For the second year in a row, the Dan River Basin Association, the nonprofit that oversees the trail, and the Rockingham County Tourism Development Association will host the second annual celebration of this paddle trail, which runs for 90 miles through Surry, Stokes and Rockingham counties. (The entire Dan runs for 214 miles, beginning high in Patrick County, Virginia, dipping into North Carolina, and ending back in Virginia, in Kerr Reservoir on the Roanoke River.)

The Dan River State Trail being a paddle trail, most of the weekend’s events are water-related: There’s a kid-focused education session and whitewater kayaking Friday at Madison River Park, and there’s a 6-mile paddle on the Dan lead by DRBA plus a “snorkeing” session on Saturday. There’s a also a hike at Hanging Rock State Park Saturday as well as an appearance by “To the End of the World” author Andrew Waters in Eden to kick things off Thursday evening. Event times and descriptions follow.

Thursday, July 31
5:30 – 7 p.m. – History with Andrew Waters “To the End of the World,” The Hive, 622 Washington St., Eden. Author and conservationist Andrew Waters discusses 1781’s Race to the Dan, a pivotal event in the American Revolution. Waters, author of “To the End of the World: Nathanael Greene, Charles Cornwallis, and the Race to the Dan,” will share this lesser-known story of our fight for independence. For more info and to sign up for this free event, go here.

Friday, August 1
4 – 7 p.m. – Kid-Focused Environmental Education Session, Madison River Park, 640 Lindsey Bridge Road, Madison. Virginia-based EnviroScape will be on hand with its environmental education models – and Tub o Bugs! – to demonstrate water pollution concepts and their prevention. Also presenting will be Stormwater Smart, Mayo River State and more.
6 – 8 p.m. – Park ‘n’ Play, Madison River Park, 640 Lindsey Bridge Road, Madison. Whitewater boaters are encouraged to bring their boats and frolicin Madison River Park’s whitewater park.

Saturday, August 2
9 a.m. – 2 p.m. – 6-mile Paddle on the Dan River. Join the Dan River Basin Association for a 6-mile paddle on the Dan River from a private access off NC 89 to the Hanging Rock State Park canoe access off Flinchum Road in Stokes County. This paddle is suitable for most skill levels with some Class I and II rapids. The free paddle is part of DRBA’s First Saturday Outings program. Learn more here.

10 a.m. – noon – Snorkel the Dan, 1258 Flinchum Road, Danbury. Ever wonder what lives beneath the surface of our Piedmont waterways? Come prepared to find out — and get wet — using underwater viewers to check out the marine life below your knees.
2 – 5 p.m. – Social Hour at the Green Heron, 1110 Flinchum Road, on the Dan River in Danbury.
5 -6:30 p.m. – Guided 1.5-mile Hike at Hanging Rock State Park. From the Flinchum Road Access we’ll hike the Riverbluffs Trail to wind down the day. Meet at the park’s Dan River Access, 1258 Flinchum Road, Danbury.

Sunday, August 3
Choose your own adventure! Adventure abounds along the Dan River. To find the one best suited for you, check out these resources:

• Dan River Basin Association — DRBA, the non-profit partner for the Dan River State Trail, has comprehensive collection of adventure options — hiking, river access, parks, cultural attractions, and more — on its interactive map. Check it out here.
• Trails in RoCo — You’ll find a rundown of trails in Rockingham County at this site from the Piedmont Legacy Trails.

The post A Weekend to celebrate the Dan River State Trail appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

We have the American Hiking Society to make sure we remember to pay homage to our trails, whether it’s by grabbing a mattock and pickaxe to build new trail, grabbing a rake and trash bag to tidy up existing trail, or by simply taking a hike, a ride, a paddle on the first Saturday in June. 

Fortunately, we have lots of opportunities to celebrate.

For instance, NC Trail Days in Elkin and Jonesville. This four-day event starts today and runs through Sunday. The event celebrates two trail communities, three NC State Trails (Mountains-to-Sea, Yadkin River, Overmountain Victory), two State Parks (Stone Mountain and Pilot Mountain), and miles and miles of great trail. Trail for hiking, trail for mountain biking, trail for paddling. There’s also rock climbing, trail maintenance, speakers, films, music, food — everything you need to successfully celebrate trails. Learn more here.

And there are more. Throughout North Carolina and Virginia you’ll find hundreds of National Trails Day events. Below are links you can tap on to find the NTD event nearest you, or the event that’s most appealing. If you can’t find one here, check your local parks department and land conservancy, most of which have events scheduled.

Start planning your Saturday trail celebration now!

