We generally refrain from hiking at the coast from late March through October. But once Halloween has passed and the flitting and slithering things that give us pause are subdued, our thoughts turn to the coast and some of our favorite hikes in the state. To local hikers, this is the real peak season. Pack a camera, a notebook, a handful of nature guidebooks. Camp, stay in cheap motels. Cook dinner over a camp stove, linger over breakfast, eat lunch on the go. And listen.

November especially is the time to listen to the outdoors. 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.

It’s a story told in one of three ways.

Long trails

If you’ve got the time, two coastal trails would love you stay a spell and listen.

• Neusiok Trail, 22 miles, Croatan National Forest, Havelock. The Neusiok runs from the Pine Cliffs Recreation Area southeast to Oyster Point Landing. No need to rush: there are three shelters/camping areas along the way where you can camp and take the time necessary to experience the pine savannah, the bay woods, the bluff overlooking the mile-wide Neuse River, the boggy areas traveled (mostly) by boardwalk. It can also be hiked in sections, the most diverse of which is the northernmost 6.8 miles, from Pine Cliffs south and east to NC 306. Read more here.

• 

  Weetock Trail, 11 miles, Croatan National Forest, Maysville. Such a tease, the Weetock. From its northern trailhead of N.C. 58 south of Maysville, it’s an open book for the first 6 miles. Maybe there’s a time or two where it plays coy and becomes discrete. But for the most part, no secrets. Then, right when you think you’ve got it understood, it crosses the gravel Jones Landing Road and spends the rest of its way trying to ditch you. This part of the Croatan has been ravaged by numerous hurricanes, the downfall covering large swaths of trail. Seemingly important swaths, because the only clues the trail shares from here on out are the unique metal-strip blazes (old newspaper printing plates) that catch the sun here and there. A challenge, but hey, who doesn’t love a good mystery? Read more here.

Easy beach hikes

Just as we love a good novel to read at the beach in summer, so, too, do we love an easy winter hike — easy in the sense that it’s simple to follow but has a compelling plot. Some of our favorites:

• Carolina Beach State Park, 9 trails, 9 miles, Carolina Beach. Carolina Beach is the Reader’s Digest condensed version of exploring the coast: in just 761 acres nestled between the Cape Fear River and Atlantic Ocean you’ll hike over forested dunes, through forests of turkey oak and live oak, around pocosins, past cypress swamps and through a carpet of carnivorous plants. The ecological sampling here is not to be matched. Learn more here.

• 

  Fort Fisher Hermit Trail (a k a Basin Trail), 2 miles, Fort Fisher State Recreation Area, Kure Beach. Just down the road from Carolina Beach (6 miles) is a trail that exposes you to one of the more unique views in the state: water in nearly every direction. At the midpoint, the trail passes a World War II bunker, a sturdy concrete structure that, after housing ordnance in WW II, housed Robert E. Harrill, the Fort Fisher hermit who fled here in 1956 and stayed until his unexplained death in 1972. More info here.

• Cedar Point Tideland Trail, Croatan National Forest, Cedar Point, 1.3 miles. No need to get your shoes mucky—an elevated boardwalk traverses much of the 1.3-mile Cedar Point Tideland Trail, in the wetlands where Dibbling and Boathouse creeks dissolve into the White Oak River (then, shortly, into Bogue Sound). In addition to keeping you dry, the boardwalk gives you get a bird’s-eye view of the fiddler crabs and other marsh life below. It is also an especially good spot for birding. More info here.
• Nags Head Woods Ecological Preserve, 4 miles, Kill Devil Hills. At 1,100 acres, Nags Head Woods wrote the book on maritime forests. It’s one of the best examples of such along the East Coast, hence the reason The Nature Conservancy elected to save it beginning in the 1970s. Nearly four miles of trail take you through densely vegetated terrain that includes 11 separate species of oak alone. Also calling the preserve home are 5 species of salamander, 14  species of frogs and toads, at least 50 nesting birds, assorted turtles, lizards and snakes. More info here.
• Patsy Pond Nature Trail, 4.5 miles, Newport. Before the European invasion, about 90 million acres of the Southeast were covered with longleaf pines. Today, that number is closer to 3.3 million. Which makes walking the Patsy Pond Nature Trail like diving into a good history book. A good history in that the forest isn’t just about the longleaf, but also about its supporting characters, including the red-cockaded woodpecker, Carolina gopher frog, bladderwort, sundew and a cast, literally, of thousands. Learn more here.

Coastal plain

There’s nothing plain about these hikes, other than their coastal plain setting.

