No matter where you are, head out Friday night and take in the Geminid meteor shower at its peak. And during the light of day you’ll find lessons to be learned about snow.
Coast
The Geminid meteor shower is expected to peak Friday evening — and you can have a prime seat at the Dismal Swamp State Park in South Mills. If the conditions are prime, you should be able to see 50 to 100 meteors per hour! This park program starts at 7 p.m.
Winter is approaching, but the temperatures this weekend will be more autumnal. Perfect, in fact, for getting out and shaking the lethargy of a Thanksgiving feast. Carolina Beach State Park gives you good reason to head for the coast, there’s a rare opportunity to explore a Jordan Lake tributary in the Piedmont, and in the mountains, the trail less traveled could be the one yielding the biggest reward.
Leave the driving to a park ranger on a boat trip up the Scuppernong River, hike Hanging Rock with GetHiking! Triangle, or hike into history in the Swannanoa Valley.
Coast
Pettigrew State Park offers frequent tours of the Scuppernong River. Usually, those tours are by canoe, a great way to experience the Scuppernong but not everyone’s cup of tea-colored water. Saturday, the park lets you leave the paddling to others on its afternoon Scuppernong River Tour. One advantage: without having to deal with navigation you can focus on the waterway’s abundant wildlife and natural beauty.
Wings Over Water is underway at the coast, there’s a family bike ride through the autumnal Piedmont and there’s a chance to view the high country’s peak color from a peak.
Coast
If you’re into nature, and especially the nature of the coast, then drop what you’re doing and head to the Outer Banks region, where the annual Wings Over Water celebration is underway (it started yesterday and runs through Sunday). On tap: guided birding trips, art and photography workshops, tram tours of National Wildlife Refuges, guided kayak and canoe tours, a visit to an ancient maritime forest and more. Programs are scheduled in Dare, Currituck, Tyrrell and Hyde counties.
A mellow downtown bike ride at the coast, an audience with a survivor from the days of Mary Queen of Scots and hankie hike up in the hollow. An interesting weekend of choices in North Carolina.
Coast
We love a good organized bike ride. And we have a special fondness for those that don’t cater to the hardcore cyclist capable of riding 100 miles. Or 63. Or even 25. We like the short, leisurely rides that just about anyone could do — even someone without a bike.