Options? You got ‘em this weekend.

Coast

Sunday, it’s one of our favorite guided hikes at Fort Fisher State Recreation Area. At less than a mile in length, the Basin Trail offers about as much bang for the hiking boot as any trail around. The park’s website says it best: “Fort Fisher provides a glimpse of the dynamic ecosystem known as a barrier spit where the only constant is change. Sixteen threatened and endangered species can be found at Fort Fisher depending on the time of year.”

From beach to maritime forest to Spartina salt marsh, there’s so much nature to appreciate. The trail is also rich in human history, passing a bunker built as park of Camp Davis in World War II and later adopted as home by the Fort Fisher Hermit. A worthy hike on several levels, a hike best enjoyed when lead by a knowledgeable ranger, which will be the case this Saturday. The hike is sponsored by the Cape Fear Sierra Club.

Logistics: Sunday, Nov. 22, 1 p.m., Fort Fisher State Recreation Area, Kure Beach. More info by calling 910.769.1145

Sunday forecast: Sunny, high of 55.

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Looking ahead: Turkey Trot 4-Mile Trail Run, Carolina Beach State Park, Sunday, Nov. 29. More info here.

Piedmont

Here’s a race concept we can get behind: run as much, or as little, as you like.

That’s the game plan for Sunday morning’s Cozy Toes Fun Run at Cary Towne Center. Bring “gently used clean running shoes, and new hats and gloves for the homeless,” then run, jog, walk, kibbitz for 90 minutes. Prizes for Most Miles, Fastest Mile, Greatest Negative Split, Youngest Miler, and Oldest Miler.

Great way to recycle those running shoes that may have outlived their running life, but still have plenty of shoe life ahead.

Logistics: Sunday, Nov. 22, 9 a.m., Cary Towne Center, Cary. $15-$20, plus those gently used shoes and new hats and gloves. More info here.

Sunday forecast: Mostly sunny with a high of 50.

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Looking ahead: Winter Bird Walk, Weymouth Woods-Sandhills Nature Preserve, Southern Pines, Saturday, Dec. 19. More info here.

Mountains

Linville Gorge is one of those places that sound like a great place to explore … then when you start heading down Babel Tower, Pinch In, Sandy Flats or the other trails leading into the gorge, you begin having second thoughts

Linville Gorge is, after all, a designated wilderness area and one of the wildest places on the East Coast. The good news: you needn’t drop into the gorge to appreciate its rugged beauty. That’s the beauty of Saturday’s Linville Falls Hike sponsored by the Woodfin YMCA in Asheville. The group will hike in from the civilized Linville Falls entrance to the gorge and take the day to hike 3.8 miles and savor the gorge’s beauty.

Logistics: Saturday, Nov. 21, 8:45 a.m. – 4 p.m., Linville Falls (meeting place is the Y, at 40 N. Merrimon Ave. in Asheville). Free, but chip in $5 if carpooling. More info: Blanca Miller 828.658.0047, bmoi735@gmail.com, or go here.

Saturday forecast: High of 48, mostly sunny.

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Looking ahead: Fox Den Loop Trail hike, at Lake James State Park, Nebo, Dec. 26, 2 p.m. More info here or call 828-652-5047.

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

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The post This weekend: Forecast of fun appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

Coast

Sunday morning, Fort Fisher State Recreation Area in Kure Beach will conduct its periodic Basin Trail Hike. We’ve promoted this hike before, and for good reason.

The hike isn’t long, about a mile and a half, and it isn’t particularly challenging — there’s maybe a foot of elevation gain. Yet the esthetic reward is vast, starting along the Atlantic Ocean then ducking behind a dune and exploring a coastal marsh where the views are sweeping. There’s a small encounter with a maritime forest and a very unique bit of human history: about midway the trail passes the World War II bunker that later became the home of the Fort Fisher Hermit.

In short, it’s the perfect introductory hike for the person leery, but intrigued, by the notion of hiking. And you can follow it up with a day at the beach

Logistics: Sunday, July 19, 8:30 a.m., Fort Fisher State Recreation Area, 1000 Loggerhead Road, Kure Beach. More info: 910.458.5798 or go here.

Sunday forecast: High of 93, chance of thunderstorms.

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Looking ahead: We’re back to Fort Fisher, where on Friday, July 24, a ranger will help you make sense of the shells you hike miles to score, with Beachcombing 101. 9 a.m., 910.458.5798, or go here for more information.

