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. 

We use a bulleted, quick-hit format to share our findings. The less time you spend sifting through words, the more time that’s left for hiking. 

Falls Lake State Recreation Area

Durham, Wake counties

• Mountains-to-Sea Trail
• 60 miles of trail tracing the coves ducking in and out of this man-made lake.
• 14 access points, which stretches ranging from just under a mile to not quite 7 miles. Shuttles are easy to set up.
• Recommended stretch: Red Mill Road to Red Mill Road, 4.9 miles. Spends a little time on the north end along Falls Lake, spends a lot of time throughout clinging to edge forest. Very few hikers, making it and ideal hiking spot during the popular fall hiking season.

Details here

Greensboro Watershed Lakes

Greensboro

• Mountains-to-Sea Trail
• 42 miles of trail
  • Some multi-use, mostly the trail along the south shores of the lakes
• 14 access points
• Recommended: Piedmont Trail, 3 miles (one way), from near Strawberry Road, along north shore of Lake Brandt. Another generally quiet stretch of trail in fall, with constant exposure to Lake Bryant.

Details here

Lake James State Park

Nebo (Morganton)

Fonta Flora State Trail

• 30+ miles of trail
  • Some multi-use
• 3 access points
• Recommended: Fonta Flora State Trail leading east toward Morganton (it’s eventual destination to the east; to the west, it will extend to Asheville). Highlight: Right outside the park, the trail passes through the Fonta Flora Brewery!

Details here

Smith Mountain Lake State Park

Huddleston, Va

• 15 miles of trail
  • Some multi-use
• 8 access points
• 500 miles of shoreline (much of it, however, is private)
• Recommended: Striper Cove Trail, 3.1 miles, nearly all along the lake.

Details here

Lake Norman State Park

Troutman (Charlotte area)

• 38 miles of trail
  • Some multi-use
• 3 access points
• Cove hiking
• Recommended: Lake Shore Trail, 5 miles, most along coves

Details here

Moses Cone Memorial Park

Blue Ridge Parkway, Milepost 294 (near Blowing Rock)

• 25 miles of trail
• Access from the Manor House up top and Bass Lake at the base, in Blowing Rock
• Wide, smooth carriage trail paths
• Recommended: Bass Lake (bottom), Flat Top (top)

Details here

The post 6 Hikes for Early Fall Color appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

The natural world presents many questions in winter. This weekend, you have a chance to learn many answers.

Coast

When you head to the coast, hiking often isn’t atop your list of things to do. It should be, especially this time of year. The bugs are at bay (or at least at a minimum), the temperatures aren’t stifling, and, perhaps most significantly, it is serene, the calm before the summer crowds descend.

And because it is the more temperate coast, nature is more alive than it is in colder reaches of the state.

Take Carolina Beach State Park, for instance, where the park’s website states, “Several coastal ecosystems are present in the park. Forests dominated by longleaf pine, turkey oak and live oak occupy the dry, coarse soil of a series of relict sand dunes. Between the dunes are dense shrub swamps, called pocosins, populated by pond pines, loblolly and sweet bay, yaupon and evergreen shrubs. Brackish marshes consisting primarily of cordgrasses and sedges can be found beyond the relict dunes adjacent to the river.”

That’s a lot to take in on your own. Fortunately, the park periodically holds a Biological Wonderland Hike, the next one of which is Saturday. Let a ranger help you identify these adjoining ecosystems and understand how they interact. The hike begins at 2 p.m., from the Flytrap Trail Parking Area.

Logistics: Biological Wonderland Hike, Saturday, Feb. 25, 2 p.m., Carolina Beach State Park, Carolina Beach. More info here.

Saturday forecast: Sunny with a high of 70 at hike time.

* * *

Looking ahead: U.S. Open Fat Bike Championships, March 11, Blockade Runner Resort, Wrightsville Beach. More info here.

Piedmont

One of the joys of winter in North Carolina is that it serves as the overwintering grounds for a goodly number of waterfowl. Most folks think this phenomenon is limited to the coast, where tundra swans, northern pintails and others by the hundreds of thousands spend the mild coastal winter in lakes, marshes and other wetlands. But the interior of North Carolina also gets its share of feathered visitors.

Learn about these migrants as well as the native avian population Sunday on a Waterfowl Birding Boat Tour on Lake Townsend in Greensboro. A naturalist leads this hour-and-a-half tour conducted on a pontoon boat.

Logistics: Waterfowl Birding Tour, Sunday, Feb. 26, 3 p.m., Lake Townsend Marina, Greensboro. $7. Learn more and sign on, here.

Saturday forecast: Sunny with a tour-time temperature of 58.

* * *

Looking ahead: Not a boat person? Take in the lake from the Palmetto & Nat Greene trails on a March 4 hike, also sponsored by Greensboro Parks & Rec. $2. More info here.

Mountains

Are you taking the North Carolina State Parks 100 Mile Challenge? Are you aware of the Challenge?

The Challenge is N.C. State Parks effort to get folks to hike 100 miles or more in their great parks during 2017. Log your hikes, complete the Challenge, get a cool commemorative pin. Learn everything you need to know about the challenge here.

