With the weather officially dipping into Brrrr territory, to help you stay warm and moving we suggest you do the following:

Coast

Isn’t some of what makes the weather getting colder so sweet, the appreciation we have for a nice, hot meal?

Saturday, you’ll get the chance to experience just that. Help wrap up North Carolina State Parks’ 100 Year Anniversary with Goose Creek State Park’s campfire cooking program. Some of the most essential skills to survival are building a fire and using that fire to cook food, which is the aim of the program.

Logistics: Campfire Cooking, Saturday, 4 p.m.,Goose Creek State Park, Washington. Find out more, here.

Saturday Forecast: Rain early in the day, high of 69.

***

Looking ahead: Winter Birding, Dec. 23, 11 a.m., Hammocks Beach State Park, Swansboro. More info, here.

Piedmont 

Tis’ the season for giving! Giving back gives a sense of gratitude, a feeling of being a part of something, of having purpose.

Feeling a little stressed? Let the pressures of this season fall to the Earth with every step, and take a breath. Join our GetHiking! Triad group for for a Gratitude Walk at Hagan Stone Park near Greensboro, and finish feeling refreshed with a positive outlook. Come out feeling taller than the trees!

Hagan Stone has a reputation for being all things to all people. You’ll get to see so much of what this park has to offer – from playgrounds and camping to fishing and general natural beauty on this hike that piggybacks on one of the most popular high school and college cross-country courses in the region.

Logistics: GetHiking! Triad Gratitude Hike at Hagan-Stone Park, Pleasant Garden. Sunday, 1:30 p.m., 3 miles. More info, here.

Sunday forecast: Bright skies and a high of 56.

***

Looking ahead: Forrest Bathing/ Nature Hike, Dec. 28, 2 p.m., Occoneechee Mountain State Natural Area, Hillsborough. Find out more, here.

Mountains 

With temperatures dropping we finally get some exercise in one of our favorite ways, skiing the slopes.

With the most slopes open and almost all of their lifts running we recommend you find your way to Appalachian Ski Mountain! App has nine of 11 slopes open. Current conditions are nice with the weekend getting a little bit more sludgy but still skiable none-the-less.

For a sense of how winter magically happens in the Southeast, check out this video of 24 hours of snowmaking at Wisp Resort in Maryland.

Logistics: Appalachian Ski Mountain, Blowing Rock. Open 9 a.m. to Midnight. Find out more, here. Learn what other slopes are open in the region at SkiSoutheast.com.

Weekend forecast: Cloudy with a chance of rain Saturday and Sunday, with highs near 50.

***

Looking ahead: Christmas Day Photo Scavenger Hunt, Grandfather Mountain State Park, Banner Elk. Dec. 25, 3 p.m. More info, here.

***

Coast

The post Your weekend: Embrace the cold appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

Coast

Like a little history with your hike? Saturday, at Carolina Beach State Park, Chris Fonvielle. history professor at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, will discuss the role that the park’s Sugarloaf Dune played in the Civil War.

If you’ve yet to visit Carolina Beach State Park, this is a good opportunity to remedy that situation. The 55-foot dune provided a natural watchtower for Confederate troops to watch for Union ships attempting to enter Wilmington via the Cape Fear River. This was especially important considering — well, that’s why you should attend the hike: you may know how this story ends, but Sugarloaf Dune plays a key role in the plot.

Logistics: Saturday, Jan. 31, 2 p.m., Carolina Beach State Park, Carolina Beach. The program is free, but space is limited. Reserve your spot by calling 910.458.8206.

Saturday forecast: Sunny, high of 46.

Piedmont

Looking for a hike but not sure what kind? Do you want a real challenge? A mellow ramble? Something in between?

The Piedmont Hiking and Outing Club has all your bases covered this weekend. For those looking for a long but not-too-taxing hike, PHOC will be hiking 8 miles on the Lake Townsend Trail in Greensboro on Saturday, and 7 miles on the Laurel Bluff and Reedy Fork trails, also along Greensboro’s watershed lakes, on Sunday. Looking for a little more elevation? How about 11 miles Saturday at Hanging Rock? And if you’re looking for true adventure — and have crampons — the club will be doing a 13-mile assault on Mount Mitchell on Saturday.

Read on for more information.

Logistics: All of these hikes are detailed at the PHOC online hike calendar, which you can find here.

