Last weekend, we explored the longest uninterrupted stretch of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail along Falls Lake in Raleigh: the 7 miles from NC 98 to Creedmoor Road. We were struck by how, seemingly overnight, the woods had gone from a hint of green to full-blown leaf-out. We caught glimpses of the lake; mostly, though, we were enveloped in green.
Category Archives: Paddling
This weekend: Get a jump on fall
Technically, it may still be summer (fall starts a week from Friday, on Sept. 22), but the weather suggests the season is well underway. Sunny skies, dry air, temperatures in the 70s and low 80s: weather that beckons with a seductive come-hither finger to come outside and have some fun.
10 Things to Do Before Summer Ends
Labor Day weekend marks the end of wearing white shoes and seersucker suits. And it also marks the end of several summertime frivolities.
Of course, officially, summer doesn’t end until Sept. 22 (at 4:02 p.m. for you sticklers). Psychologically, though, this weekend is it.
This weekend: Explore, Party
This week, hikes and a paddle with something extra.
Coast | Coastal Plain
Exploring is great. Exploring with a party thrown in, even greater!
That’s the situation Saturday at Lumber River State Park, site of the Lumber River Day Festival 2017. There’s exploring, in the form of free canoe rides on the Lumber River. And there’s fun stuff in the form of bluegrass music, pony rides, a casting contest (for kids), miniature train rides, a bouncy house, food (including ice cream) and more.
This weekend: Get wet, go high
Another hot, summery weekend is on tap, which means you have two choices for outdoor fun: get wet or go high.
Coast
Not that you need a reason to visit the Great Dismal Swamp, but if you did …
Saturday, join a ranger on an intimate Summer Paddle of the Dismal Swamp Canal at Dismal Swamp State Park north of Elizabeth City. Everything you need — boat, paddle, PFD, basic instruction — is provided. That last part — basic instruction — should be even more incentive for those of you who’ve never paddled.