Today’s 90-Second Escape: Contentnea Creek

Summertime, and an adventurous type’s thoughts turn to anything involving water. In my case, paddling on that water rises to the top of the list.

This summer, we’re making an effort to explore the plethora of paddling options in eastern North Carolina. N.C. State University’s Coastal Paddle Trails project lists more than 2,500 miles of documented paddle trail in the area largely defined as east of I-95. We paddled a stretch downstream from Grifton (and, because of the mild current, we were able to avoid a shuttle and paddle back up) shortly before it becomes part of the Neuse River. The Father’s Day paddle, a tradition with my daughter, Hana, was made more special by meeting Brian at the put-in. (That’s Brian in the yellow kayak.)

Enjoy the ride. We’ll be sharing more from eastern North Carolina’s waterways throughout the summer.

Learn more about paddling Contentnea Creek, and other eastern North Carolina waterways, by visiting the Great Outdoor Provision Co. online adventure guide.

* * *

Like us on Facebook and get health, fitness and outdoors news throughout the day.

GetGoingNC.com

Promote Your Page Too

The post 90 Second Escape: Eastern N.C.’s Contentnea Creek appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

“They draw pictures of bears and lions and all these really big animals,” says Weems, the center’s senior manager of early childhood programs. At the end of the program, when she asks them to draw a picture of what they actually did see at this 45-acre natural oasis in the heart of Raleigh, she gets sketches of tadpoles, frogs, crickets, ladybugs … .
“The reality is it’s really much more fun to get close to a lady bug,” says Weems, who has been in the business of exposing kids to the outdoors for 30 years.
The reality is also that today more than ever, too many kids like the ones viewing Prairie Ridge as a wild jungle have only a vague notion of what’s going on outside their living room windows.
That’s why in 2006, N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences’ Director of Education Liz Baird deemed it necessary to create Take A Child Outside Week, seven days at the end of September dedicated to introducing our increasingly insulated youth to the great outdoors. Take A Child Outside Week 2013 begins Tuesday and runs through Monday, Sept. 30. At least 82 Take A Child Outside-related programs are scheduled throughout the state. (To find an event close to you, check our calendar, here.)
“The average child spends seven hours a day in front of a screen,” says Baird, “with no logged time outdoors. Obviously, we still need to remind parents to get their children outside.”
Take a Child Outside Week was spurred by Richard Louv’s 2005 bestseller, “Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder,” an account of how, in less than a generation, our kids have gone from being weaned in the wild to garrisoned in the great room.
To anyone who came of age pre-1980, the notion of having to be reminded to go outside and play would have seemed crazy; outside — in a local forest, along a nearby creek, in a neighborhood park — was where kids went to escape. But as Louv notes, a proliferation of electronic options and increasingly protective parents have conspired to keep our kids inside.
Some disturbing numbers:

• According to at least three studies conducted between 2001 and 2005, children spent half as much time outdoors as they did 20 years earlier. A 2012 study by the Outdoor Foundation found that the trend has continued, with youth participation since 2006 dropping across the board, with the greatest decline among 6- to 12-year-old girls.
• A Kaiser Foundation Family study found that kids 8 to 18 years old devote an average of 7 hours and 38 minutes to “entertainment media” in a typical day.
• In a typical week, according to a 2008 Children & Nature Network report, only 6 percent of children ages 9-13 play outside on their own.
• Time outside is important, because:
• At least two studies, in 2005 and in 2007, found that children who play outside are more physically active, more creative in their play, less aggressive and show better concentration.
• According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, 60 minutes of daily unstructured free play is essential to children’s physical and mental health. (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2008)
• Kids exposed to the outdoors via “wild nature activities” before the age of 11 grow to be adults more concerned about the environment.

