When I first started writing about fitness and the outdoors back in the early 1990s, there were a handful of ways you could welcome the New Year in most communities. There was usually a 5K run, a bike shop sponsored a casual ride, canoe clubs held members-only paddles, there was a hike or two, and some oddball group was jumping into a local lake (and jumping right back out again). You had options for welcoming the new year, but not a lot.

Today is a different story. In the Triangle, for instance, you don’t have to wait one minute into the new year for a 5K with the Run In The New Year 5K in Cary, which starts at midnight Jan. 1.  And thanks to the explosion of Meetup groups, you’ll find all variety of New Year’s activities, from paddle trips to bike rides to climbs and scuba dives. The options are too numerous to mention here. Rather, go to Meetup.com, enter your Zip code, enter your preferred activity and check out your New Years Day options.

While I’ve done just about everything on New Year’s Day — from 5Ks to the old The Spin Cycle New Year’s Day bike ride to paddle trips — the day has always been about hiking to me. There’s something thoughtful about a hike, it’s healthy, it’s slow, you can do it with your family. And thanks to the recent First Day Hikes program launched by the National Association of State Park Directors and American State Parks, finding a hike is not a problem. At North Carolina’s state parks alone there will be at least 40 guided hikes on New Year’s Day.

So today, we focus on New Year’s Day hikes. Below is a quick rundown of the First Day hikes scheduled for Tuesday at 35 state parks throughout North Carolina. For more information on a given hike, go to ncparks.gov, click on “Education,” then “Fun & Free Programs at Parks,” then select “January” under option 2, “Select a month.”

Carolina Beach State Park
10 a.m.
Meet at: Marina Trail Head Parking Lot
2-mile hike to Sugarloaf Dune.
More info: (910) 458-8206

Cliffs of the Neuse State Park
2 p.m.
Meet at: Clifftop Parking lot
1-mile hike, dogs are welcome.
More info: (919) 778-6234

Crowders Mountain State Park
Call for time
Meet at: Visitor Center
Hikers from Crowders Mountain will hike 5 miles south on the Ridgeline Trail and meet hikers hiking north from South Carolina’s Kings Mountain State Park.
More info: (704) 853-5375

Dismal Swamp State Park
10 a.m.
Meet at: Visitor Center
Hike on the Supple-jack Trail.
More info: (252) 771-6593 to sign-up.

Elk Knob State Park
2:30 p.m.
Meet at: Summit Trail parking lot
Bring some water and plan for a 2.5- to 3-hour outing in the elements.
More info: (828) 297-7261.

Eno River State Park
2 p.m.
Meet at: Fews Ford Access
Sponsored by Eno River Association, hikes of 2 and 4 hours.
More info: (919) 620-9099, association@enoriver.org, http://www.enoriver.org/eno/Activities/hikes/Newyears.htm

Fort Macon State Park
10 a.m.
Meet at: Fort parking lot
Leisurely hike along the inlet beach to learn about the natural and cultural history of the area.
More info: (252) 726-3775

Goose Creek State Park
2 p.m.
Meet at: Ivey Gut Parking Lot
Guided 4-mile hike.
More info: (252) 923-2191

Gorges State Park
10 a.m.
Meet at: Bearwallow Picnic Shelter
Moderate 1.5mile hike.
More info: (828) 966-9099

Grandfather Mountain State Park
10 a.m.
Meet at: Profile Trail
First portion of Profile Trail.
More info: Ranger Appling 828-963-9522

Hammocks Beach State Park
8:30 a.m.
Meet at: Visitor Center Back Porch
45-minute hike around park grounds
More info: (910) 326-4881

Haw River State Park
10 a.m.
Meet at: Haw River State Park
More info: (336) 342-6163

Hanging Rock State Park
10 a.m.
Meet at: Hanging Rock Trail Head
Five Overlooks Challenge: 10-mile hike takes in park’s five main scenic mountain overlooks.
More info: (336) 593-8480

