My senior year in high school I went to a new school. In football, we went 0-9, in basketball, 0-18. I always wondered how our cheerleaders could muster the enthusiasm, the optimism, to encourage us to push on. 

I find myself in a similar situation, facing a rainy weekend, wondering how to encourage y’all to put on a happy face and head out the door for a weekend of adventure. So … well, grab your rain gear and let’s head out! Some options …

• Discovery Hike, Saturday, 10 a.m., Jones Lake State Park, Elizabethtown. We love the loop hike around Jones Lake because it’s so diverse. Start at the lake, a Carolina bay whose shallow, tanic waters resemble sweet tea, continue through a pine savannah, then round the far end of the lake and enter a dense, coastal forest. Your ranger guide describes what’s going on. Learn more and sign up here. 
• Spring Hike, Saturday, 11 a.m., Dismal Swamp State Park, South Mills. If your chances of finding spring anywhere this early in this rainy end of winter, it’s at Dismal Swamp, about as coastal as it gets in North Carolina’s state park system. A little spring, a few stills (retired) — sounds like a hike to us! Learn more and sign up here.
• Amateur Photography Hike, Sunday, 2 p.m., Carvers Creek State Park. Wish your photos even remotely resembled what you see in the wild? This class won’t solve all your problems, but it should help you figure out what to look for in your shots and how to frame them. Learn more and sign up here.

As always, you can find more opportunities this weekend here:

• North Carolina State Parks have a variety of adventures planned for the weekend. Check those options here.
• North Carolina Environmental Education Centers has an extensive calendar of what’s happening at its affiliates; check it out here.
• You can also find more adventures right here, at GetGoingNC.com

GetHiking! this weekend

What are we up to this weekend? 

• GetBackpacking! Intro to Backpacking. For starters, we’ll be graduating a class of backpackers at South Mountains State Park through our GetBackpacking! Intro to Backpacking program. While it’s too late to matriculate with this group, we have another class starting April 13. Learn more about that class and sign up here. 
• GetHiking! Winter Wild Off-Trail Adventure to the Birkhead Mountain Wilderness. This trip is full, but there’s still time to get in on our next Winter Wild adventure, at Raven Rock State Park. Learn more about that March 16 trip and sign up here.

Live the video

Indeed, this week’s video was shot last weekend, just as the sun was poking out after that week’s long run of rain. Maybe there’s hope for this weekend. If so, we highly recommend exploring the Horton Grove Nature Preserve, a Triangle Land Conservancy property in northern Durham County. Learn more here.

The post GetGoing! Your Nudge for Weekend Adventure appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

After a dang cold week we’re heading into a darn nice weekend, with mostly sunny skies and temperatures, brace yourself, reaching 60.

So if you’ve been hibernating so far this winter, now’s your chance to emerge from your den for an adventure. An adventure such as:

• Advanced Hike, Saturday, Feb. 2, 1 p.m. Hammocks Beach State Park, Swansboro. Hammocks Beach is taking a page from our Winter Wild hike series playbook with this 2.5-mile hike on trail that’s not yet trail. It’s a great chance to get a sneak peek at this emerging trail, the first at Hammock’s Beach itself, as it meanders through a mixed pine/hardwood forest bordering Queens Creek on newly acquired property. Expect downed trees, “possible fauna interaction,” and other potential obstacles on this ranger-led hike. Learn more and sign up here.
• Cox Mountain Hike, Saturday, Feb. 2, 1:30 p.m. Fews Ford Access, Eno River State Park, Durham. This hike begins with passage over the Eno on a suspension bridge, followed by 4-plus miles on trail up, over and around Cox Mountain. Nice stretches along the Eno included. More info and sign up here.
• 3 Mile History Hike, Sunday, Feb. 3, 2 p.m. Carvers Creek State Park, Spring Lake. If you’re new to hiking, you’ll love this flat-as-can-be 3-mile hike “exploring the millpond, silos, pavilion, and other historical farm buildings not yet open to the public.” More info here.

As always, you can find more opportunities this weekend here:

• North Carolina State Parks have a variety of adventures planned for the weekend. Check those options here.
• North Carolina Environmental Education Centers has an extensive calendar of what’s happening at its affiliates; check it out here.
• You can also find more adventures right here, at GetGoingNC.com

GetHiking! this weekend

As for GetHiking!, here’s what we’ll be up to this weekend:

GetHiking! Celebrate Groundhog Day at White Pines Nature Preserve, Saturday, Feb. 2, White Pines Nature Preserve, Pittsboro. e’ll loop together the preserve’s various trails for a 6-mile hike exploring the preserve’s variety of habitats, from fern-covered slopes to damp bottom-lands; mountain laurel and Catawba rhododendron cling to bluffs above the Rocky River. More info here.