Weems has borne witness to the trend of children separating from the natural world during her 30 years on the job
“There’s a growing gap between child and parent,” she says. “I think sometimes parents forget the joys of just being outside. Slowly, we have to let them explore their world.”
Weems and Prairie Ridge hope to narrow that gap with their new Nature Playspace, which will be unveiled Saturday, Sept. 28.
Nature Playspace is a one-acre playground with a “water feature, a groundhog tunnel big enough for me to crawl through, stumps to balance on and logs to pick up and look under.”
“In a world of ‘don’t touch,’ we want to send a message of please touch,” says Weems. “Please look underneath that rock, you are welcome to move that log.”
The area is designed as a safe place for kids to observe the wild, says Weems. “We’ve removed some of the barriers that parents often are concerned with. We’ve removed the poison ivy, the pokeberry. It’s a little less intimidating.”
That said, Weems acknowledges that one of the benefits of exploring the true wild is that it teaches kids to evaluate risk, to be aware that everything may not be safe and that you need to make those determinations on your own. The Nature Playspace is a first step in letting parents give their kids some space in the outdoors.)
Many of the Take A Child Outside Week events scheduled statewide are likewise geared toward letting parent and child explored together. At Shelley Lake in Raleigh on Tuesday, for instance, there’s a “Family Sunset Walk” intended to expose the natural world after dark. “Festival in Motion” on Saturday at Raleigh’s Walnut Creek Wetland Center includes a range of kid-friendly activities geared toward exposing families to a wetlands. And Saturday’s “Talking Turkey” program lets kids explore the unfamiliar outdoor world through the more familiar world of crafts.
TACO founder Baird says the opportunities to take a child outside over the next week offer an opportunity that no kid should miss out on.
“We need to let kids take advantage of childhood while it lasts,” she says. “Childhood is not something to be rushed through.
“Explore. Play. Be outside.”

* * *

Find an event

Looking for a scheduled outdoor program you and your kid can enjoy during Take A Child Outside Week? Great Outdoor Provision Co. has assembled the most comprehensive list of events in the state, 82 events in all, broken down by the following geographic areas: Charlotte, Greenville-Wilmington, Triad, Triangle. The events begin today and run through Monday. You can find the events here.

Make your own event

The Take A Child Outside folks offer tips on making your own outdoor adventure. Click on the link for direction.

• Getting Started: Simple activities for all ages and seasons
• Animal Signs and Observations: Activities that encourage discovering animal signs and making observations
• Trees and Other Plants: Activities that facilitate the exploration of woods and fields
• After the Sun Goes Down: Activities that involve discovering the night world

Resources

Find out more about the importance of kids being in the outdoors through these resources:

• The Children & Nature Network “Building a Movement to Reconnect Children and Nature” is the mission of this site, established to collect and distribute information between researchers and individuals, educators and organizations dedicated to children’s health and well-being. “C&NN also promotes fundamental institutional change and provides resources for sharing information, strategic initiatives and success stories.” Richard Louv, author of “Last Child in the Woods,” which sparked the get-kids-back-outside-where-they-need-to-be is chairman and co-founder.
• US Play Coalition A unit of Clemson University’s College of Health, Education and Human Development, the coalition is made up of anyone — from parks and rec directors to health officials to concerned individuals — interested in getting kids up and playing. Their focus isn’t entirely outdoors, but their very mission calls for a goodly amount of outdoor play.
• Nature Grounds The focus of this non-profit is to make nature a more integral part of playgrounds. Encourages playgrounds less reliant on standard playground equipment and more focused on natural elements that let kids create their own adventures, as is the case with The Nature Explorer Zone at Reedy Creek Nature Center in Charlotte.
• Green Hearts: Institute for Nature in Childhood Another non-profit founded to get kids back outside. Founded by Ken Finch, a former vice president of the National Audubon Society.
• Richard Louv’s Web site Richard Louv wrote the book on why kids need to play outdoors; it’s called “Last Child in the Woods” and it makes a compelling case, even if you’re an avowed shut-in.

* * *
Like us on Facebook and get health, fitness and outdoors news throughout the day.

GetGoingNC.com

Promote Your Page Too

The post This week: Take A Child Outside appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

Coast

Five miles is a nice distance to run, we’ve always felt. A 5K — 3.1 miles — feels too short, too fast. And a marathon just seems ridiculously long (our judgement on this may be clouded as we’re signed up for the Umstead Trail Marathon Saturday and the thought of a 5-mile race is darn attractive right now). If you also like the sounds of a 5-mile run, then head to Greenville Saturday for the 2013 Patriot Run benefitting Fort Bragg’s Survivor Outreach Services, which helps families who have lost a serviceman/woman in combat. Awards by age category.

Logistics: Saturday, March 2, 8:30 a.m. $20 if you register by the end of today, $25 from tomorrow through race day. More information and to register here, or call 252.328.6085.

Weekend forecast: High of 50, partly cloudy.