• 

  Jones Lake State Park, 6 miles, Elizabethtown. Every time I’ve hiked here it’s been: 1) in winter, 2) 40 degrees, 3) under cloudless skies. In short, perfect. Such a great experience has hiking the 4-mile Bay Trail been that I go back every couple of years to experience the open pine forest on the west side of Jones Lake, the dense bay forest on the east side. A Jekyll and Hyde hike with a total elevation gain of 3 feet. And if I’m hungry for more I can hop across the road (N.C. 242) and continue hiking at Turnbull State Educational Forest. Learn more here.

• Merchants Millpond State Park, 15 miles, Gatesville. Every time I visit I think of the 1950s schlock sci-fi flick, “Creature from the Black Lagoon.” Although there might be alligators here, there have been no confirmed Gill-Man sightings at Merchants Millpond, despite the eerie similarity in swampy surroundings. The park may be known for canoeing on its 760-acre millpond, but the hiking here exposes you to some of the same treats, including bay woods and cypress and tupelo gum swamps. A great day trip. Learn more here.
• Pettrigrew State Park, 4.2 miles. Creswell,. When it comes to hiking you can go for distance or you can go to be awed. At Pettigrew State Park on the shores of Lake Phelps, the Morotoc Trail will certainly awe you with a collection of some of the oldest and largest trees of their kind in the state. Among the ancient oddities are various bay trees, sweet gums, persimmons, and pawpaws; the trunks of some bald cypress trees measure up to 10 feet in diameter; and, poplar trunks exceed six feet. “Vines as wide as human thighs wind their ways up trees as tall as 130 feet.” You’ll also see Atlantic white cedars that reach heights of 100 feet. Prepare for the slowest 2.8 miles of hiking in your life. Learn more here.

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True, most of us think of the coast mostly in summer, when it comes time for the annual week-long beach vacation, a time for heat, sun, surf and crowds.

Come winter, though, and you only have one of those. And it’s all you need. A sunny day at the coast or in the coastal plain is more than enough to ward off the chill of a 40-degree day. The winter sun illuminates the wide-open plains, sounds and beaches, letting us see deeper into nature. Here’s where that focus will be focused on these three N.C. State Parks hikes.

• Birding 101, Saturday, 10 a.m., Fort Fisher State Recreation Area, Kure Beach. Learn the basics of birding in an area where birds are flocking to spend the winter. A great spot for hands-on learning. Free, but registration is required, by calling 910.458.5798. Learn more here. 
• Soundside Nature Trail Hike, Saturday, 10 a.m., Jockey’s Ridge State Park, Nags Head. Think of Jockey’s Ridge and you think of wading up and down the shifting dunes. But on the west side of the park, nestled against Roanoke Sound, is the 3/4-mile Soundside Nature Trail, which, in a short distance, goes through wetlands, grassy dunes and maritime thickets. Learn about these coastal environments on this 45-minute hike commencing from the Soundside Access. Learn more here.
• Biological Wonderland Hike, 10 a.m., Saturday, Carolina Beach State Park, Carolina Beach. A variety of coastal ecosystems can be found in the park, from forests of longleaf pine, turkey oak and live oak to relict sand dunes to shrubby swamps called pocosins. Learn about a number of these on this one-hour hike. Free, but space is limited; call 910.458.8206 to reserve a spot. Learn more here.

You can find other outings this weekend at North Carolina State Parks by going here.

A reminder that Pilot Mountain State Park, a popular fall destination, remains closed as a result of a fire that burned more than 1,000 acres. No report on when the park will reopen.

A reminder, too, that, as we enter the hectic holidays you may find yourself needing a little extra incentive to get out and hike. How about the opportunity to hike either Sunday morning or Sunday afternoon? Or Tuesday evening? Or Friday morning? Maybe even a couple Wednesday afternoons? Those are all options as part of our 15-hike GetHiking! Hike Through the Holidays hiking series. Stress levels are high during the holiday season; you need hiking more than ever. Check out the series here. 

And this just in: we have two spots remaining for Saturday’s GetOriented! Finding Your Way in the Woods session at Umstead State Park in Raleigh. We spend the first 20 minutes of this 3-hour class going over basic map and compass skills, then head down the trail and off to put those skills to work. Learn more and sign up here. 

Those are our thoughts for the weekend, a weekend that will see temperatures as high as 70, with logs of sun.

GetOut! And enjoy.

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You’re eager to show your visiting friends and family why you love living in the region: the outdoor opportunities that make this such a wonderful place to explore. You also don’t want to alienate your guests — or worse, harm them! — by taking them on an outing beyond their capabilities. Fortunately, you can do the former while avoiding the latter with the 10 hikes below, hikes that offer considerable esthetic bang for minimal physical exertion. 

