Facilities

Outdoor Education Center

The Outdoor Education Center (OEC) is a 67-acre Campus Recreation facility developed to provide outdoor programming and open recreation opportunities for the UNC community. It is a Campus Recreation facility which houses Carolina Adventures Expeditions and Challenge Course Programs and hosts the Get Real & Heel breast cancer recovery program.

Located just off Country Club Road, the OEC is an easy 10 minute walk from Woollen Gym or the Student Union. It features a premier 18-hole disc golf course, 3 sand volleyball courts, 8 tennis courts, a bouldering wall, a comprehensive high and low elements challenge course and our newly developed and ever expanding network of multi-use nature trails.

Click for a map with walking directions to the OEC.

Multi-use Trails

Campus Recreation is proud to offer the newly developed and continually expanding multi-use trail system throughout the OEC property. More than two miles of these trails have already been developed with more miles yet to come. 

These trails are open to hiking, trail running, mountain biking and dog walking. A few segments of the trails include jumps and other features designed for advanced mountain bikers. All users should practice awareness of their surroundings, personal abilities and everyone’s safety. Use caution, good judgment and “ride-arounds” when appropriate. Some segments of the trails are one-directional in order to improve safety. Please follow the guidelines and signage. Click HERE to download a version of our trail map. 

Thank you to Trail Science for building and expanding our trail system. Trail Science has been building trails in Chapel Hill and Carrboro for over two years out of love. Visit their Patreon page or website for weekly updates on when and where you can help them build beautiful trail.

 

Disc Golf Course

The UNC disc golf course is an 18 hole professional level disc golf course featuring a mix of open and wooded holes through the rolling piedmont hills.  The UNC Disc Golf team and a thriving disc golf community host the annual PDGA Tar Heel Open at this course, among many other local league events.  Players of all ages and skills are welcome to enjoy the newly redesigned course beautifully situated on campus at the Outdoor Education Center. The course is open for play from dawn to dusk and parking is available at the UNC General Administration lot at 910 Raleigh Rd. Please be aware of other park users, observe all facility rules and signage and obey any verbal cues from OEC Facilitators when the Challenge Course is active.

Directions

CB #3433, Country Club Road 
Chapel Hill, NC 27599

WALKING FROM UNC CAMPUS

  • Start at the sidewalk adjacent to Woollen/Fetzer Gyms. This sidewalk runs parallel to South Road.
  • Follow South Road away from the main campus, with Hooker Fields on your right until you reach the stoplight at the intersection of South and Country Club Road.
  • Turn right onto Country Club Road and stay left.
  • Once you have turned onto Country Club Road, DO NOT TURN ONTO RIDGE ROAD. Stay to the left. You will be going through a residential neighborhood.
  • The next road you will come to is Laurel Hill Road. Go past Laurel Hill Road.
  • 50 feet beyond Laurel Hill Road, there will be a few parking spaces and a driveway between them on the right. (If you miss the driveway you will come to a brick building where Country Club Road dead-ends.)
  • Follow the driveway until it opens up to a large parking area overlooking tennis courts and the Outdoor Education Center, which are down and to the right.

DRIVING FROM I-40 EAST

  • Get off at Highway 54 (exit 273A to Chapel Hill). You will be on this road for a couple miles. You will go under the 54 bypass and the road turns into South Road.
  • At the top of the hill (the first stop light) is Country Club Rd. Take a Left and stay left.
  • See directions below FROM COUNTRY CLUB RD

DRIVING FROM I 40 WEST

  • Get off at 15/501 towards Chapel Hill. Take this PAST the Franklin Street exit. (At this point the road splits so just stay in the left lane and STAY on 15/501).
  • You will go past a mall on your right which is East Gate (there is a BP gas station right there – you are on the right track).
  • You will then pass Estes Drive (which there is another mall and a Texaco station on your right- you are still on the right track). After that stop light you will need to get into the right lane. You will get off at the first exit that says to UNC. The exit will bring you onto South Road.
  • At the top of the hill (the first stop light) is Country Club Rd. Take a Left and stay left.
  • See directions below FROM COUNTRY CLUB RD

DRIVING FROM DOWNTOWN FRANKLIN STREET

  • From main shops on central Franklin Street (Nations Bank Plaza, etc.) head east, away from Carrboro, toward Durham.
  • Go Past the Morehead Planetarium on the right. At the next light, turn right onto Raleigh Road.
  • At the first light turn left onto Country Club Road. Stay to the right of the fork. You will pass the Forest Theater on your left. At the next light (intersection of Country Club and South Rd) go straight.
  • See directions below FROM COUNTRY CLUB RD

DRIVING FROM COUNTRY CLUB ROAD

  • Once you have turned onto Country club road, DO NOT TURN ONTO RIDGE ROAD. Stay to the left. You will be going through a residential neighborhood.
  • The next road you will come to Is Laurel Hill Rd. Go past Laurel Hill Rd. 50 feet beyond Laurel Hill Road, there will be a few parking spaces and a driveway between them on the right. (If you miss the driveway you will come to a brick building where Country Club Road dead ends).
  • Follow the driveway until it opens up to a large parking area overlooking tennis courts and the Outdoor Education Center, which are down and to the right.
  • Meet Outdoor Education staff members in the brown clubhouse building at the head of the tennis courts. Please give yourselves enough time to get to the center so the groups can start promptly at the scheduled time.
  • If you are scheduled during a week day please try and carpool. You will be able to park in front of the office BUT IT IS LIMITED. Follow the long driveway down and around the tennis courts to the right.
  • Weekend groups park in the upper parking lot.

If you have any questions please call us at 919.843.4OEC