Piedmont

Have you ever hiked at your local state park and wondered about its origins, specifically the origins of its older, stone buildings? Get a sense of how many of our state parks came to be by hearing the story of one park, Hanging Rock, on Saturday’s CCC History Hike. Roam around and here the history of Hanging Rock State Park, which, like many of North Carolina’s state parks, dates to the 1930s.

Logistics: Saturday, March 2, 2 p.m. Free. More info here.

Weekend forecast: High of 45, 50 percent chance of rain.

Mountains

Depending upon how you define “waterfall,” the falls known as Upper and Lower Whitewater on the North Carolina/South Carolina line south of Cashiers may be the highest in the eastern United States. Regardless of your persnicketiness regarding geographic precision, the Thompson River’s drop, in sections, of 400 feet is spectacular. And it’s the destination of Sunday’s hike by the Carolina Mountain Club. Total distance, on the Foothills Trail, is 11.6 miles and the hike is rated “strenuous.”

Logistics: Meet to carpool to trailhead at 8:30 a.m. Contact hike leader Don Gardner at 828.493.1127 or gardog3@bellsouth.net to reserve a spot and find out where to meet.

Weekend forecast: High of 41, 60 percent chance of precipitation, possibly snow.

* * *

Those are GGNC’s thoughts for an active weekend. Find out other ways you can get out this weekend by browsing our super calendar, a collection of events calendars from throughout the state, below.

Coast

CapeFearCoast.com
Comprehensive calendar for the Cape Fear/Wilmington/southern N.C. coast searchable by date and event name.

Coastal Guide
Comprehensive calendar including nature programs from a variety of costal conservation and research agencies that offer nature programs. Covers the entire coast.

Crystal Cost Tourism Authority
Comprehensive calendar focusing on the Crystal Coast. Good source for programs offered by N.C. Coastal Federation, Cape Lookout National Park, N.C. National Estuarine Research Reserve and other costal conservation and research agencies that offer nature programs.

NCCoast.com
Comprehensive calendar including programs for the Outer Banks and Crystal Coast.

North Carolina Coast Host
Comprehensive calendar for the entire coast that lets you search for events by day, by region, by county, by city or by event (based on key word).

This Week Magazine
Primary focus is the Crystal Coast (North Carolina’s coastal midsection).

Mountains

Asheville Citizen-Times
From the main page, click on “Outdoors,” then WNC Outdoors calendar.

Blue Ridge Outdoors
Searchable calendar lets you extend your reach to events throughout the mid-Atlantic and Southeast (or you can just limit it to North Carolina). Also lets you search a boatload of categories, ranging from Hiking, Mountain Biking and Climbing to Trail Running, Triathlon and Road Walking.

The Mountain Times
From the main page, click on “Calendars,” then Main Events.

Todd’s Calendar

Piedmont

Charlotte

Charlotte Observer events calendar
Comprehensive calendar searchable by category, including Nature, Recreation, Recreation & Wellness, Running

Charlotte Parent
Comprehensive calendar concentrating on things the family can do together.

Triad

GoTriad.com
Comprehensive calendar includes a Sports & Recreation category.

Piedmont Parent
Comprehensive calendar concentrating on things the family can do together.

Triangle

Triangle.com
Comprehensive calendar searchable by category, including: Birding, Boating, Cycling, Nature, Rec & Wellness, Recreation, Running, Swimming, Tennis, Yoga.

Carolina Parent
Comprehensive calendar concentrating on things the family can do together.

Statewide

Office of Environmental Education
One calendar for the numerous Environmental Education Centers statewide.

North Carolina State Parks
Lets you search for programs at the state’s parks, recreation areas and natural areas by location, by month, by topic. To reach the calendar from the home page, click on “Education,” then “Fun & Free Programs at Parks.”

National Forests in North Carolina
From the home page, click on Carolina Connections for news updates on the state’s four national forests as well as hints on recreational opportunities and a detailed rundown of recreation areas and the amenities at each.

U.S. National Wildlife Refuges
Rundown, by month, of regular activities at the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service refuges in North Carolina.

* * *
Like us on Facebook and get health, fitness and outdoors news throughout the day.

GetGoingNC.com

Promote Your Page Too
 

The post This weekend: A good one to keep moving appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

• At GetGoingNC.com: Go to the left rail of the home page, look under “Where to Play in North Carolina” (highlighted in green). Run your cursor over “Camping”  and a drop-down menu gives you the option of “Winter Car Camping: 15 Year-Round Campgrounds” (which we recommend) and “Local Campgrounds.” Click on it and you’ll be given your five local options for the seven markets. Here, you’ll find the basic information for each campground, with the option for More info here to find additional details, which are on the Great Outdoor Provision Co. Web site.
• Your other option is to go directly to the Great Outdoor Provision site.

