Perhaps you’ve noticed we seem to have gotten a jump on fall this year. Especially along lakes and streams and where woods meet meadow, the colors of fall are starting to percolate. So why wait until October to indulge some fall color?
True, the color change is yet to be pervasive. But there are a handful of places where you can get a feel for fall hiking right now. Today, we share some of our favorites. Most make the list because they’re along water, where fall color tends to first become evident. Some make the list because they have plenty of edge forest, where color also tends to pop early. All but one is in the piedmont — and the one that isn’t is pretty darn close.read more
I woke up Wednesday at 5:30, took Dog #1 out, checked the weather.
60 degrees!
I knew it was supposed to cool off this week, but 60? I couldn’t remember the last time it had been so cool in this summer of record heat. A good two months, at least.
A spirit-lifting temperature, but still shy of my fall benchmark. Then, an hour later I took out Dog #2 (she likes to sleep in) and it was 58. Within a half hour it would drop another degree, to 57.read more
As we look ahead to the upcoming summer camping season, we look with special attention to certain campgrounds. Here are some of our favorites.
Davidson River
With 160 sites you’d think scoring one would be a given. Not the case at this popular campground which takes advantage of both its proximity to the cultural offerings of nearby Brevard and its perch at the base of the recreation-rich Pisgah National Forest.read more
Editor’s note: This post originally ran at the start of last fall. We’ve tweaked it, and will continue to run a version of it at the start of every fall hiking season to help you avoid crowded trails in the most popular hiking season.
Officially, fall starts tomorrow, Sept. 21, officially at 3:21 p.m. EST. Appropriately, a rainy front is ushering in cold air about the same time that will drop temperatures about 15 degrees, into the low 70s initially. By the weekend, expect highs in the upper 70s, lows around 50.read more
Even with the temperature living in the 90s this summer, it’s been hard to find solitude on the trail. Everyone, now, is a hiker.
But not everyone knows to look for the more subtle stretches of trail. Trail, for instance, that doesn’t start from a visitor center, that doesn’t have a privy, that doesn’t even have paved parking — official parking, period. Finding these gems is tricky. But they’re out there.read more
