, 4310 US-220 North, serving the northern leg
- Summerfield Vine Trail, a public spur north of the lot
- The US-220 pedestrian tunnel, which carries the trail under the highway
- Summerfield Road Trailhead, on the far side of the tunnel
Bandera is out on the I-73 side, along Reedy Fork Creek. When it opens, Summerfield will have one greenway along its main highway and the start of a second along its creek. The second one is the trail designed to keep going west toward Oak Ridge and Kernersville.
Bandera also came out of a partnership the region hadn't tried before. The town calls it the first time Guilford County, Greensboro, Oak Ridge and Summerfield have partnered on a joint conservation and recreation project. Guilford County gave the largest grant, $2.3 million from federal pandemic-relief money. The state's Great Trails program, the Land and Water Conservation Fund and the Parks and Recreation Trust Fund added $500,000 each. Destination by Design drew the concept, Pond handled engineering, and Bar Construction and Benchmark Trails were hired to build it.
Planning the November 8 afternoon
As of this week, the town's fall newsletter lists the time and date and says to watch for an official announcement on the town website. Here's what's set so far, and what to watch for:
- Check summerfieldnc.gov first. Mayor Lee Haywood wrote in the fall newsletter that details would follow on the town's newly updated website. That's where the program and any event parking instructions will appear.
- Pick which lot fits your plans. If you're bringing young kids, start on the playground side. If you want the trails, use the trailhead lot near the horse-trailer parking.
- Walk the greenway mile. It runs parallel to the horse trails. On an afternoon when riders are celebrating the opening, it's an easy way to walk while giving horses room.
- Expect the full park to be ready. The Horse Council's invitation lists the equestrian trails, greenway access, adventure playscape, shelter and restrooms as open for exploring.
Rollins also told WGHP the town has already graded land on the property for a possible future dog park. No date has been set for it.
After November 8, the next big town gathering is Summerfield's annual Christmas Tree Lighting on Saturday, December 5, 2026, at 5:30 p.m. at Summerfield Athletic Park, 5200 US-220. If you're keeping track of how Summerfield's year runs, our summer post on the town's weekly rhythm picks up from there.
New parks and trails like this one are part of how Carolina Home Partners follows each corner of the Triad, and Bandera is now on our map of Summerfield. If you're curious how a new park and trail access nearby might affect what your Summerfield home is worth, start with a free home valuation and we'll go through it with you.