Intrigued? Start your march toward 100 Sunday at Lake James State Park with the Fox Den Loop 100 Mile Challenge Hike. Ranger Kevin Bischoff leads this 2 1/4-mile hike to help you find out what the park’s permanent residents are up to in winter. Complete the hike and you’ll be 97 and 3/4 miles closer to meeting the Challenge.

Logistics: Sunday, Feb. 26, 11 a.m., Fox Den Lopp 100 Mile Challenge Hike, Lake James State Park, Nebo. More info here.

Sunday forecast: Hike time high of 49 under sunny skies.

* * *

Looking ahead: Streamside Hike, March 18, South Mountains State Park, Connelly Springs. More info here.

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Those are our thoughts on the weekend. Find more options at the sources listed below. 

Coast

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There’s a run for everyone this weekend in North Carolina: for the novice, the mountain distance runner, the hash harrier — even the runner who doesn’t like to run.

Coast | Coastal Plain

Since the advent of hashing in the ’90s (yes, the concept originated with bored British offers and expats in Kuala Lumpur in the late 1930s),  we’ve been intrigued by how it works to mix running with beer. We’re even more intrigued when the mix is part of a race conducted in temperatures approaching 90.

Thus, we’re most intrigued by Saturday’s Copperhead 20K Relay at the Poplar Grove Plantation in Wilmington. Run a lap on the 5K loop trail, drink a 12-ounce beer (optional, but you get a two-minute time deduction), run another lap. Four laps, four beers. Again, in temperatures warming to 90. Relay teams of up to four are allowed (your baton is your beer).

Why Copperhead? Perhaps because if you get bit with 48 ounces of beer in you, the snake will be more affected than you.

Logistics: Saturday, Aug. 27, 6 p.m., Poplar Grove Historic Plantation, Wilmington. More info here.

Saturday forecast: High in mid 80s under mostly sunny skies.

* * *

Looking ahead: Pier-2-Pier Open Water Swim, Sunday, Sept. 10, Johnnie Mercer’s Pier, Wrightsville Beach. More info here.

Piedmont

The Kirkwood 5K: now, here’s a 5K for all. First, the race is on a “flat course … nestled in the cozy, neighborhood streets of Kirkwood and promises to be a FAST, easy, and refreshing 5K.” If you race a fair amount but haven’t had a PR recently, this race is for you. If you have a disdain for hills, this race is for you. If you want to run with your kids, if you like to check out new neighborhoods, if you don’t like to run, period, this race is for you.

Another reason to run? Proceeds benefit BackPack Beginnings, “a local, 100% volunteer non-profit organization founded to provide children in need with food, comfort items and other basic necessities through the use of backpacks.”

Logistics: Saturday, Aug. 27, 9 a.m., Kirkwood Neighborhood is located in Greensboro between Cornwallis, Lawndale and Cone. $15-$40. More info here.

Saturday forecast: Temperature of 81 under mostly sunny skies at race time.

* * *

Looking ahead: Triathlong at Ramseur Lake, Ramseur, Saturday, Sept. 17. More info here.

Mountains

Saturday, it’s Round 2 of the High Country Triple Crown race series: the High Country Half Marathon. The half begins at Appalachian State University’s Kidd Brewer Stadium and winds its way to Blowing Rock, to the Blowing Rock Equestrian Preserve. It’s a winding, up-and-down course that spends a bit of time along Winkler’s Creek. (Spoiler alert: the finish is downhill!)

Aid stations along the way (miles 1.8, 4.5, 8, 10 and 12) with water and Gatorade.

Logistics: Saturday, 7:30 a.m., Kidd Brewer Stadium, Appalachian State University. $75. More info here.

Saturday forecast: 63 under mostly sunny skies at the start.

* * *

Looking ahead: Catawba RiverFest and Triathlon, Saturday, Sept. 17, Lake James State Park, Nebo. More info here.

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Those are our thoughts on the weekend. Find more options at the sources listed below.

* * *

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The post This weekend: Let’s race! appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

Coast / Coastal Plain

It is perhaps the most rewarding type of paddling — and the easiest: paddling the tidal flats and meandering backwaters of the coast. The ill-defined wetlands along the sounds, the narrow tidal creeks enveloped in lush maritime woods that feed into the sounds. So much to see just a paddle-length away.

The only hitch: you need to know where to go, or go with someone who does.

That’s why we like Saturday’s Roosevelt Natural Area Paddle Trip at the NC Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores. The morning paddle is led by aquarium naturalists who know every twist and turn, and can help you make sense of this expansive ecosystem. Gear and guide provided

Vital Stats: Roosevelt Natural Area Paddle Trip, Saturday, July 23, 9-11 a.m., NC Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores. $25, ages 12 and up. More info here.

Saturday forecast: High of 88, mostly sunny.

* * *

Looking ahead: Soundside Hike, Jockey’s Ridge State Park, Tuesday mornings at 9 a.m. More info here.

Piedmont

The temperature is forecast in the upper 90s for this weekend, which leaves one to wonder: why take a chance and wait for excessive heat when you can hedge your bets with an evening paddle now. As in this evening.