Weekend forecast: For the Triad area, high of 47 both Saturday and Sunday, clear Saturday with a chance of rain Sunday. For Mount Mitchell on Saturday, high of 42 and mostly sunny.

Mountains

If you’ve been bemoaning the cold, perhaps you haven’t been looking at it in the proper perspective. Let the cold work for you.

If you were a skier or snowboarder, you’d be appreciating the cold, especially going into this weekend. There’s a chance of light snow throughout the weekend in much of the high country, but more importantly it will be cold, allowing for continued snowmaking. SkiSoutheast.com reports conditions are already excellent at North Carolina’s ski areas and will only get better as the cold continues. As of Thursday, for instance, Sugar Mountain reports 20 of 21 slopes open, Ski Beech reports all 15 slopes open, and App reports all 12 of its slopes open.

Logistics: Check SkiSoutheast.com for the latest conditions.

Weekend forecast: Daytime highs in the mid to upper 30s, overnight lows in the low 20s. Chance of light snow.

* * *

Those are our thoughts on the weekend. Find more options at the sources listed below.

Like us on Facebook and get health, fitness and outdoors news throughout the day.

GetGoingNC.com

Promote Your Page Too

The post This weekend: Hike a hill at the coast, ski one in the mountains appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

Coast

Canoeing the millpond at Merchants Millpond State Park is, to paraphrase Julie Andrews, one of our favorite things. The canoe rentals are cheap ($5 for the first hour, $3 for each additional) and the adventure through sprawling cypress and tupelo gum trees on the 760-acre millpond is boundless. The only thing better than a self-guided trip is to tag along with someone who knows the pond.

Someone like a park ranger, who will be leading Sunday’s Waterfowl of Merchants Millpond paddle. Learn about the waterfowl who inhabit the millpond, both seasonally and year-round, as well as the millpond’s significance in their lives. And because this is a park program, there’s no fee.

Logistics: Sunday, Dec. 7, 2:30 p.m., Merchants Millpond State Park, Gatesville. Free, but pre-registration is required, by calling 252.357.1191. More about the park and the millpond here.

Saturday forecast: High of 67, chance of rain.

Piedmont

New trail is always a welcome thing. Saturday, you’ll have the chance to welcome three new miles of trail at the Triangle Land Conservancy’s Horton Grove Nature Preserve in northern Durham County. Horton Grove, at 708 acres, is the TLC’s largest preserve, and with three new miles of trail bringing the preserve total to eight, it’s also the preserve with the most path.

To celebrate the new trail, TLC will hold guided hikes at Horton Grove from 1-4 p.m. Saturday. Hikes on just the new trail, hikes on most of the preserve’s trails for newcomers. Horton Grove is a diverse slice of Piedmont, with upland oak-hickory forests, beech slopes, stands of mixed pine and hardwoods and a 20-acre Piedmont Prairie restoration in progress.

Logistics: Saturday, Dec. 6, 1-4 p.m., Horton Grove Nature Preserve, Durham County. For directions and more information, go here.

Saturday forecast: High of 62, chance of rain.

Mountains

We haven’t mentioned skiing in a while — and likely won’t again until after the Christmas crush. But if you’ve got the need for white speed, North Carolina’s slopes are in good shape for this early in the season. Appalachian, Beech, Cataloochee and Sugar are all operating, generally with at least half of their respective mountains open. Snowshoe in West Virginia is open and Wintergreen in Virginia plans to reopen this weekend. Skiing or riding on a budget? Lift tickets at Appalachian are just $5 this weekend.

Intrigued? Check out your options and get the latest news at SkiSoutheast.com.

Logistics: Check SkiSoutheast.com.

Weekend forecast: Sunday looks the most promising, according to Ray’s Weather, with some sun and highs around 40.

* * *

Those are our thoughts on the weekend. Find more options at the sources listed below.

Like us on Facebook and get health, fitness and outdoors news throughout the day.

GetGoingNC.com

Promote Your Page Too

The post This weekend: Paddle, hike, ski appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

This weekend, avoid alligators, avoid trails, but don’t avoid the first big weekend of the Southeast ski season.

