Let’s face it, hiking is pretty swell no matter the season in North Carolina. But it’s hands-down the swellest in fall. Cooling temperatures, drier air, fall color — all combine to make this the best of seasons. Here’s our lineup for Fall 2021.

GetHiking! Fall Sunday Morning Hike Series

• 11 hikes
• Sundays at 10 a.m., Sept. 5 – Nov. 21
• $125 for single hikers, $225 for couples and families
• 15 hiker limit

Make the most of the fall hiking season — the peak hiking season in the Piedmont — with our Sunday morning hike series! Eleven hikes on different trails each week, trails picked both for their esthetics and for their ability to escape crowds. Explore a different trail each week!

Learn more and sign up to join us here for single hikers or here for couples and families.

GetHiking! Fall Sunday Afternoon Hike Series

• 11 hikes
• Sundays at 1 p.m., Sept. 5 – Nov. 21
• $125 for single hikers, $225 for couples and families
• 15 hiker limit

The same hikes as in our Fall Sunday Morning series, but in the afternoon. Eleven hikes on different trails each week, trails picked both for their esthetics and for their ability to escape crowds. Explore a different trail each week!

Learn more and sign up to join us here for single hikers or here for couples and families.

GetHiking! Fall Friday Morning Hike Series

• 

  8 hikes

• Fridays at 7:30 a.m.
• $95
• 15 hiker limit

Fall weekends on the trail — who can wait for Saturday? With our GetHiking! Fall Friday Morning Hike Series you don’t have to. Our 8-hike series takes advantage of the early light, hitting the trail at 7:30 and finishing up around 9. Our hikes are on trails throughout the Triangle, a different trail each week!

Learn more and sign up to join us here.

GetHiking! Tuesday Evening Hike Series

• 10 hikes
• Tuesday evenings at 6:30 p.m.
• $125 / $225 for couples/families
• 15 hiker limit

The onset of cool fall weather and bright autumn color brings with it the hordes of fair-weather hikers who will soon be crowding our favorite trails — on weekends. Hike on a Tuesday — better still, a Tuesday after dark — and the trail is pretty much yours. In our Fall Tuesday Evening Hike Series, we hit the trail at 6:30 p.m. and hike into the night (literally)  Each hike lasts about an hour and a half; at the midpoint, we take a minute to savor the sounds of the night and the sights of the dark sky. 

Learn more and sign up for a single hiker here, a couple or family here.

GetOriented! Finding Your Way in the Woods

• 3-hour hands-on, in-field map and compass training session
• $65
• Three sessions

Love the trail but uncertain about your wayfinding skills? This three-hour session goes over basic map and compass skills, then hits the trail to offer key tips on how to follow and stay on the trail, how to find it again if you stray, and how to explore off trail. We’ll start with a 30-minute map-and-compass introduction, then use that map and compass — and some Daniel Boone skills — to find our way in the woods. We’ll also do some off-trail exploring, with the goal of purposefully venturing off trail, then figuring out how to rejoin the trail. Our goal is to make you confident hiking alone or taking a novice friend on the trail — and a little bit off!

For more information and to sign up, check the appropriate link below:

• Sunday, Aug. 22, Umstead State Park
• Saturday, Sept. 18, Eno River State Park
• Saturday, Oct. 9, Umstead State Park

GetHiking! Fall Weekend Escape: Black Mountain Crest Trail

The mystery of the northern end of the Black Mountain Crest Trail is one we will unravel on this hike starting from the Bowlen Creek Trailhead and climbing just over 3,000 vertical feet in 4.5 miles to Celo Knob. There, we’ll take the Woody Ridge Trail down the east flank of the mountain for just over 2 miles. It’s a hike that begins in a lush, mature hardwood forest; traverses an exposed ridge with incredible views to the east and west; and finishes on a 2-mile descent through rugged terrain. We’ll do two shorter hikes as part of the weekend as well, catching the peak of fall color in the high country. Breakfasts and campfire smores included. Oct. 22-24.

Learn more and sign up here.

GetHiking! Fall Weekend Escape: the Appalachian Trail at Hot Springs

Late Fall is a magical time: autumnal color lingers, the hordes who come to see it do not. There’s a special quiet you won’t find at any other time of year. And one of the best places for a hiker to enjoy this quiet — and catch some great late fall color — is on the Appalachian Trail at Hot Springs, N.C. The weekend of Nov. 12-14 we will gather in Hot Springs for a weekend of hiking and enjoying the ambience of downtown Hot Springs (through which the Appalachian Trail passes). Saturday, we shuttle to Garenflo Gap and hike 7 miles on the AT back to town; Sunday, we start at Tanyard Gap and hike 6.5 miles on the AT back to town. Five meals and trail snacks provided.

Learn more and sign up here.