After one of the most gorgeous and prolonged springs in memory, a spring that couldn’t be better suited to being on the trail, the heat is finally arriving this weekend. We couldn’t be happier.
A near-perfect spring coupled with the coronavirus has has driven an unprecedented number of hikers to the trail. But, with the coming heat and humidity, coupled with more retail outlets slowly opening, we should see far fewer hikers on the trail this weekend.
Portions of the 29 North Carolina State Parks that had been closed as a result of the coronavirus reopened this past weekend. Some reopened all their trails, some just a few. It’s worth a visit to the N.C. State Parks Facebook page for a sense of how things went systemwide. You’ll need to go beyond the photo of cars queued up as far as the eye can see at Raven Rock State Park to get a sense of what Reopening Day was like.
As we reported earlier this week, you’ll have more hiking options this weekend as a result of Gov. Roy Cooper’s easing of the coronavirus-influenced stay-at-home order. Initially, it sounded like all trails in North Carolina’s 41 state parks would reopen. Turns out that’s not quite the case.
Note: This post was updated at 8:30 a.m. on May 6 to reflect additional details on the phased reopening of North Carolina’s State Parks.
Under Phase 1 of the reopening of North Carolina in light of the coronavirus pandemic, “parks and trails are encouraged to reopen.”
Sunday, we had a need for distance, while at the same time distancing. With the temperature being in the low 80s, with not a cloud to be seen, and with summer’s humidity still a few weeks out, we knew that a long hike amid no fellow hikers might be hard to come by.