We give a short description of why these hikes are suitable for the non-adventurous in your life, then provide a link for additional information.

Coast, coastal plain

The Basin Trail

2.2 miles (out and back)

Fort Fisher State Recreation Area, Kure Beach

Spending time at the coast this holiday season? This hike, just outside Wilmington, starts at the Atlantic Ocean and makes its way through open marsh (the soggier parts are on elevated boardwalk) to The Basin on the sound side. At the midpoint, visit an old World War II munitions bunker that was later home, for more than a decade, to the Fort Fisher Hermit.

More info here.

Bay Trail

4 miles

Jones Lake State Park, Elizabethtown

Need to get your beloved visitors out of the house for the day? Send them to Jones Lake southeast of Fayetteville for a 4-mile meander around a regional oddity: a Carolina bay. No one is quite sure how these shallow, oval-shaped bays originated (the result of a meteor shower is the best bet), but there were once a half million of them along the East Coast. The hike around this surviving bay is half pine savanna, half swampy bay forest, all flat.

More info here.

Charlotte area

The Boulders Access

0.5 miles

Crowders Mountain State Park, Kings Mountain

Lure your hiking-recalcitrant crew to The Boulders with the promise of seeing the boulders just a short hike from the car. Then, when they’re smitten, suggest hiking just a little farther, a little farther, a little farther on the Ridgeline Trail, which will take you either south into South Carolina or north for about six miles to the main part of Crowders Mountain State Park.

More info here.

Triangle

The Peaks Loop

1/2 mile

Horton Grove Nature Preserve, Bahama

This half-mile trail is especially alluring in late fall, with the mature beech forest casting a brilliant yellow glow over a carpet of copper leaves. Ridgeline and valley hiking, with a short drop in, a short climb out on well-groomed trail. Want more? Tack on the 0.8-mile Holman Loop through a recovering Piedmont prairie.

More info here. 

Seven Mile Creek Natural Area

2 miles

Orange County southwest of Hillsborough

You’ll find some of the foot-friendliest trail around on this ramble through mature upland woods and down to Seven Mile Creek, a spritely creek that, shortly, feeds into the Eno River. The preserve’s difficult-to-find trailhead all but insures you’ll avoid holiday crowds.

More info here.

Pump Station Trail

1.5 miles

Pump Station Access, Eno River State Park, Durham

An especially good hike for kids — closely supervised kids — because it takes in the ruins of the old Durham waterworks. Brick foundations, an old dam, and other remnants of the long-abandoned water plant make for great kid exploring. The trail includes a stretch along a particularly rocky run of the Eno.

More info here.

De hart Botanical Garden

up to 4 miles

Louisburg

A short hike in gets you to a waterfall, a bamboo garden and a lake with a rock outcrop perfect for hanging out on. Venture farther and you’ll find another waterfall and one of the oldest white oak trees in the region. Something is always in bloom at this 92-acre preserve off U.S. 401 between Raleigh and Louisburg.

More info here.

Triad

Cane Creek Mountains Natural Area

2.5 miles

Snow Camp

Live in the Triad or Triangle and don’t have time to visit the mountains? How about the mountains in our midst, the Cane Creek Mountains south of Burlington? You’ll get an Appalachian-type experience on this 2.5-mile loop that traverses surprisingly rocky terrain before topping out just below 1,000 feet. A bit more of a physical investment, but the payoff is worth it.

More info here. 

Horne Creek Trail

2.5 miles

Bean Shoals Access, Pilot Mountain State Park, Pinnacle

The main parking area atop Pilot Mountain gets so crowded on weekends that hikers are now shuttled from the base to the summit. Avoid Pilot’s plenty by heading to the Bean Shoals Access and hiking this flatter stretch of trail that includes intimate Horne Creek and the expansive Yadkiin River.

More info here.

Little Long Mountain

1.6 miles (out and back) 

Uwharrie National Forest, Asheboro

From the Joe Moffitt Trailhead it’s a 0.8-mile hike up the north side of the 922-foot mountain (you’ll pass a spring midway, on your left) to the best on-trail view in the Uwharrie range. From the summit meadow you have a 240-degree view from the east to the south to the west; early risers can catch sunrise, night-owls sunset and the rest of us an expansive view of this relict central North Carolina mountain range.

More info here.

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Soundside Nature Trail Hike, Saturday, Nov. 13, 10 a.m., Jockey’s Ridge State Park, Nags Head. Think of Jockey’s Ridge and you immediately think of the shifting dunes that can reach up to 60 feet above the level of the sea, which is a near stone’s throw from the park. But Jockey’s Ridge has intriguing backside that explores a maritime shrub thicket along Roanoke Sound. This is a 1-mile hike. Learn more here.

