Wings Over Water is underway at the coast, there’s a family bike ride through the autumnal Piedmont and there’s a chance to view the high country’s peak color from a peak.
Coast
If you’re into nature, and especially the nature of the coast, then drop what you’re doing and head to the Outer Banks region, where the annual Wings Over Water celebration is underway (it started yesterday and runs through Sunday). On tap: guided birding trips, art and photography workshops, tram tours of National Wildlife Refuges, guided kayak and canoe tours, a visit to an ancient maritime forest and more. Programs are scheduled in Dare, Currituck, Tyrrell and Hyde counties.read more
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 or slide show 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.
Today’s 90-Second Escape: Fall color — looking ahead by looking back.read more
The dogwoods and sourwoods were ablaze at Hanging Rock State Park two weekends ago.
Late last week I had a great idea. If you’re planning a trip to the mountains to catch the fall color, you check out the Weekly Fall Forecast and Color Report issued by the Asheville Chamber of Commerce, Asheville Convention & Visitors Bureau and the Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority. There, you can find updated reports from throughout the mountains about what colors are popping where.
But what if you don’t have time to drive to the mountains? Or what about when the season has peaked there and is blooming closer to home (assuming that home is in the Piedmont)?
Why not do a similar report for the Piedmont? I thought. I could do it based on reports from the dozen or so state parks, recreation areas and natural areas spread throughout the Piedmont. What brilliant idea!
Apparently the North Carolina Division of Tourism, Film and Sports Development thought so, too, because they’re already doing it.
From this week’s report, for instance, we learn that as of Monday, “you can see a small change in color with yellows being the most predominant” at Raven Rock State Park near Lillington. And as of Wednesday at Falls Lake State Recreation Area in the Triangle, “Hickories are a nice golden yellow, and sweetgums and poplars continue to turn yellow as their leaves fall. The oaks and maples are still holding onto their green colors but should start to transition soon.” Other reporting stations since Oct. 1 include Haw River State Natural Area, Pilot Mountain State Park, Crowders Mountain State Park, Hanging Rock State Park, Mayo River State Park, Kerr Lake State Recreation Area, Eno River State Park and Lake Norman State Park.
Personally, within the last week and a half I’ve seen the dogwoods and sourwoods add to the tableau at Eno River, Falls Lake and UmsteadState Park with flashes of red and maroon. Color may not be close to peaking in the Piedmont, but it’s certainly starting to show. And based on the forecast for next week, there could be a significant uptick in color next weekend: temperatures are expected to cool significantly, with overnight lows dipping into the 30s. Cold snaps are one event that can significantly accelerate fall’s color display.
To recap:read more
Weirdly, a lot of us felt powerless as our elected federal officials shut down the U.S. government for 16 days. We elected them, but I’m pretty sure most of us didn’t elect them to do this.
You can stress this point when your local representatives come up for reelection. Unfortunately, that’s a ways off. If you prefer instant gratification, here’s a suggestion: This weekend, now that the government is again open for business, visit one of the federal parks, forests, refuges, trails, historic sites, military parks — whatever, that was closed during the recent … situation.
Our friends at the N.C. Division of Tourism, Film and Sports Development have put together a list of federal sites you can visit statewide. Click on the site for information on planning a visit.
This weekend, let your elected officials know how much you appreciate these gems — and don’t appreciate them being capriciously closed. Take a day trip.read more
Fall is a great time to be outdoors in North Carolina; this weekend there are several ways to enjoy the season: hike a swamp at the coast, run a marathon in a Piedmont forest, paddle a mountain river — at night.
Coast
Lots of people go to Merchants Millpond State Park, almost all to paddle the cypress- and tupelo-peppered millpond. But the park, nestled in the swampy northeast corner of the state, also has hiking trail (it even has backcountry camping). Saturday, you can tag along with a ranger on a nature hike through the park, a good opportunity to learn about the swamplike environment. Bug spray recommended.read more