GetHiking! Tuesday Night Hikes: Horton Grove Nature Preserve, Saturday, Feb. 2, 7 p.m., Horton Grove Nature Preserve, northern Durham County. Our lone Tuesday Night Hike on a Saturday, we’ll start in an open meadow (great for stargazing under a near new moon), then link together five trails for a 5.5-mile hike through a largely hardwood forest made barren by winter. The trails here are in especially good shape: if you’re a more experienced hiker but have never hiked at night, this is a prime opportunity to give it a try. Sign up and we’ll immediately send you a Night Hiking Tips sheet. Also: we leave no hiker behind on the trail: there will always be a hike leader with you. More info here.

To learn more about the Winter Wild hike series mentioned above, check out our next Winter Wild off-trail adventure, to the Uwharrie Mountains on Feb. 23, here.

Live the video

Today’s video was shot last weekend on the Mountains-to-Sea Trail along Falls Lake in Raleigh.  Learn more about exploring that stretch and the statewide trail as a whole, here.

The post GetOut! Your Nudge for Weekend Adventure appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

Rainy today, partly sunny tomorrow: Isn’t that how the adage goes? Or something along those lines? If not, well, so be it. That’s the forecast we’re dealing with, and it’s a pretty darn good one: clouds and rain move out overnight Friday, partly sunny skies and temps in the low 60s move in — perfect weather for a weekend of exploring60Some options:

• State Park Days at the Coast, Saturday, daylong, Dismal Swamp, Jones Lake, and Merchants Millpond state parks. The last weekend in October appears to be the time to celebrate our coastal state parks, for three of them are having their Days: Dismal Swamp State Park (including a 5K as part of Dismal Day) from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.; Jones Lake State Park (with Friends of the Bay Lakes Fall Festival from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.; Merchants Millpond State Park (with Millpond Day) from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Click the links for details.
• State Park Day into Dusk Hikes, Saturday, Carvers Creek and Cliffs of Neuse state parks. Here’s another apparent State Park theme: hikes at dusk. At Carvers Creek near Fayetteville a 3-Mile History Hike leaves at 6 p.m., in the waning light of day, to explore the park’s historic farm buildings and wide-open coastal plain terrain. At 6:30 at Cliffs of Neuse State Park near Seven Springs, they’re waiting ’til after sunset to embark on their Ghost Hike.
• Fall Foliage Hike, Sunday, 2 p.m., Hanging Rock State Park, Danbury. Fall color makes its way to Hanging Rock. Check it out on a 1-mile hike around the lake.

More options

You can find more opportunities this weekend here:

• North Carolina State Parks have a variety of adventures planned for the weekend. Check those options here.
• North Carolina Environmental Education Centers has an extensive calendar of what’s happening at its affiliates; check it out here.
• You can also find more adventures right here, at GetGoingNC.com.

Interested in the stars of today’s 49-second feature attraction? Learn more about them below:

• Umstead State Park
• Falls Lake State Recreation Area
• Duke Forest (Note: The section in the video is in the Korstian Division, accessed via Gates 24 and 25. And if you plan to explore Duke Forest, we highly recommend getting the $8 Trail Map.)

The post GetOut! Your Nudge for Weekend Adventure appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

First, a note that all North Carolina State Parks and most municipal and county parks are closed Christmas Day (Sunday). Thus, if you plan any park exploring, best get it in Saturday (or Friday!). That said … .

Coast | Coastal Plain

Got visiting kin who could use a bit of movement and wouldn’t mind learning about North Carolina history? Load ‘em in the car Saturday morning and head them down to Carvers Creek State Park near Spring Lake, for a 3-Mile History Hike, taking in the grist mill, pavilion, silos and other features of this property, once a farm owned by James Stillman Rockefeller.

Logistics: 3-Mile History Hike, Saturday, Dec. 24, 10 a.m., Carvers Creek State Park, Spring Lake. More info and sign up here.

Saturday forecast: Hi of 61 with a chance of rain.

