A classic paddle adventure at the coast, a weather reprieve on hiking in the Piedmont and everything under the sun — which will be shining bright — at the Mountain Sports Festival in Asheville: get out and celebrate your freedom this weekend.
Coast
Category Archives: Paddling
Triangle: #BestTown2105
You know how in the NCAA Tournament you’re always rooting for the little guy (provided the little guy isn’t playing your guy)?
Content from RDU #BestTown2015
That’s the situation the Triangle currently faces in its battle for Outside Magazine/Toad&Co.’s #BestTown2015 crown. Dubbed Raleigh-Durham for recognition reasons (but really encompassing all the great recreational assets of the Triangle), RDU, a No. 8 seed in the South regionals, handily beat No. 9 seed Bentonville, Ark., in first-round action. Now, in Round 2 we find ourselves up against No. 1 seed Chattanooga, Tenn. Chattanooga: been to the dance before, known as a top-notch player not only regionally, but nationwide. It’s got whitewater paddling, it’s got climbing, it’s got hiking and mountain biking.
Just like you’ll find in the Triangle. But does it have scuba diving? Miles of flatwater paddling? More than 280 miles of greenway?
RDU deserves your support as #BestTown2015. And it needs it: currently the Triangle trails Chattanooga by a 63 percent to 37 percent margin. And time is running out: voting ends at midnight Wednesday.
Check out our brief slideshow campaign for RDU’s candidacy. If you need more convincing, read Raleigh-Durham’s complete position paper here. Then, let the country know what a great place this is to explore — vote!
This way to the ballot box …
90 Second Escape: RDU #BestTown2015
Monday — never an easy time for the outdoors enthusiast. After a weekend of adventure, returning to the humdrum work-a-day world can make one melancholy. To help ease the transition, every Monday we feature a 90 Second Escape — essentially, a 90-second video or slide show of a place you’d probably rather be: a trail, a park, a greenway, a lake … anywhere as long as it’s not under a fluorescent bulb.
This weekend: A swamp tour, a naturalist weekend, a hike on new trail in the Mountains
Learn a thing or two about a swamp at the coast, ditto a riparian corridor in the Piedmont. Meanwhile, the Carolina Mountain Club hikes a new and emerging stretch of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail originating at Waterrock Knob. Another great weekend to be in North Carolina.
This weekend: Boat, bike, hike
Friday kicks off a 10-day celebration of cycling in Raleigh, while Saturday’s Paddle for the Border marks the annual spring migration of paddlers on the Dismal Swamp Canal. Meanwhile, in the mountains, check out the high season for high mountain wildflowers with the High Peaks Association.