We’ve got a good, seasonal, winter-like weekend on tap — temperatures in the 40s, mostly sunny skies — which means lots of opportunity for good, seasonal, winter-like fun. Such as …
The Loooong Hike — Mountains-to-Sea Trail, Saturday, 10 a.m., Eno River State Park, Durham. 8-mile hike. Cold weather makes for great long hikes — so much incentive to keep moving. And such a scenic hike, passing the Eno Quarry, snuggling up to rocky sections of the Eno, gaining some elevation, passing two waterfalls, and maybe fording a stream or two where Florence wiped out a bridge. Free, but pre-registration required by calling 919.383.1686. Learn more here.read more
I knew I’d found a kindred spirit in Jim Plant when, during my interrogation of his intimate knowledge of Hanging Rock State Park, he said, “But then, I prefer to go off-trail.” Jim and fellow Friends of the Sauratown Mountains members Regina Rollins and Sarah Werner were standing on a rock outcrop with GetHiking!’s Alison Watta and me, surveying a vast stretch of undeveloped land in the 7,000-acre state park north of the Triad.read more
It’s another weird weekend forecast where Saturday looks good, Sunday not so much. With that in mind, a recommendation or three:
Basin Hike, Sunday, 11 a.m., Fort Fisher State Recreation Area, Kure Beach. One of the coolest 1-mile trails around, taking you over the dunes, through maritime forest and over a salt marsh. Call 910.458.5798 to reserve a spot.read more
On Saturday morning’s GetHiking! hike at Umstead State Park, half the number of hikers who signed up showed up. No mystery there: it was cold.
What is a mystery is why so many hikers let a little thing like freezing temperatures keep them off the trail. As we may have mentioned (just last week, in fact), we love a winter hike: among other things, there are fewer people, fewer bugs, and it’s blissfully quiet. Yet too many people miss out because they don’t know how to dress. Let’s solve that problem here and now.read more
It’s looking like another one-day weekend. The forecast: Saturday: cold and dry; Sunday: cold and wet.
Cox Mountain Hike, Saturday, 1:30 p.m., Eno River State Park, Durham. Watch the accompanying video — see the hillier sections? Those are from the Cox Mountain Trail, the very same Cox Mountain trail that’s the focus of this 4- to 5-mile hike. Learn more and sign up here.
Hike to Tory’s Den, Saturday, 1 p.m., Hanging Rock State Park, Danbury. New to this hiking thing and not sure you can hike very far, but still want some great scenery and you want it pretty much to yourself? (Boy, you’re demandy!) You can have it all on this half-mile round-trip hike on one of the lesser-visited, but still scenically awesome, trails at Hanging Rock. Learn more and sign up here.
Wildings: Winter Wing Watching, Saturday 10 a.m., Weymouth Woods State Natural Area, Southern Pines. Remember when “wilding” was a bad thing done by juvenile hoodlums? Well, it’s practiced differently down in Southern Pines, where this wilding also features youths (ages 6 to 10), but involves them quietly watching birds. Learn more and sigh up here.
As always, you can find more opportunities this weekend here:
North Carolina State Parks have a variety of adventures planned for the weekend. Check those options here.
North Carolina Environmental Education Centers has an extensive calendar of what’s happening at its affiliates; check it out here.
You can also find more adventures right here, at GetGoingNC.com
What we’re up to
Here are highlights of what GetHiking! and GetBackpacking! are up to this weekend:
=&6=&, Saturday, 1-2:30 p.m., Great Outdoor Provision Co., Raleigh. Join our GetBackpacking! braintrust for an all-encompassing discussion of all things backpacking, from how to get started to how to drop a pound or two. Learn more and sign up here.
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