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Looking ahead: Trail Games at Weymouth Woods, Sunday, Jan. 29, Weymouth Woods State Natural Area, Southern Pines. More info here.

Piedmont

When we think of hiking at Pilot Mountain State Park, our thoughts typically turn to hiking the big kahuna, Pilot Mountain — Big Pinnacle, Little Pinnacle, Ledge Spring — itself. Great views, rocky outcrops, lots to see. Typically, we don’t think of the park’s lesser-visited Corridor and Bean Shoals sections to the south.

Last month, for the first time, we lead a hike in the Bean Shoals area and were surprised by its diversity and beauty. It was also hillier than we expected, being so close to the Yadkin River. In short, a great hike. And one you can explore Saturday morning in the company of a park ranger.

Logistics: Bean Shoals Canal Hike, Sautrday, Dec. 24, 10 a.m., Pilot Mountain State Park / Bean Shoals Access. More info here.

Saturday forecast: Hi if 51, it might be wet.

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Looking ahead: Holiday Sing-A-Long: yuletide faves our forefathers/mothers/sister/brothers might have sung, Monday, Dec. 26, 4:30 p.m., Eno River State Park. More info here.

Mountains

Apparently, Grandfather Mountain State Park didn’t get the memo: they’ll hold their annual Christmas Day Photo Scavenger Hunt Sunday from 3-5 p.m. Here’s how it works: you get a list of 12 items to shoot, the folks who shoot the most qualify for cool prizes (including a first prize of a $50 gift card, a tent and a one-night camping pass to the N.C. state park of your choice). Read more about the contest here.

It’s a great opportunity to get out on Christmas, a great opportunity to try out any new photography devices Santa may have brought, a great opportunity, period.

Logistics: Christmas Day Photo Scavenger Hunt, Sunday, Dec. 25, 3-5 p.m., Grandfather Mountain State Park/Profile Trail Parking area off NC 105 in Banner Elk. More info here.

Sunday forecast: Cloudy, high of 52.

* * *

Looking ahead: The forecast calls for snow and cold going into next weekend, suggesting it could be a great time to go skiing. Keep tabs on the latest conditions at skisoutheast.com.

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

Coast

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Coast

What’s the best hike when temperatures are in the 90s and the humidity isn’t far behind?
A Canoe Hike.
Like the one they’re having Sunday at Carvers Creek State Park.
And when’s the best time to have a Canoe Hike?
When the sun is easing and the temperature with it, around 6 p.m., which is when Sunday’s Canoe Hike is scheduled.

Vital stats: Sunday, Aug. 21, 6 p.m., Carvers Creek State Park, Spring Lake. Free, but limited to the first 10 to sign up, by calling 910.436.4681. More info here.

Sunday forecast: High of 92 at put-in, sunny.

* * *

Looking ahead: Go Jump in the Lake Running Race, Sept. 3, 8 a.m., Spring Lake. $15 – $35. More info here.

Piedmont

On a steamy weekend, few things sound better than frolicking in a creek.

Saturday, roll up your chinos and join a ranger from Mayo River State Park for a journey up Falls Creek to Falls Creek Falls in search of “what is swimming around in the creeks at Mayo River State Park.” Two hours of time travel back to your inner 8-year-old. Starts at 1 p.m.

Vital stats: Creek Creep, Saturday, Aug. 20, 1-3 p.m., Mayo River State Park, Mayodan. More info here.

Saturday forecast: High of 87 with a chance of thunderstorms.

* * *

Looking ahead: Stokes Stomp Festival on the Dan, Sept. 10, 9:30 a.m. – 6 p.m., Hanging Rock State Park. More info here.

Mountains

Most folks fear being on the trail as day turns to night. At Grandfather Mountain, they embrace it.
At least they are on Sunday, when a park ranger leads a sunset hike on the park’s Profile Trail beginning at 7:30 p.m.
“We’ll hope to see and hear nocturnal wildlife and enjoy the woods in that special time of the day,” according to the hike description. “We’ll walk one mile, round trip. Bring a flashlight and dress for the weather.”

Vital stats: Sunday, Aug. 21, 7:30 p.m., Grandfather Mountain State Park, Profile Trailhead off NC 105. More info here.

Sunday forecast: About 67 at hike time, with a chance of thunderstorms.

* * *

Looking ahead: Ascent of the Century, Aug. 26-28, Black Mountain Campground / Mount Mitchell State Park. More info here.

* * *

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

* * *
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