Piedmont

Pumped about Pluto? Who isn’t, with NASA’s New Horizons close encounter of the dwarf planet this week and the new information we’re learning about the little guy — like the fact he’s not as little as we previously thought. (Might planet reinstatement be in the offing?)

What better time to gaze into the heavens — which apparently is what our North Carolina State Parks are thinking: this weekend, stargazing programs are planned at Jordan Lake State Recreation Area, Lake James State Park and Mayo River State Park. Come early and explore the great recreational attributes of these three facilities.

Logistics: The events are all on Saturday evening; go here for specifics for each viewing session.

Saturday evening forecast: Highs around 80, chance of thunderstorms into the evening.

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Looking ahead: Lost your way? Find it at the Intro to Orienteering clinic at Umstead State Park on Wednesday, July 22 at 2 p.m. More info by calling 919.571.4170.

Mountains

We love opportunities where it’s possible to learn a little something, then explore on our own.

Sunday, a ranger at Elk Knob State Park leads the mile-long Woodland Walk on the Beech Tree Trail, where it’s promised you’ll “see the forest in various new ways.” Afterward, plan to hike to the top of Elk Knob on the 1.9-mile Summit Trail, which switchbacks its way through a northern hardwood forest of sugar maple, yellow birch, American beech and yellow buckeye to the 5,520-foot summit. There, you’ll be treated with great 360-degree views.

Logistics: Sunday, July 19, 2 p.m., Elk Knob State Park, Todd. More information by calling 828.297.7261 or visit the park website here.

Sunday forecast: High of 85, chance of thunderstorms.

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Looking ahead: This one usually sneaks up on us; not this year. It’s the Maggie Valley Moonlight Run & Fun Run on Aug. 22 from 8:30-11 p.m. at the Maggie Valley Festival Grounds. 8K road race and Kid’s Sunset Fun Run. $30 until July 31; $40 Aug. 1-race day.  More info here.

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

The post This weekend: Short hikes, long views appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

Coast

Got a kid or kids you’ve been trying to entice onto the trail, only to encounter interference — typically of the electronic kind?

• Saturday is National Kids to Parks Day, and as part of the celebration Fort Fisher State Recreation Area is conducting a nature hike on the Basin Trail. This hike is especially good for kids because:
• It involves the beach and the promise of a dip at hike’s end.
• It’s not long, about 1.5 miles total.
• It’s a cool area: you can see forever and the intriguing nature along the way will be explained by a park ranger.
• It encounters a concrete bunker from World War II. And not just any bunker, but a bunker that was inhabited for years by Robert Harrill, the “Fort Fisher Hermit,” who abandoned society in search of a simpler life.
• There’s the prospect of seeing critters.
  Let’s see Donkey Kong compete with that.

Logistics: Saturday, May 16, 10 a.m., Fort Fisher State Recreation Area, Kure Beach. Free. For more information, contact Alyssa Taylor at 910.458.5798 or alyssa.taylor@ncparks.gov.

Saturday forecast: Mostly sunny, high of 75.

Looking ahead: Friday, May 22, 8:30 a.m., Kayaking at Hammocks Beach State Park, Free. 910.326.4881

Piedmont

It’s Mountains-to-Sea Trail Month; this weekend, Eno River State Park will celebrate the fact that several miles of the MST runs through it with three hikes, two on Saturday, one on Sunday, all on particularly effective wilderness escapes through an urban area.

Saturday at 8:30 a.m., a ranger will lead a hike from the park’s Pleasant Green Access to the Eno Quarry. Highlights: a mature floodplain forest, passage through a mountain laurel thicket on a bluff overlooking the Eno, the Eno Quarry, more mountain lake than abandoned rock mine. Out-and-back distance: 3 miles. Then, at 1 p.m., they’ll hike from the Cabelands Access downstream to the Pump Station Access. Highlights: more elevation in the form of climbs and drops, often through rocky sections. Total distance: 5 miles.

Sunday at 1 p.m., they’ll hike the stretch from Pump Station downstream to the Guess Road boundary of the park. Highlights: more rocky passages, more mature floodplain forest, the old Guess Road dam and long-abandoned Durham water works. Total distance: 4.4 miles.

Logistics: Saturday, 8:30 a.m. and 1 p.m., Sunday, 1 p.m., Eno River State Park. Free. For information on where to meet and other details, call the park at 919.383.1686.

