Category Archives: Hiking

Horton Grove: New hiking in northern Durham County

There’s something almost mystical about exploring northern Durham County. Perhaps it has something to do with the “forbidden fruit” thing.

There’s not a whole lot of public land in this northernmost reach of the Triangle. Until 2004, the lone option was the 2,450-acre Hill Demonstration Forest operated by N.C. State University. While yes, technically, it is public, the mention of recreational permits to visit always put something of a damper on a spontaneous drop-in. Then, in 2004, the 391-acre Little River Regional Park opened. With 7 miles of hiking and 7 miles of separate mountain biking trail, it was a welcome addition to the Triangle’s outdoor scene. Yet it was essentially the lone northern Durham option. read more

This weekend: Big Sweep, new trail, cleared for 5K

Statewide, and especially at the coast, there’s a good workout to be had as part of NC Big Sweep. Meanwhile, a new trail opens in the Piedmont and on Saturday you needn’t be a 737 to fly down the runway at Asheville Regional Airport.

Coast

As we discovered this past weekend in the yard, there is perhaps no greater workout than trying to tidy up the outside world. Which is why if you’re looking for a heckuva workout this weekend, you need look no further than your local NC Big Sweep event. Yes, it’s that time, the first Saturday of October, when volunteers in all 100 North Carolina counties will gather to clean up their local waterways. While the events are held statewide, they seem to be especially popular along the coast. In Brunswick County alone, cleanups are scheduled in a dozen locations. To find out what’s going on near you, see Logistics, below. read more

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