We usually go to outdoors events  to participate — to run, to ride, to play. Sometimes, though, we go for inspiration.

That could be the case this weekend at the 6th Annual Reef/Sweetwater Pro-Am Surf Fest in Wilmington. Some 96 pro surfers are scheduled to attend this year’s event at Wrightsville Beach, which offers up $20,000 in prize money. Among them are former ASP World Championship tour standout and Wilmington Sports Hall of Fame inductee Ben Bourgeois, Mike Losness, Paul Fisher, Jay Thompson, Nick Rozsa, Dylan Goodale, Heath “Nutty” Walker and Tonino Benson.

Granted, Wrightsville is no Waimea. The waves typically break small and close to shore — which is all the more reason you may become inspired to try and learn to ride. And if you do, expect to have no problem at the competition finding out where you can get a lesson.

The surf fest runs Friday-Sunday and begins at 7 a.m. all three days. For more info, go here or call 910.256.3821.

Piedmont

Geocaching is one of the best ways to lure a recalcitrant child into the great outdoors. “It’s a thousand degrees out and there’s all those bugs,” your little one grumbles when you suggest an outdoor outing. Ah, but what if you throw in the chance to find a hidden treasure?

Geocaching involves using clues and a GPS to find hidden stuff, often in the woods. It started in the 1990s, got a huge boost on May 2, 2000, when “selective availability” was removed from satellites circling the globe, making it a whole lot easier to hone in on the aforementioned treasures, which are generally hidden by geocache enthusiasts. Thus, people who might otherwise be loathe to venture out to the end of the driveway for their mail suddenly had no qualms about letting a hand-held electronic gizmo lead them into a sweltering jungle.

Intrigued, aren’t you? Find out more about the sport Saturday at the Reedy Creek Nature Center, 2900 Rocky River Road in Charlotte when a naturalist uses geocaching to find treasures in this cool preserve. The event is from 10 a.m. to noon, it’s for all ages, it’s free, but space is limited so you need to register in advance, by calling 704.598.8857

Learn more about the preserve — including how to get there — by going here.

Mountains

You’ve been watching the Tour de France and you’ve become especially smitten by the polka dot jersey (not to mention those … unusual dresses worn by the official podium bussing babes). You want to be the king of the mountains — any mountain, really, will do.

Join Watauga Leisure Biking Saturday for mountain riding North Carolina style. Note the key second word in their title — Leisure! This is a 14-mile ride of the Bethel-Mountaindale-Beaver Dam area of mountainous Watauga County (that’s where Boone is) that departs at 9 a.m. from Bethel Community Park (or meet at 8:30 a.m. at Boone Mall to car pool).

For more on the ride, e-mail bgrtellis@bellsouth.net.

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Those are GGNC’s suggestions for the weekend. Find an activity of your own from our super calendar, a collection of event calendars we’ve culled from around the state. Know of a good outdoors calendar we should include? Pass it along and we’ll plug it in.

Coast

CapeFearCoast.com
Comprehensive calendar for the Cape Fear/Wilmington/southern N.C. coast searchable by date and event name.

Coastal Guide
Comprehensive calendar including nature programs from a variety of costal conservation and research agencies that offer nature programs. Covers the entire coast.

Crystal Cost Tourism Authority
Comprehensive calendar focusing on the Crystal Coast. Good source for programs offered by N.C. Coastal Federation, Cape Lookout National Park, N.C. National Estuarine Research Reserve and other costal conservation and research agencies that offer nature programs.

NCCoast.com
Comprehensive calendar including programs for the Outer Banks and Crystal Coast.

North Carolina Coast Host
Comprehensive calendar for the entire coast that lets you search for events by day, by region, by county, by city or by event (based on key word).

This Week Magazine
Primary focus is the Crystal Coast (North Carolina’s coastal midsection).

Mountains

Asheville Citizen-Times
From the main page, click on “Outdoors,” then WNC Outdoors calendar.

Blue Ridge Outdoors
Searchable calendar lets you extend your reach to events throughout the mid-Atlantic and Southeast (or you can just limit it to North Carolina). Also lets you search a boatload of categories, ranging from Hiking, Mountain Biking and Climbing to Trail Running, Triathlon and Road Walking.

The Mountain Times
From the main page, click on “Calendars,” then Main Events.

Piedmont

Charlotte

Charlotte Observer events calendar
Comprehensive calendar searchable by category, including Nature, Recreation, Recreation & Wellness, Running

Charlotte Parent
Comprehensive calendar concentrating on things the family can do together.

Triad

GoTriad.com
Comprehensive calendar includes a Sports & Recreation category.

Piedmont Parent
Comprehensive calendar concentrating on things the family can do together.

Triangle

Triangle.com
Comprehensive calendar searchable by category, including: Birding, Boating, Cycling, Nature, Rec & Wellness, Recreation, Running, Swimming, Tennis, Yoga.

Carolina Parent
Comprehensive calendar concentrating on things the family can do together.

Statewide

Office of Environmental Education
One calendar for the numerous Environmental Education Centers statewide.

North Carolina State Parks
Lets you search for programs at the state’s parks, recreation areas and natural areas by location, by month, by topic. To reach the calendar from the home page, click on “Education,” then “Fun & Free Programs at Parks.”

National Forests in North Carolina
From the home page, click on Carolina Connections for news updates on the state’s four national forests as well as hints on recreational opportunities and a detailed rundown of recreation areas and the amenities at each.