• American Hiking Society (NTD events nationwide)
• AHS NTD events in Virginia
• AHS NTD events in North Carolina
• Virginia State Parks
• North Carolina State Parks
• Great Trails State Coalition

The post Celebrate National Trails Day This Saturday appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

It was a sentiment echoed numerous times by participants in the opening session of the first Great Trails State Conference last week in Winston-Salem: We need trails.

Last week’s inaugural conference was an outgrowth of sorts from 2023’s popular Year of The Trail, a celebration of trails authorized by the North Carolina General Assembly and backed with a $29.15 million investment in trails. The sponsoring Great Trails State Coalition (co-sponsored, actually, with the NC Department of Natural and Cultural Resources*) was eager to see how much lingering support there was for trails in the state. They were hoping to attract 300 attendees; they had to cap attendance at 378.

The three-day conference was full of revealing moments, such as the one delivered by Mr. Pulley. Among them:

• 100 new miles of trail have been officially added to North Carolina’s 14 State Trails. By “official,” that means they have received “official” designation, ticking off all boxes to qualify as a State Trail. As a whole, 3,400 miles of State Trail are envisioned in North Carolina, about 1,000 miles of which have been officially designated. 
• The Roanoke River State Trail became the first State Trail to be declared officially complete. The paddle trail runs for 140 miles through the coastal plain and includes 16 camping platforms.
• There are four trail collections in the state. The one most of us are familiar with is the Carolina Thread Trail, currently encompassing more than 300 miles of trail and 170 miles of blueways in 15 counties in the Charlotte area. There is also the Piedmont Legacy Trails (550 miles of trail and 250 miles of blueways in the Triad region), Triangle Trails Initiative (trails in 15 counties in the Triangle region), and the Hellbender WNC Trail Network (linking multiuse trail in western North Carolina; about 18 miles are complete).
• The outdoor industry in North Carolina contributes $14.6 billion to the economy, exceeding Colorado’s $13.9 billion outdoor rec economy.
• Outdoor recreation accounts for about 146,00 jobs statewide.
• North Carolina’s Equine State Trail was approved as a State Trail in 2023 and is currently in the planning stages. The trail will travel through eight North Carolina counties: Chatham, Cumberland, Harnett, Hoke, Lee, Montgomery, Moore and Richmond.
• For years, there’s been talk of a rail trail through Person County that would nearly link the American Tobacco Trail’s northern terminus in downtown Durham with the Virginia line. And for years, the Norfolk Southern Railway has balked at letting go of the line. However, it was revealed in a session on rails-to-trails projects that the railroad’s stance may be softening (the trail would become part of the East Coast Greenway, the North Carolina portion of which is a State Trail).
• The NC Paddle Trails Association, which disappeared in the early 2000s, is back! At the time it was the best source of information for paddling east of I-95.

There was more, which we will cover in the coming months. Suffice it to say that if you worried that Year of the Trail was a passing fancy, it wasn’t. The General Assembly followed its Year of the Trail investment with allocations of $25 million for both 2024 and 2025. The next goal of the Great Trails State Coalition: secure recurring funding for trails in the state.

And in case you wondered what Forrest Pulley and the folks in Allegheny County have in mind, it’s a 25-mile loop trail that would begin and end in Sparta and include a stretch of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail along the Blue Ridge Parkway. Here’s hoping that’s a hike we can do in the not-too-distance future.

* The author employed by the NC Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, as a Rural Advisor in the department’s Hometown Strong rural initiative.

* * *

Great Trails State Coalition

For more on the Great Trails State Coalition and its efforts to grow trail in North Carolina, go here.

The Coalition also has a calendar of trail events being held statewide. Find it here.

The post Great Trails State continues Year of the Trail momentum appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

Imagine being able to hike or paddle through the heart of the Piedmont for 125 miles with occasional stops in small towns. That’s the goal of the Deep River State Trail.

One of 14 State Trails in North Carolina, the Deep River begins in the Greensboro area and ends five counties later where it empties into the Cape Fear River. It’s one of only two State Trails — the other is the Haw River State Trail — that has both a paddle trail and land trail component. 

On the water you’ll encounter Class I and II water early on, mostly mellow flat water as the Deep nears the coastal plain. There are several river access points as the Deep passes through five counties.

On the land trail side, your options are more limited. Currently, there are less than 5 miles of land trail completed, all in the vicinity of Randleman and the adjoining towns of Franklinville and Ramsuer. 

Saturday, there will be a guided hike on a 1.5-mile stretch of the Deep River State Trail headed downstream from Franklinville. Here, the trail follows an old rail bed paralleling the river. The trail is surrounded by a mature hardwood forest that offers ample shade on a hot summer’s day as well as protection from a light rain. Occasional side trails offer glimpses of the Deep as it makes its way southeast. Saturday’s hike turns around at a pedestrian bridge under construction that will link with existing trail into Ramsuer.

