Tag Archives: Cedar Point

10 Coastal Escapes Made for These Times

Once again, we find ourselves in need of hikes that aid in our escape, that help to calm the mind. They won’t necessarily solve our problems, but they will give us temporary escape. Sometimes, that’s all you can ask for.

Today’s five hikes are all at the coast, and best hiked during the cooler, less buggy, less snaky months of November through mid-March. You’ll find find a different sort of escape on these hikes, a certain calm that you’ll only find here, now. The seemingly constant breeze lets the trees, the grass, the plants tell their stories. Stories that began with a colorful birth in March, that celebrated the lazy days of summer, that grew melancholy come early fall and that ended, much like they began, in an explosion of color. The circle of life lived in just eight months. But what a story to be told at season’s end. read more

This beach vacation, take a hike

Basin Trail at Fort Fisher State Recreation Area (photo: NC State Parks)

Ah, time for a beach vacation! Time to frolic in the sun and surf, read, eat. But, eventually, you’d like to move, right?

Luckily, trails abound at the coast. Below are five trails we enjoy at the beach—and all of these trails are well away from the current blackout zone of Hatteras and Ocracoke. read more

25 North Carolina hikes tailor-made to beat the heat

Hiking up Basin Creek at Doughton Park.

Come summer, with its 90/90 days (heat/humidity) the last thing on most of our minds is a long hike in the woods. Oceans of sweat, acres of trail-clogging cobwebs, no hydration pack big enough to sate your insatiable thirst. Very understandable, this hike aversion — if you don’t know where to go. For if you do, there are plenty of trails — from North Carolina’s steamy coast, to the stuffy Piedmont to the sun-drenched high country — ideal for summer exploring. read more