Try your hand at canoeing at Cliffs of the Neuse State Park, walk or run or bike to support a state park in Raleigh, or learn to ride a bike in the mountains.
Coast
We’re always on the lookout for a good, economical paddle adventure; this weekend our looking out has landed us at Cliffs of the Neuse State Park south of Goldsboro, where a ranger will lead an Introduction to Canoeing class on Sunday. The course includes boat, lifejacket, paddles and instruction, and will be conducted on the friendly waters of the park’s 11-acre, spring-fed lake. An especially great opportunity if you’ve never been in a canoe, but have given it some thought.read more
For much of this week, North Carolina has been swathed in a blanket of green. An annoyance to some, a detriment to outdoor pursuits for others. We don’t care about the annoyed; we’re here to address our outdoor brothers and sisters who are afflicted with sensitive nasal passages. No doubt you were tempted by the first run of 80-degree-plus temperatures to get out and play. And no doubt you would up a runny, itchy, puffy mess as a result.read more
A boat demo, a bird hike, an adventure race, a waterfall hike — and they’re all on the same day.
Coast
In Wilmington’s Smith Creek Park on Saturday they’ll be celebrating the warm weekend by land and by sea (by “lake” technically) at the Bird Hike & Kayak Demonstration, a joint effort of New Hanover County Parks & Gardens, Cape Fear Audubon Society, Wild Bird & Garden and Hook, Line & Paddle. In a stroke of good planning, Cape Fear Audubon will lead the bird hike, from 8-9:30 a.m., while Hook, Line & Paddle will handle the kayak demo, from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. A good opportunity to learn a few new birds and to test out a boat or two.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.read more
Danny Bernstein, in red, with Carolyn Hoopes encourage Sharon McCarthy on her Pretty Hollow Creek crossing.
On a crisp afternoon in November 2009 I was hiking along Pretty Hollow Creek in the Great Smokies when I heard voices up ahead. I looked up to see three backpackers, two on the far side of the creek, a third, wearing a jester’s hat, tiptoeing her way over the creek atop a downed hemlock. The two who had successfully made the passage were offering their … encouragement to the one in transit. Then, one yelled about the last two words I was expecting to hear.read more
