The forecast for the weekend is looking better than it has for a spell: some chance of rain (but mostly sunny) with temperatures in the 80s. Sounds like exploring weather to us.

As we do every Friday in this space, we offer encouragement and direction to get you out and about over the weekend ahead. First, we recommend the two venues shown in the video: Brumley Forest Nature Preserve, a Triangle Land Conservancy property between Chapel Hill and Hillsborough that’s surprisingly diverse (and flat, if you’re into that kind of thing), and Occoneechee Mountain State Natural Area in Hillsborough. At 867 feet, it’s the highest point in the Triangle and has some surprisingly montane flora. Links below.

National Trails Day is Saturday, which means all sorts of NTD-related events across the land: nearly 1,000 events nationwide including 35 in North Carolina. One we’re particularly keen on is our GetHiking! Triangle hike on the Mountains-to-Sea Trail at Falls Lake, a 6-mile saunter through edge forest, meadow, shoreline and along railroad tracks. Kind of a Huck Finn adventure. Learn more and sign up to join us, here.

Three other NTD events you might especially like:

• Giving Back at Stone Mountain State Park, 8 a.m.-1 p.m., Roaring Gap. Workday, including maintenance on the Mountains-to-Sea Trail. More info here.
• NTD on Bearwallow Mountain, 10 a.m.-1:30 p.m., Hendersonville. Family-friendly hike to the summit of this Conserving Carolina property. More info here.
• Cruise the Neuse, 8 a.m.-2 p.m., Goldsboro. Paddle a section of the Neuse with Goldboro Parks & Rec.: $15 fee includes boat rental, t-shirt and lunch. More info here.

If you’re just getting into hiking, Hike NC, the BlueCross NC hiking program in which we are a partner, has the following hikes Saturday:

* Smith Creek Park Preserve, Wilmington. 1 mile. 10 a.m.

* Haw River State Park: Iron Ore Belt Access, Greensboro, 3.3 miles. 1:30 p.m.

More details and signup at gohikenc.com.

You can find more events at the following:

• North Carolina State Parks has a variety of adventures planned for the weekend. Check those options here.
• Right here, at GetGoingNC.com.

Learn more about where we spent last weekend by clicking on Brumley Forest and Occoneechee Mountain.

Have a great weekend!