Jones Lake State Park
10 a.m.
Meet at: Visitor Center
Hike through the bay forest
More info: (910) 588-4550

Jordan Lake State Recreation Area
1 p.m.
Meet at: Old Oak Trail at Ebenezer Recreation Area
Easy, 1-mile hike on Ebenezer Old Oak Trail
More info: (919) 362-0586

Kerr Lake State Recreation Area
2 p.m.
Meet at: Satterwhite Point Office
Park ranger-led stroll through the Kerr Lake woods
More info: (252) 438-7791

Lake James State Park
2 p.m.
Meet at :the Paddy’s Creek Bridge parking area
1.5-mile roundtrip on the Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail
More info: (704) 528-6350

Lake Norman State Park
1 p.m.
Meet at: Park office
Strenuous 1.5-hour hike
More info: (704) 528-6350

Lake Waccamaw State Park
3 p.m.
Meet at: Visitor Center
Wear closed shoes and long pants.
More info: (910) 646-4748

Lumber River State Park
10 a.m.
Meet at: Princess Ann Access
Hike through six habitats along the banks of the Lumber River.
More info: (910) 628-4564

Mayo River State Park
11 a.m.
Meet at: Parking lot near picnic shelter
1.8-mile Mayo Mountain Trail
More info: (336) 427-2530

Merchants Millpond State Park
9:30 a.m.
Meet at: Visitor Center
2+ miles on Lassiter Bennett’s Creek trails.
More info: (252) 357-1191

Medoc Mountain State Park
10 a.m.
Meet at: Picnic Shelter
2 miles on the Stream Loop and Discovery Loop trails.
More info: (252) 586-6588

Mount Jefferson State Natural Area
2 p.m.
Meet at: Picnic Area
Hike an Appalachian mountain forest
More info: (336) 246-9653

Morrow Mountain State Park
1 p.m.
Meet at: Lower Picnic Area Parking Lot
Strenuous 2-mile hike up Hattaway Mountain.
More info: (704) 982-4402.

Morrow Mountain State Park
9 a.m.
Meet at: Lower Picnic Area parking lot
.6-mile hike along a freshwater creek.
More info: (704) 982-4402 and let us know that you will be participating in this event.

New River State Park
10 a.m.
Meet at: US 221 Access
1.5-mile hike to the river and back
More info: (336) 982-2587.

Pettigrew State Park
2 p.m.
Meet at: park office
Leisurely hike on and off trail
More info: (252) 797-4475

Pilot Mountain State Park
1 p.m.
Meet at: Summit parking lot
Hike Jomeokee Trail
More info: (336) 325-2355

Raven Rock State Park
1 p.m.
Meet at: Picnic Shelter
2.5-mile hike
More info: (910) 893-4888

Singletary Lake State Park
2 p.m.
Meet at: park office
Half-mile hike
More info: (910) 669-2928

South Mountains State Park
10 a.m.
Meet at: Jacob Fork parking area
2.75-mile hike
More info: (828) 433-4772.

Stone Mountain State Park
1 p.m.
Meet at: Lower lot display case
3-mile hike past Hutchinson Homestead and Stone Mountain then out and back to Lower and Middle Falls.
More info: (336) 957-8185

Weymouth Woods-Sandhills Nature Preserve
8 a.m.
Meet at: Visitor Center
2-mile bird walk hike
More info: (910) 692-2167

Weymouth Woods-Sandhills Nature Preserve
2 p.m.
Meet at: Weymouth Woods Visitor Center
1.5-mile hike that takes in the oldest known longleaf pine in the world, at 465 years of age
More info: (910) 692-2167.

