Labor Day weekend, which is in two weeks, marks the end of wearing white shoes and seersucker suits. It also marks the end of several summertime frivolities.

Of course, summer doesn’t officially end until Sept. 23. Psychologically, though, it’s over with the passage of Labor Day weekend.

You have two weeks, then, to squeeze in all the things you meant to do this summer, but didn’t get around to. Here is a list of our top 10 things to do before you send your seersucker suit to the cleaners.

1. Go for a paddle. Most municipal and county lakes that rent boats either shutter those operations for the season after Labor Day or at least cut back their hours. But you can get in that longed-for paddle, often for very little moola. At Lake Johnson Park in Raleigh, for instance, you can take out a canoe or kayak for $7.50 for 90 minutes.

2. Hit your neighborhood pool. Few pools stay open past Labor Day, so get your toes wet this weekend or next.

3. Swim in a lake. Several public and private lakes let you get in touch with your inner Tom Sawyer. Our favorite: the 12-acre lake at Hanging Rock State Park, which includes a beach, diving platform and cool, chlorine-free water.

4. Swim in a throw-back pool. We love the pool at Morrow Mountain State Park, in part because of its throw-back nature, built by the Civilian Conservation Corps and the Works Progress Administration in the 1930s. We also love how much better the pool feels after hiking one of the park’s 11 trails (post-shower, of course).

5. Hike a high trail (Mountains). It may still be summer at lower elevations, but atop 6,684-foot Mount Mitchell, enveloped by a state park and several trails? On Tuesday afternoon, the temperature up top was 54.8 degrees after an overnight low of 44.6. Didn’t think you’d be breaking out the fleece quite this early, did you? Who knows, you may even get an early peek at fall color this weekend.

6. Hike a high trail (Piedmont). Don’t have time to drive to the mountains? Piedmont residents can hike a higher, and a little cooler, trail close to home at Pilot Mountain State Park (elevation  2,421 feet), Hanging Rock State Park (2,579 feet), or Crowders Mountain State Park (1,706 feet). Details at ncparks.gov.

7. Hike a mountain trail while it’s still inaccessible. We love the Shining Rock area: 18,500 acres of wilderness, more than twice that much surrounding non-wilderness in the Pisgah National Forest. The best way to access Shining Rock is via a mile-high section of Blue Ridge Parkway, a section of the parkway often closed by snow and ice come winter. It’s a great time to visit. More info here.

8. Explore Wilson Creek. A group of us were talking this past weekend about how the window for hiking/wading/swimming the Wilson Creek area was rapidly closing. Wilson Creek is the 49,000-acre drainage at the base of Grandfather Mountain, and rainfall off the mountain’s massive southeast flank drains every which way through these rugged foothills. The abundance of creeks, pools and waterfalls marks the perfect summer sendoff. More info here.

9. Go car camping in the mountains. Warm days, cool nights, access to great hiking, rafting, mountain biking, fishing — you’ll find it all from your base in a mountain campground that will likely close for the season soon. Check out some of our favorites here.

10. Go stand up paddleboarding. You’ve wanted to all summer and now’s the time to do it! At Jordan Lake in Apex, for instance, Lyfsup offers rentals and instruction. Details here.

The post 10 Adventures to Close Out Your Summer appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

Despair not!

We’ve got some great adventures planned for August that will salvage the summer and then some. Put on your adventure face, it’s time to get out and play!

GetBackpacking! Linville Gorge Intermediate Skills, backpacking, Linville Gorge, Aug. 10-12. Three days in one of the wildest, most scenic spots in the East will salvage any summer. Our 22 miles in the gorge starts at Table Rock on the East Rim. The first night is spent  atop Shortoff Mountain, with sweeping sunset views of the gorge. On Saturday, we’ll descend to the Linville River for our first river crossing, then head up over rocky terrain interrupted only by behemoth downed trees (this being a designated Wilderness Area, the management strategy is to leave ’em where they lay). Sunday’s hike out includes more traipsing in the wilderness. It’s a backpacker’s most excellent adventure.

GetHiking! A Transylvania Waterfall Weekend, Transylvania County (and surrounding environs), camping/hiking, North Mills River Recreation Area, Aug. 17-19. Appropriately, for the dog days of August, we spend this mountain camping trip in appreciation of water. From a base camp at the North Mills River Campground, we’ll do three hikes: On Friday, we start at Gorges State Park with a hike along the Horsepasture River to Rainbow and Turtleback falls; on Saturday, we’ll explore the waterfalls—some of them swim-friendly!—at DuPont State Forest; and on Sunday, we’ll hike along—and in, at some points—North Mills River to the Hendersonville Reservoir. And, to make things even more carefree for you, we’ll provide all the food.

GetBackpacking! Overnight Sampler, backpacking, Eno River State Park, Aug. 18-19. Here’s your chance to have some fun and sow the seeds for a whole new life of adventure. If you’ve been curious about backpacking, this is your chance to see whether spending the day on the trail and the night in the backcountry is for you. It’s a minimal investment — not even 24 hours, and we provide the backpacking gear — that could alter the trajectory of your exploring life. We’ll get you fitted in a pack and get you packed, then hike in a couple miles, set up camp, cook and hang out. We spend the night in the great outdoors, then cook some more and hike out. Just enough of a taste to let you know if backpacking is for you; if you decide it is, you’ll get 25 percent off our more extensive GetBackpacking! Intro to Backpacking class in September.

GetHiking! Classic Escapes: Standing Indian Area, west of Franklin in the Nantahala National Forest, camping/hiking, Aug. 24-26. When it comes to summer adventure, nothing does it for us like days filled with challenging, scenic hiking, followed by lounging around camp and trading stories. That’s what this Classic Escape is all about: Saturday, we hike an 11-mile loop that includes a stretch on the Appalachian Trail and tops out on 5,498-foot Standing Indian Mountain, with a large view to the south and east of rolling ridges of rugged green. On Sunday we’ll fuel you with a pancake breakfast, then hike a shorter loop that includes the Appalachian Trail. In between, we’ll loll in the cool waters of Kimsey Creek, which runs through camp.  

Join us for a summer adventure to remember.

Happy trails,

Joe

More info

For details on the August adventures mentioned:

• GetBackpacking! Linville Gorge Intermediate Skills, go here.
• GetHiking! A Transylvania Waterfall Weekend, go here.
• GetBackpacking! Overnight Sampler, go here. Learn more about this class and our other GetBackpacking! programs here,
• GetHiking! Classic Escapes: Standing Indian Area, go here.

The post An August adventure (or four) to save your summer appeared first on GetGoing NC!.