This weekend is a fall classic

Abbey Nature Preserve (photo courtesy N.C. Coastal Land Trust)

A 5K  through an old plantation at the coast, a paddle on a Piedmont river, a waterfall hike through the Pisgah National Forest. A weekend doesn’t get much more North Carolina than that.

Coast

Chances are you aren’t familiar with the Abbey Nature Preserve just north of Wilmington. Chances are you don’t know that in addition to the preserve, there’s the historic Poplar Grove Plantation and a museum documenting the Foy family’s nearly two centuries of farming on the land. And chances are you didn’t know that Saturday is a great day to explore the grounds as part of the Abbey Nature Preserve Autumn 5K. Run through Cedar forests, on trail beneath a leafy canopy, past a scenic pond and across a wooden footbridge. read more

90 Second Escape: Hiking into Fall (at Falls Lake)

Monday — never an easy time for the outdoors enthusiast. After a weekend of adventure, returning to the humdrum work-a-day world can make one melancholy. To help ease the transition, every Monday we feature a 90 Second Escape — essentially, a 90-second video of a place you’d probably rather be: a trail, a park, a greenway, a lake … anywhere as long as it’s not under a fluorescent bulb. read more

A new guide to where to hike in and near 7 North Carolina cities

Chapel Hill, Eno River

Summer is in its waning days, the temperature is having trouble getting much past 80 during the day and is slipping below 60 at night. The air is dry, the sky clear, the bugs are being kept at bay.

It’s fall hiking season. But where to hike?

If you live in one of seven major North Carolina cities, GetGoingNC has solved your dilemma. Actually, GetGoingNC and Great Outdoor Provision Co. have joined forces to solve your dilemma. read more

Chi whiz! A concept to run with

Chi: Bee injury free

With few exceptions, I experience what I write about. It makes it easier to describe the experience. It also makes it easier to sniff out the potential BS factor. This comes in especially handy when writing about new fitness trends and classes. It came in handy a couple weeks back when I started reporting a story on Chi Running for the Charlotte Observer and The News & Observer. read more

Explore the outdoors, discover yourself.