One by one, the trails you love to hike are being closed by overcrowding. And as more of those trails close, people flock to the other trails high on your list — and those become closed as well. 

You need a new strategy, to start looking at new places to explore. Places like your own neighborhood.

I’ve long been a fan of exploring my own backyard when time didn’t allow for a far-flung adventure. It started when I was a kid and had no wheels to flee my neighborhood, it continued as an adult, when yard work and household chores meant I only had an hour or so to scratch my adventure itch.

Now, we all find ourselves in the same boat, a boat that, frankly, is a little more seaworthy than you might think.

For the last three weeks I’ve been tapping my reservoir of neighborhood adventure knowledge to great a guidebook, “Explore Your Neighborhood: A guide to discovering the world immediately around you in these shelter-in-place times.” 

In this 44-page guide we show you the best way to learn about your neighborhood, and then how to go out and discover it, including:

• What provisions you’ll need (you probably already have them)
• How to scout your neighborhood (starting with Google Maps)
• What to look for (in the woods, in the ditches, in your neighbor’s yard
• The best times to look (and best maintain your Social Distance)
• Health benefits of walking and being outside
• Outdoor videos to check out between neighborhood forays

Consider your stay-at-home time as something akin to how you viewed Saturday as a kid: all week your time, your comings and goings, your very thoughts, were controlled by The Man (or, more likely, The Woman). But come Saturday, the world was yours to be discovered. Think of this as your Saturday, and “Explore Your Neighborhood” your guide to making the most of it.

Exploring your neighborhood will continue to be our focus here at GetGoingNC for the foreseeable future. We’ll be posting additional tips and suggestions on how to make the most of your confined travels, as well as videos of adventures close to home. And if you haven’t already, check out our Morning Walk with Joe on Facebook Live, in which I take you along for 10 minutes or so of my morning walk. Airs weekday mornings at 7:30, and sometimes a little later on weekends.

Your neighborhood is waiting to be discovered. “Explore Your Neighborhood” will help make that happen.

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Explore Your Neighborhood

“Explore Your Neighborhood: A guide to discovering the world immediately around you in these shelter-in-place times” is available from the GetGoingNC store, by going here. 

Morning Walk with Joe is 10 minutes or so of exploring what’s out the front door, every weekday morning on Facebook Live on the GetGoingNC Facebook page. Catch it at 7:30 a.m. here.