Weekend forecast: Mostly sunny Saturday with a high of 83, mostly cloudy Sunday with a high of 86 and a chance of Thunderstorms.

Looking ahead: Intrigued by the geology of where you hike but clueless about what it is you’re looking at? Again, along the Eno, on Saturday, May 23, there’s a Geology Hike at Occoneechee Mountain State Natural Area in Hillsborough at 2 p.m., a Geology Hike at Cox Mountain in Eno River State Park at 9 a.m. More info: 919.383.1686

Mountains

Looking down at Lake James a couple weekends ago from Shortoff Mountain, we couldn’t help but think about all the great things to do below: swim, bike, run … .

Saturday, they’ll be doing all of the above, in that order, quickly, at the Lake James Triathlon. A 750-meter swim in the cool, Linville River-fed waters of Lake James; a 22-mile bike ride around the lake; a 5K trail run — what a great way to spend the day. Tend to sink in the water? There’s a duathlon as well.

Logistics: Saturday, May 16, day-of-race registration from 6-7:30 p.m., both races commence at 8 a.m. Lake James State Park, Nebo. $65 for triathlon, $55 for duathlon. More info here.

Saturday forecast: High of 84, chance of thunderstorm (but likely in the afternoon).

Looking ahead: Friday, May 22 through Sunday, May 24, is the 15th Annual Mountain Sports Festival in Asheville. Trail races, mountain bike races, standup paddleboarding, kayaking — pretty much everything you might expect at a mountain sports festival in Asheville. Read more here.

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

The post This weekend: Park your kid, hike the MST, Tri Lake James appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

Coast

At less than a mile in length, the Basin Trail at Fort Fisher State Recreation Area offers about as much bang for the hiking boot as any trail around. The park’s website says it best: “Fort Fisher provides a glimpse of the dynamic ecosystem known as a barrier spit where the only constant is change. Sixteen threatened and endangered species can be found at Fort Fisher depending on the time of year.”

From beach to maritime forest to Spartina salt marsh, there’s so much nature to appreciate. The trail is also rich in human history, passing a bunker built as park of Camp Davis in World War II and later adopted as home by the Fort Fisher Hermit. A worthy hike on several levels, a hike best enjoyed when lead by a knowledgeable ranger, which will be the case this Saturday.

Logistics: Saturday, April 18, 2 p.m., Fort Fisher State Recreation Area, Kure Beach. For more information, call 910.458.5798.

Saturday forecast: High of 70, mostly sunny.

Piedmont

Trail running has a weird mystique about it. Runners accustomed to pavement think you daft when you wax about running through the woods on rocky, rooty, potentially-ankle-twisting terrain; hikers can’t understand why you’d want to go any faster. Logical arguments, granted.

And yet …

Those rocky, rooty trails with every foot-strike different are actually easier on your body and, provided you’re paying attention, less likely to result in injury. And by going that much faster, hikers, you get to see that much more of the forest. It makes sense. Really.

See for yourself Saturday afternoon at Eno River State Park when a park ranger hosts “Intro to Trail Running. Participants should have some experience either running or hiking, and be comfortable with a 12- to 15-minute per mile pace. The run will be on a mostly foot-friendly stretch of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail downstream from the park’s Pleasant Green Access.

Logistics: Saturday, April 18, 3:30 p.m., Pleasant Green Access, Eno River State Park. For more info call 919.383.1686. Wear shoes good for running, bring water and a snack.

Saturday forecast: High of 75 with a chance of light rain.

Mountains

This likely falls into the “spectator” category for most of us, but hey, go, watch and who knows about next year?

NCDH @ Mount Jefferson

This weekend, on the twisty road down from Mount Jefferson State Natural Area, is the Downhill Skateboard Race @ Mount Jefferson. Contestants riding longboards will fly (not quite literally, but pert near) down the road at speeds of 40 mph or more. You’ve seen the videos, now see it live. To prepare for the event, we suggest you check out this profile of contestant Kevin Shelton in the Asheville Citizen-Times.  Shelton is 49.

And check out the video … .

Logistics: Saturday and Sunday, April 18-19, Mount Jefferson State Natural Area, West Jefferson. More info here.

Weekend forecast: High of 74 with a chance of rain Saturday, high of 57 with a real good chance of rain Sunday.

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

Coast

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

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The post This weekend: A unique trail, a trail run, a run downhill appeared first on GetGoing NC!.