If your competitive urges are coloring your outdoor urges, head to the coast. But if you’ve got an urge for more color, you can find it in the Piedmont and even in the mountains.
Coast
You love to run, you love to bike — alas, you’re a sinker. No triathlon for you. But you can participate in a duathlon, which taps into your two loves. And you can tap into one Saturday in Wrightsville Beach.
The Wrightsville Beach Biathlon consists of a four laps on a 6.32-mile course “on soft and hard sand,” followed by a 3.2-mile run to the south end of the island and back. A civil way to break into the duathlon world.
Logistics: Saturday, Nov. 15, 9 a.m., Blockade Runner Resort, Wrightsville Beach. $35/$45. More info: 910.256.2251, brittany.burdine@blockade-runner.com
Saturday forecast: High of 51, sunny.
Piedmont
Two weeks ago, we thought the fall color was peaking in the Piedmont. It hung on long enough to make us pretty certain it was peaking last weekend. Well, as of Wednesday it’s still going strong, which, coupled with the immediate forecast for sunny days and cold nights makes us now predict that color will be near peak — perhaps just past — this weekend.
All the more reason to take part in Saturday’s Yadkin River Fall Foliage Hike at Morrow Mountain State Park. On this 2.4-mile hike you’ll not only see color, but you’ll learn who’s flashing which colors. Wear hiking shoes, children are welcome if they are with an adult.
Logistics: Saturday, Nov. 15, 3 p.m., Morrow Mountain State Park, Albemarle. More info: 704.982.4402.
Saturday forecast: Sunny, high of 49.
Mountains
There’s even, apparently, some color refusing to fade in the mountains. Even if there wasn’t, we’d recommend Saturday’s four-mile hike at Fontana Dam.
The hike departs from the dam on the Lakeshore Trail, which traces the shoreline through a second-growth hardwood forest. The views are great, and you’ll get additional insight on the area from hike leader J.P. Peoples, who will explain things like why a couple of rusted Model Ts are off the trail in a ditch. The hike is sponsored by Fontana Village.
Logistics: Saturday, Nov. 15, 11 a.m., Fontana Village. More info here.
Saturday forecast: High of 48, sunny.
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Those are our thoughts on the weekend. Find more options at the sources listed below.
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
Great Outdoor Provision Co.
Calendar includes three weekly events for each of its seven markets: Chapel Hill, Charlotte, Greensboro, Greenville, Raleigh, Wilmington and Winston-Salem. Search by market.
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.
U.S. National Wildlife Refuges
Rundown, by month, of regular activities at the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service refuges in North Carolina.
– See more at: https://getgoingnc.com/2014/11/this-weekend-take-a-hike/#sthash.vqfGV3KO.dpuf