A cold front sweeps through the state Saturday afternoon dropping daytime temperatures from the 90s into the upper 70s in the Piedmont and overnight lows into the 40s in the high country.
Translation: Sunday will bring us our first true fall hiking of the season. So get done what you need to get done on Saturday and reserve Sunday for a day in the woods.
Where? you ask. Here’s a quick list of our favorite resources for finding a good hike.
- North Carolina State Parks. North Carolina has 41 state parks, natural areas and recreation areas crawling with good hiking trail, and you’ll find them pretty evenly distributed from the coast (Jockey’s Ridge) to the highest spot in the high country (6,684-foot Mount Mitchell). The state park Web site has helpful information for planning a trip, including downloadable versions of the maps you’ll find at the parks. Investigate here.
- Carolina Mountain Club. The venerable (est. 1923) hiking group maintains by far the most extensive database of hikes in North Carolina’s mountains. Not only do they have a lot of hikes but they have all the details you’ll need to plan, find and execute your hike. Investigate here.
- NCHikes.com. Our sister site includes a trove of hiking information, including longer hikes and tips on executing your hikes. Investigate here.
- More of a guidebook person? There are lots of good ones on North Carolina, some covering the entire state, some focusing on specific areas. We’ll humbly start you off with two recommendations, “100 Classic Hikes in North Carolina” (2007, Mountaineers) and “Backpacking North Carolina” (2011, UNC Press).
Cool, fall weather is coming Sunday. Make a date with a trail.
Hey Joe, Still check your site at least 2-3 times a week and really appreciate it. Any chance your 100 Classic Hikes will be updated in the next two years or so? I believe you mentioned the possibility of it being update OR reprinted soon. Thanks!
I would love to update that book; it would be significantly different than the original, with perhaps half of the hikes new and the remainder altered (lengthened, most likely, with shorter options given). The book went into a second printing last year, so I’m guessing it would be at least a year before they would start to consider a second edition. I’ll let you know if I hear of any movement on that front.