Tonight, the temperature will dip into the 70s for the Night Paddle on Lake Brandt. Picture yourself, the sun setting, paddle in hand, gentle waves lapping your bow, a cool breeze washing over you, washing away the stress of the day … .

BYOB or rent one at the marina.

Vital Stats: Thursday, July 21, 8-10 p.m., Lake Brandt, Greensboro. $22 per tandem kayak, $15 per single kayak, $8 if you bring your own boat. More info here.

Saturday evening forecast: Highs in the upper 70s, mostly clear skies.

* * *

Looking ahead: Meanwhile, on neighboring Lake Higgins, find night paddles on July 27, Aug. 10 and 24. More info here.

Mountains

You see standup paddleboard races at the coast, but not so much in the mountains. This weekend, however, you’ll see that very thing, when the Autism Society of North Carolina sponsors the inaugural Stand Up for Autism paddleboard race at Lake Julian in Arden.

A 3-mile race on the lake followed by live music, beer, food, and raffle prizes. Racing is in both the competitive and non-competitive categories.

Vital Stats: Saturday, July 23, 11:30 a.m. race start, Lake Julian, Arden. $25 online, $30/day of event. More info and to register, go here.

Saturday forecast: high of 94, mostly sunny.

* * *

Looking ahead: Sunday, Oct. 2, Fall Colors Hike (hey, it’s never too early to plan ahead), Grandfather Mountain State Park. More info here.

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Those are our thoughts on the weekend. Find more options at the sources listed below.

* * *

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The post Your weekend: Beat the heat with a paddle appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

Coast / coastal plain

One of the reasons you love to head into the wild is the opportunity to see wildlife. For a lot of us, the bigger the wildlife the better. Swimmers at the coast love the opportunity to be near dolphins, scuba divers savor a shark encounter, hikers live for a bear sighting. And when it comes to exploring the Cape Lookout National Seashore, it’s the wild horses that inhabit the island that draw our attention.

This year, as part of Cape Lookout’s 50th Anniversary and the National Park Service’s Centennial celebration, the park is holding periodic Horse Sense and Survival trips. Wildlife Biologist Sue Stuska leads this outing, which provides “an exciting and enlightening glimpse into the relationships, behavior, and survival of these wild animals. Participants will gain an appreciation of all that can be gleaned while watching from a distance. They will understand how to determine an appropriate position and distance for watching that doesn’t affect the horses’ natural behaviors.”

Sounds like a great way to spend a day at the coast, a day like this Saturday.

Vital Stats: Saturday, July 9, 1:30-4:30 p.m., meeting at the Harkers Island Visitor Center. There’s a ferry fee to the island of $16 for adults, $9 for kids 11 and under. More information by calling 252.728.2250 ext. 3001, or going here, where you can also learn when additional sessions are scheduled.

Saturday forecast: High of 92, mostly sunny.

* * *

Looking ahead: Soundside Hike, every Tuesday at 9 a.m., Jockey’s Ridge State Park. More info here.

Piedmont

We recently promoted a Bootlegger 5K, in Charlotte, and while we hate to go back to the well too often, we can’t resist promoting this Saturday’s Bootlegger in Pleasant Green, near Greensboro.

In part, that’s because of the course, following the popular high school and college 5K course at Hagan Stone Park. It’s a nice run in daylight, even better at night — especially when the day time temperature will reach into the mid-90s: by race time of 8:55, the mercury will have dipped to a not-quite-brisk-but-certainly-more-tolerable 81. A flashlight or headlamp is required of all runners. Post-race refreshments include two moonshine drink tickets for participants 21 and older.

Vital Stats: Saturday, July 9, 8:55 p.m., Hagan Stone Park, Greensboro. $43. More info here.

Saturday forecast: Race time temperature of 81 under dark skies.

* * *

Looking ahead: Canoe the Mayo, Mayo River State Park, Saturday, Aug. 27, 10 a.m. More info here.

Mountains

Not many adventures sound more adventurous than a mountain canoe trip. Immediately, it conjures images of deftly negotiating a string of rapids and drops amid a froth of whitewater and a cacophony of whoops!

And if that’s what your friends choose to think when you tell them you took on the New River near Laurel Springs this Sunday, who are you to tamper with their perception of you as a devil-may-care, buckskin-clad paddler. In reality, though, this paddle on the New through New River State Park is one relatively placid water with great views! And, you’ll be led by a park ranger, who will offer basic canoe instruction along the way.

Vital Stats: Guided Canoe Trip, New River State Park, Wagoner Access, Sunday, July 10, 1 p.m. Free, but space is limited; 336.982.2587 to reserve a spot.

Sunday forecast: Sunny skies, high of 81.

* * *

Looking ahead: Elk Knob Community Headwaters Day, Elk Knob State park, Todd, Saturday, Sept. 10. More info here.

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Those are our thoughts on the weekend. Find more options at the sources listed below.

* * *

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The post Your weekend: Horse around, run through the night, canoe a mountain river appeared first on GetGoing NC!.