This portion of the hike is flat and largely stroller-friendly. There’s also an optional 1-mile hike to Faith Rock (pictured) which offers views of a rockier, more mountain-like stretch of the Deep. Both the hike and the paddle trip are sponsored by the entities making the Deep River State Trail possible: the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, Piedmont Land Conservancy, Randolph County, Lee County, Deep River Park Association, and NC Great Trails State Coalition.

This is one of several hikes and paddles celebrating North Carolina’s State Trails in 2024. They’re a great way to get to know the emerging State Trails system, and to show support for their continued development. We’ll share a rundown of those events later this month.

In the meantime, make plans to join us this Saturday.

• Learn more about Saturday’s 9 a.m. paddle trip and sign up to join us here.
• Learn more about Saturday’s 2 p.m. guided hike and sign up to join us here.
• Learn more about North Carolina’s State Trails here.

The post This Saturday, go Deep and learn about N.C’s State Trails appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

You don’t. But you do build on it.

The just-passed Year of the Trail was intended to promote North Carolina’s vast trail system. Hiking trails, sure, but paddling, biking and equestrian as well. Year of the Trail events were held in 94 of the state’s 100 counties, those events ranging from hour-long guided walks on local greenways to three-day festivals celebrating trails across the state. The ultimate sign of Year of the Trail’s success? When the concept was conceived by the state’s General Assembly in 2021, it included $29.15 million for trail development; in the budget passed this past fall, legislators allotted nearly twice that much for trail development in the next two years.

Much of that money is targeted to the North Carolina’s State Trails, of which there are 14. State trails? you may wonder. These are longer trails — some hiking, some paddling, some both, one equestrian — that date back to the 1970s. You’ve likely heard of one, the Mountains-to-Sea Trail, you likely haven’t heard of the others. Each trail has a non-profit partner that is in charge of the trail’s development. Here’s a quick synopsis of the trails, including it’s partner:

• Dan River State Trail, 90-mile paddle trail in Surry, Stokes and Rockingham counties. Partner: Dan River Basin Association
• Deep River State Trail, 125-mile paddle and hiking trail that follows its namesake river from Jamestown in the Triad to Moncure. Partner: Piedmont Land Conservancy
• East Coast Greenway State Trail, the North Carolina portion of the East Coast Greenway, which will run 3,000 miles, from Maine to Florida. North Carolina’s stretch is two, actually, one in the Piedmont and one along the coast. The converge in Wilmington. Partner: East Coast Greenway Alliance 
• Equestrian State Trail, a horse trail still in the conceptual phase that will be located south of the Triangle.
• Fonta Flora State Trail, probably the fastest developing of the State Trails, this hiking/biking trail will link Asheville to Morganton (with a loop around Lake James). About 38 miles of the trail, mostly in Burke County, are done. Partner: Friends of the Fonta Flora State Trail
• French Broad River State Trail, a paddle trail running 115 miles along the French Broad, from Rosman to the Tennessee Line. Partner: Mountain True
• Haw River State Trail, a paddle and hiking trail running from the Haw’s headwaters north of Greensboro to its conclusion in Jordan Lake. Partner: Alamance Parks
• Hickory Nut Gorge State Trail, hiking and biking trail linking the Hickory Nut Gorge area near Lake Lure with South Mountains State Park. Partner: Conserving Carolina
• Mountains-to-Sea Trail, 1,175-mile hiking trail spanning the state, from Clingman’s Dome on the Tennessee line to Jockey’s Ridge at the coast. Partner: Friends of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail
• Northern Peaks State Trail, 40-mile hiking trail that will link Boone on the south to Mount Jefferson State Natural Area to the north. Partner: Blue Ridge Conservancy
• Overmountain Victory State Trail, the 225-mile stretch of the OVT in North Carolina; the trail runs through three other states.
• Roanoke River State Trail, paddle trail originating at Roanoke Rapids and ending at Albemarle Sound. Known for the camping platforms developed by its partner, Roanoke River Partners
• Wilderness Gateway Trail, a mostly hiking trail that will link at South Mountains State Park with the Hickory Nut Gorge State Trail (see above) with the towns of Valdese and Hickory. Partner: Foothills Conservancy
• Yadkin River State Trail, 163-mile paddle trail running from W. Scott Kerr Reservoir to Morrow Mountain State Park. Partner: Yadkin River Keeper

For more information on the North Carolina’s State Trails system, go here. For the latest on each trail, click the provided partner link.

We’ll be exploring and writing about North Carolina’s State Trails throughout 2024. Return to this space for the latest information.

The post Discover North Carolina’s State Trails appeared first on GetGoing NC!.