William B. Umstead State Park
9 a.m.
Meet at: Reedy Creek Shelter #1
2-mile round-trip on Company Mill Trail to Crabtree Creek
More info: (919) 571-4170

2 p.m.
Meet at: Crabtree Creek Picnic Shelter #1
1-hour hike
More info: (919) 571-4170

The post Do it all on New Year’s Day appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

Monday — never an easy time for the outdoors enthusiast, especially come summer. After a weekend of adventure, returning to the humdrum work-a-day world can make one melancholy.
To help ease this trying transition from out-in-the-Sun-day to Mon-I-wish-I-were-back-in-the-sun-day, we’re running a new feature every Monday, at least during the summer, called 90-Second Escape. Essentially, it’s a 90-second mini-movie of a place you’d probably rather be: a trail, a park, a greenway, a lake … anywhere as long as it’s out in the sun. Because there’s a good chance you might want to make such an escape yourself, we’ll include a resource list with each escape showing where and how to make it happen.

Today’s 90-Second Escape: Paddling Umstead State Park’s Big Lake.

As escapes go, this is about the cheapest 60 minutes you’ll find: At Umstead State Park’ Big Lake, $5 buys you an hour’s escape on the park’s somewhat whimsically named Big Lake. Whimsical because, at 55 acres, Big Lake is hardly that (nearby Lake Crabtree, for instance, is 520 acres, while Falls Lake  is 12,410 acres and Jordan Lake is 13,900 acres). But it does offer surprisingly big escape, especially considering it’s in one of North Carolina’s most popular state parks and borders busy Raleigh Durham International Airport.

The boat house is only open weekends and only from the first weekend of April through the second weekend of October. Rental hours are 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.

And if you can’t make it to Umstead, chances are you can get a similar deal on an escape at at state park near you: Eight parks in the North Carolina system rent boats: Cliffs of the Neuse, Dismal Swamp, Hammocks Beach, Hanging Rock, Jones Lake, Lake James, Lake Norman and Morrow Mountain, while Hammocks Beach rents through an outside organization.

In the meantime, enjoy this week’s 90-Second Escape.

The post 90-Second Escape: Paddling Umstead’s Big Lake appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

You don’t have to be one of them. There are plenty of off-the-well-trod path destinations that offer great hiking and scenery. Here are three, representing North Carolina’s three different geographic zones, plucked from the first statewide hiking guide I happened to pluck from the shelf, “100 Classic Hikes in North Carolina” (The Mountaineers Books).

Mountains

Pink Beds Valley, Davidson River area, Pisgah National Forest. This surprisingly flat (for the mountains, over 5 miles there’s only a total elevation gain of 208 feet), occasionally wet trail takes you through a rare southern Appalachian bog. You’ll hike through mountain laurel, rhododendron and hardwoods on this hike, the wetter portions of which are forded by boardwalks. Despite it’s length, its lack of elevation makes this a friendly hike for the not-so-frequent hiker. And, it’s easy to get to: the trailhead is located just off U.S. 276 11.5 miles north of U.S. 64 near Brevard.

Piedmont

Weymouth Woods Sandhills Nature Preserve, Southern Pines. I was at Weymouth Woods two weeks ago, on a 65-degree, cloudless Sunday perfect for hiking — and I saw three people in as many hours. Hiking counterclockwise from the visitors center, do the Bowers Bog/Lighter Stump/Pine Island/Holly Road/Gum Swamp/Pine Barrens loop and you’ll take in not only the 900-acre preserve’s classic long leaf pine savannah, you’ll also explore a dense, low-lying wetland that stands. The stark contrast helps explain why the land was preserved; here, you’ll find more than half of the 1,000 species of flora and fauna identified to date in the Sandhills region. And, again, it’s easy to get to,  located on the eastern outskirts of Southern Pines, located an hour and a quarter south of the Triangle on U.S. 1.

Coastal Plain

Cliffs of the Neuse State Park, Newton Grove. Because it’s not-so-easy to get to, Cliffs of the Neuse is an especially good fall bet. It’s also a good opportunity to explore two of the state’s geographic regions for the price (admission is free, actually) of one. There’s plenty of Piedmont here, but you’ll also find one of the westernmost populations of Spanish-moss-draped cypress in the state. Plus, great views from the 90-foot cliff overlooking the Neuse.

Get out. Enjoy.

The post Fall hikes without the fall crowds appeared first on GetGoing NC!.