Category Archives: Hiking

House Creek Greenway to open June 25 (read: Memorial Day)

This stretch under Lake Boone Trail is finished; only two paving projects remain on the House Creek Greenway.

If you’ve been driving Raleigh’s Beltline between Wade Avenue and Glen Eden Drive, sneaking peeks into the woods and wondering when on earth the House Creek Greenway is going to open, the answer is June 25.

That’s the official answer. In reality, it should be passable by Memorial Day. read more

This weekend: wildflowers, a wild ride, a ride into the wild

Saturday: a good time on the Dismal Canal.

I know it’s just Tuesday, but what better time to start planning for the weekend ahead than while the memory of the weekend past is still fresh

Coast

Two great options at Dismal Swamp State Park this weekend. Saturday, it’s Bike to the Bull North Burn, an 8-mile round-trip bike ride to the site of last year’s Bull North Fire. There’s a 20-minute program at the site, followed by a box lunch. Brink your own bike or rent one on site (make arrangements when you call to register). Starts at 9 a.m. read more

90 Second Escape: Pilot Mountain

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

What do you mean you can’t? Sure you can

This could be you. Really!

Even before the talk began I realized I had a live one on the line.

I was at the King Public Library Tuesday evening for a presentation on backpacking, a presentation  tied to my book, “Backpacking North Carolina.” On the surface, the book is a guide to 43 places to backpack in the state. But it’s true intent is to debunk the backpacking stereotype: of an arduous pursuit best left to survivalists and folks with a high threshold for discomfort. read more

This weekend: Run, ride, hike

The view from the Appalachian Trail bridge over the Nantahala River at the Nantahala Outdoor Center.

A 5K/10K kicks off the Azalea Festival in Wilmington, there’s a ride with lunch in the Triangle and at the Nantahala Outdoor Center they’ll be celebrating hiking and long trails. A good cross-section of sweaty fun this weekend in North Carolina.

Coast read more