Fall fever — finally! The nights are cold the days are cool and dry, the ideal mix for going in search of fall color. That drives our agenda of recommendations for the weekend.
Fall events, North Carolina State Parks, Saturday, Sunday. Not only is fall driving our agenda, it appears to be driving that of North Carolina State Parks as well: Gorgeous Gorges Colors Festival at Gorges State Park, Fall Discovery Hike at Lake Norman State Park, Stone Mountain Fall Hike … and that’s just on Saturday. You can find a rundown of all fall-themed events at North Carolina State Parks here.read more
It was a late November night in the late 1990s and Alan and I were hiking a stretch of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail along Falls Lake. Though we’d been mountain biking at night for two or three years, the notion of hiking in the dark had only recently occurred to us. Making our way through the woods in the quiet of night made us a bit giddy; instead of two guys in their late 40s, we were like a couple of 10-year-olds who’d snuck out of our bedroom windows on a clandestine adventure.read more
It’s been a toasty first week of October, but the forecast for the weekend calls for cooling and temperatures of a more seasonal nature. That said, some thoughts on how you can get out and enjoy an adventurous weekend.
GetHiking! Triangle: 5 Miles on the Mountains-to-Sea Trail at Falls Lake, Durham. Saturday, 9 a.m. Record heat has kept fall color at bay, but it’s a good bet we’ll see some on this hike that includes ecosystems that tend to promote early color. One of the more remote stretches of the MST through the Triangle. Learn more and sign up here.
Vade Mecum Trails Open, Hanging Rock State Park, Danbury. Saturday and Sunday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. The first weekend of every month, this new section of Hanging Rock State Park opens its trails for hiking, taking you into remote parts of the Sauratown Range and past remnants of the area’s past as Camp Sertoma. Learn more here.
Fall Hike Along Commissary Trail, Mount Mitchell State Park, Burnsville (sorta). 2 miles. Sunday, 10 a.m. A ranger-led hike on this trail just below the ridgeline of the Black Mountain Crest, the highest mountain range on the East Coast. Expect cold temperatures and good color at this elevation. Learn more here.
More options
You can find more opportunities this weekend here:read more
Saturday, our Gethiking! Triangle crew will hike a 5-mile stretch of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail north of Durham. Known as Day-Hike Section S, it’s one of our favorite stretches of the MST through the Triangle because of its ecological diversity: it spends time skirting edge forest, it sidles up to Falls Lake and a large farm pond, it passes through emerging hardwood forest and mature bottomland woods, it takes advantage of long abandoned farm roads.read more
The weekend forecast calls for a little rain — but not of biblical proportions. With temperatures in the low 80s and upper 70s under mostly sunny skies, the weekend couldn’t be much different than last. So get out and enjoy.
First, though, before heading out on your own, keep in mind that some of our favorite outdoor playgrounds remain closed by Hurricane Florence. Check this post from earlier in the weekabout checking ahead to see what is, and isn’t, open. For instance, most North Carolina State Parks from Jordan Lake southeast to the coast remain closed (with the exception of Fort Fisher State Recreation Area).read more
