If you’ve been on our GetHiking! Meetup pages for the Triangle or Triad lately, you may have noticed an event this weekend, “Celebrate the Haw River with 3 Hikes and a Paddling Film Festival” event. Frankly, it’s hard to imagine a better way to celebrate the last weekend in March than with hikes from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. along the jungly Haw River, followed by an International Paddling Film Festival. (Details here.)

Helping to put together this event and others like it is part of my day job. I work for the State of North Carolina with a unit within the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources called Hometown Strong. Our mission is to assist rural communities in a variety of ways. One of those ways, for me, is by helping them get the word out on their outdoor recreation assets. In 2023 I assisted 9 communities with weekend Year of the Trail festivals. Last year, we held similar events in communities along North Carolina’s 14 State Trails. And this year? I’m continuing to work with State Trails communities — thus, Saturday’s event in Saxapahaw with both the Haw River State Trail and the Mountains-to-Sea Trail — as well as with communities participating in the Department of Commerce’s Creating Outdoor Recreation Communities program. 

Perhaps most exciting, though, is that I’m also working with mountain communities devastated by Hurricane Helene to help reintroduce them to the outside outdoors community. For instance:

• Hot Springs. A frequent destination for our GetHiking! and GetBackpacking! programs, we’re helping to coordinate four hikes as part of their Town & Trails Festival, a reopening of sorts for Hot Springs, on May 2 and 3. We’re excited to be working with Blue Ridge Hiking Co., which is providing guides for the four hikes. Details to come.

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  West Jefferson/Ashe County. The site of one of our most popular Year of the Trail events, we’re returning for hikes on the soon-to-open Paddy Mountain Trail (also the northern end of the Northern Peaks State Trail), at Elk Knob State Park, and at Pond Mountain. Save the date: June 26, 27. Details to come.

• Panthertown Valley/Jackson County. The Friends of the Panthertown Valley is going all out with its month-long BioBlitz, a series of hikes, trail workdays and

  

  citizen science projects that begins on Earth Day (April 22) and culminates on May 17. Learn more about this event here. 

• Sylvapalooza. That’s not an official name, but it sums up the extent of this wide-ranging event Sept. 12-14 which will include guided hikes, mountain bike rides, rafting, snorkeling and more, all in the vicinity of Sylva. Details to come.
• Black Mountain. Black Mountain Parks & Recreation gives you a chance to see Helene-caused trail damage first hand, then do something about it with a pair of workdays they’ll be leading at the Christmount Conference Center just south of town. Some of the trails at Christmount have been cleared, so come prepared to work, then hike. Workday dates: April 4 and May 5. More info here.

Details on these and at least four additional events are developing; we hope to have them available as soon as possible, including on this site. We know we need to get these events nailed down ASAP: the next few months can be busy and we need to get you specifics, including dates, so you can get them on your calendars. If you’ve been wondering what’s open in the mountains and what’s not, this is a great chance to find out.

And as you make your plans to attend, remember that it’s not all about trails, about hiking and mountain biking and paddling. It’s also about supporting the restaurants and brew pubs and inns and shops that are eager to recover from Helene. 

It’s an especially good year to vacation in the state. We’ll do our best to make your planning as easy as possible.