Birding 101, Saturday, Nov. 13, 10 a.m., Fort Fisher State Recreation Area, Kure Beach. One of the joys of the coast in winter is the bird population, especially the overwintering birds that start to arrive this time of year from Canada. Come learn about these visitors, where they come from, why they like it here and more. Free, but preregistration is required, by calling 910.458-5798. Learn more here.

Biological Wonderland Hike, Saturday, Nov. 13, 10 a.m., Carolina Beach State Park, Carolina Beach. Learn about the various habitats in the park in this hour-long program on the Flytrap Trail. Space is limited; call 910.458.8206 to reserve a spot. Learn more here.

Paint Hill Discovery Hike, Sunday, Nov. 14, 2 p.m., Weymouth Woods Sandhills Nature Preserve. This 1.5-mile hike eschews the crowds at park’s main tract by exploring the Paint Hill Tract, “a unique hilltop longleaf pine forest with deep valleys and carpets of creeping blueberry.” For more information, including meeting place, go here.

You can learn more about Fort Fisher and Carolina Beach in Wednesday’s post, and for planning purposes, here are three events at the coast that we have planned: 

• GetHiking! New Year’s on the Weetock Trail, Sunday, Jan. 2, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.. Technically, it’s the day after New Year’s Day, but a true first-of-the-year adventure all the same. Read the trail description above, then go here to learn more and to sign up.
• GetBackpacking! Winter Series: Neusiok Trail, Friday, January 14 to Sunday, January 16. This 2-night, 22-mile trip is the ideal way to start fulfilling your 2022 backpacking goals. The flat course make these early season miles doable. Learn more and sign up here.
• GetHiking! Winter Weekend Escape to Jones Lake, Friday, Jan. 28 to Sunday, Jan. 30. Jones Lake State Park, Elizabethtown. Two days of hiking and two nights of stargazing in minimally light-polluted skies of the coastal plain. Learn more and sign up here.

Weatherwise, it’s looking like a good weekend for a visit Down East, with sunny skies and daytime temperatures around 70 on Saturday, about 10 degrees cooler Sunday.

Whatever you do this weekend, GetOut! And enjoy!

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Carnivorous Plant Hike, Saturday, 10 a.m., Carolina Beach State Park, Carolina Beach. The perfect hike for someone you’d like to get more involved in the outdoors. The trail, the Flytrap Trail, is short, just a half mile. It’s flat and easy to navigate (it’s wheelchair accessible), and it features a natural wonder, the carnivorous plants — including the Venus flytrap — that are unique to the region. A ranger leads the way and shares the stories of these curious plants. Masks are required, space is limited: reserve a spot by calling 910.458.8206. More info here.

Basin Hike, Saturday, 2 p.m., Fort Fisher State Recreation Area, Kure Beach. Another good option for the hike-reluctant. Though this trail is a mile long (2 miles, out and back), it is flat and it probes some of the most wide-open space in the state. With the Atlantic Ocean on your left at the start, the trail goes through dune and salt marsh on its way first to a concrete World War II bunker that, more than a half century ago, was home to the Fort Fisher Hermit. The trail continues on to the end of the peninsula, where you can check out The Rocks and The Basin, part of the Zeke’s Island component of the N.C. National Estuarine Research Reserve, a “1,160-acre area of outstanding estuarine and ocean resources with extensive marshes and tidal flats.” Masks are required, space is limited: reserve a spot by calling 910.458.5798. More info here.

On to the mountains:

Profile Trail Wildflower Hike, Sunday, 10 a.m., Grandfather Mountain State Park, Banner Elk. Wildflower season has begun at one of the most ecologically diverse places in the state, in the country. And if you’re picturing the wild, gnarly, volatile Grandfather Mountain, picture again: this hike is on the Profile Trail along the base of the massif’s northwestern flank, mostly along the Watauga River through a mature hardwood forest. The entire hike is less than three miles and takes a leisurely pace (allow 2 to 3 hours). Masks are required, space is limited: reserve a spot by calling 828.963.9522 or emailing grandfather.mountain@ncparks.gov. More info here.

Camping, anyone?

A reminder that if you’ve got a hankerin’ to go camping this weekend — or any time — but don’t have the essential gear, our GetCamping! program can help. Six-person tent, two plush two-person sleeping mattresses, camp stove, rockin’ camp chairs and more. All you have to bring is yourself and some food. Learn more about our GetCamping! program here.

Looking for a hike?

Interested in taking a hike but not sure where to go? Our GetHiking! guides provide maps, detailed route descriptions, details from how to reach to trailhead to how far and hard the trail is, an overview of the hike — even a virtual tour! Check out our offerings here.

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