Coast

Remember the old Peter, Paul & Mary hit, “Where Have All the Reptiles Gone?” No, wait. That wasn’t PP&M in the 1960s. That’s Lake Waccamaw State Park this Sunday at 2 p.m., when a ranger explains why the park’s alligators are no longer on the prowl, why the turtles aren’t out catching some rays … basically why the entire reptile population is laying low. A great opportunity to learn a little something, then take a long (Lakeshore Trail, 5 miles) or short (Sand Ridge Trail, 0.75 mile) hike to look for the reptiles that aren’t supposed to be there.

More about the park, including directions, here.

Piedmont

Trails are good, but off trails are better. At least when you’re in the company of someone who doesn’t need a blaze and solid tread under foot to find his way. Saturday, tag along with a ranger to explore the lesser-known nooks of Crowders Mountain State Park. These rare excursions give you a chance to get to reknow a place you might have thought you knew, plus, especially in the case of popular Crowders Mountain, a chance to escape the trail-bound crowds.

Saturday’s off-trail hike starts at 3 p.m from the visitors center. Sturdy hiking boots and clothes you don’t mind getting ripped (briars) are recommended. Here for more information.

Mountains

Not only has cold weather in the North Carolina high country gotten the ski areas’ snow guns going, but they’ve had the real thing as well — four inches total the past couple of days at Beech Mountain! Thus, you can add skiing/riding to your list of options this weekend. Beech, Sugar and Cataloochee all expect to be open this weekend, according to SkiSoutheast.com. How much of each mountain will open remains to be seen; we suggest checking SkiSoutheast.com Friday evening before making definitive plans.

* * *

Those are GGNC’s thoughts for an active weekend. Find out other ways you can get out this weekend by browsing our super calendar, a collection of events calendars from throughout the state, below.

Coast

CapeFearCoast.com
Comprehensive calendar for the Cape Fear/Wilmington/southern N.C. coast searchable by date and event name.

Coastal Guide
Comprehensive calendar including nature programs from a variety of costal conservation and research agencies that offer nature programs. Covers the entire coast.

Crystal Cost Tourism Authority
Comprehensive calendar focusing on the Crystal Coast. Good source for programs offered by N.C. Coastal Federation, Cape Lookout National Park, N.C. National Estuarine Research Reserve and other costal conservation and research agencies that offer nature programs.

NCCoast.com
Comprehensive calendar including programs for the Outer Banks and Crystal Coast.

North Carolina Coast Host
Comprehensive calendar for the entire coast that lets you search for events by day, by region, by county, by city or by event (based on key word).

This Week Magazine
Primary focus is the Crystal Coast (North Carolina’s coastal midsection).

Mountains

Asheville Citizen-Times
From the main page, click on “Outdoors,” then WNC Outdoors calendar.

Blue Ridge Outdoors
Searchable calendar lets you extend your reach to events throughout the mid-Atlantic and Southeast (or you can just limit it to North Carolina). Also lets you search a boatload of categories, ranging from Hiking, Mountain Biking and Climbing to Trail Running, Triathlon and Road Walking.

The Mountain Times
From the main page, click on “Calendars,” then Main Events.

Todd’s Calendar

Piedmont

Charlotte

Charlotte Observer events calendar
Comprehensive calendar searchable by category, including Nature, Recreation, Recreation & Wellness, Running

Charlotte Parent
Comprehensive calendar concentrating on things the family can do together.

Triad

GoTriad.com
Comprehensive calendar includes a Sports & Recreation category.

Piedmont Parent
Comprehensive calendar concentrating on things the family can do together.

Triangle

Triangle.com
Comprehensive calendar searchable by category, including: Birding, Boating, Cycling, Nature, Rec & Wellness, Recreation, Running, Swimming, Tennis, Yoga.

Carolina Parent
Comprehensive calendar concentrating on things the family can do together.

Statewide

Office of Environmental Education
One calendar for the numerous Environmental Education Centers statewide.

North Carolina State Parks
Lets you search for programs at the state’s parks, recreation areas and natural areas by location, by month, by topic. To reach the calendar from the home page, click on “Education,” then “Fun & Free Programs at Parks.”

National Forests in North Carolina
From the home page, click on Carolina Connections for news updates on the state’s four national forests as well as hints on recreational opportunities and a detailed rundown of recreation areas and the amenities at each.

The post ‘Tis the season to save your sanity by getting out appeared first on GetGoing NC!.