These are not the only options in each market. In fact, if you know of a campground that should be added, drop us a line and we’ll add it to the list.
Let the listings serve as a reminder that you don’t need to spend five hours behind the wheel to go camping. If you’ve got time to eat eat and sleep, you’ve got time to camp.

Find a campground:

• Chapel Hill
• Charlotte
• Greensboro
• Greenville
• Raleigh
• Wilmington
• Winston-Salem

Like us on Facebook and get health, fitness and outdoors news throughout the day.

GetGoingNC.com

Promote Your Page Too

The post Local campground, local escape appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

Piedmont

Charlotte

1. Colonel Francis Beatty Park, 4330 Weddington Road. 5.75 miles. Relatively flat singletrack loop that’s mildly technical. Good beginner venue.  Details here or call (704) 643-5725.

2. Lake Norman State Park, 159 Inland Sea Lane, Troutman. 17.5 miles. Rare North Carolina State Park singletrack is known for good flow and opportunities for beginners and advanced riders alike.  Details here or call (704) 528-6350.

3. National Whitewater Center, 5000 Whitewater Center Parkway. 17 miles. Well-groomed, well-marked trail network with good mix of beginner, intermediate and advanced trail. Bike rental included with price of admission to NWC, though you only need to pay parking fee to ride the trails. Details here or call (704) 391-3900.

Other trails of note: North Meck, Huntersville; Beech Springs/Poplar Tent, Concord; Sherman Branch, Midland; Anne Close Springs Greenway, Fort Mill, S.C.

More info: Charlotte Mountain Bike, Tarheel TrailBlazers.

Triad

4. Hobby Park, 2301 West Clemmonsville Road, Winston-Salem.  7 miles. Long-standing Triad mountain biking tradition, Hobby Park is geared toward more advanced riders. Details here or call (336) 727-8000.

5. Northeast Park, 3421 Northeast Park Drive, Gibsonville (use 4010 High Rock Road for GPS purposes). 5 miles. New network is gaining a reputation for fast flow. Details here or call (336) 375-2322.

6. Owls Roost/Bur Mill Park, 5834 Bur-Mill Club Road,  Greensboro. 5 miles. An oldie and enduring goldie for good reasons: one, the flow has been compared to a good mountain ride and two, the trail connects with others in Greensboro’s vast Watershed Lakes trail network. Details here or cll (336) 373-3800

Other trails of note: Country Park, Bald Eagle, Wild Turkey, Reedy Fork, Lake Brandt, Hagen Stone, Greensboro; Salem Lake, Horizon Park, Tanglewood, Winston-Salem.

More info: Greensboro Fat Tire Society, Mountain Biking in the Triad, Singletracks.com, Triad mtb.

Triangle

7. Carolina North, 1089 Municipal Drive, Chapel Hill. 20 miles (approximate). Mileage includes official trail on 750-acre holding of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and adjoining unofficial trail behind Seawell Elementary School. Mix of double and single track. Details here or call (919) 883-8930.

8. Harris Lake County Park, 2112 County Park Dr., New Hill. 8 miles. Clearly marked trail distinguishes beginner, intermediate and advanced trail, though advanced trail includes ride-arounds making even toughest trail accessible to most riders. Details here or call 919-3874342.

9. Lake Crabtree County Park, 1400 Aviation Parkway, Morrisville. 8 miles. The most popular trail network in the Triangle, in park because of its central location, in part because it’s very beginner friendly. Adjoins more challenging bandit trail and 13-miles of bike and bridle trail at neighboring Umstead State Park. Details here or call 919-460-3390.

Other trails of note: Little River Regional Park, Durham; Briar Chapel, Chapel Hill; New Light and Beaverdam, Falls Lake State Recreation Area; Legend Park, Clayton; Garner Recreation Park, Garner.

More info: TriangleMTB.com, Triangle Off-Road Cyclists.

Elsewhere in the Piedmont

10. W Kerr Scott Reservoir Trails: Dark Mountain, Overmountain Victory Trail, Fish Dam Creek Trail, Warrior Creek trails, Wilkesboro. 35 miles combined. These are popular destination trails: Get in shape, then come ride for the weekend on these well-designed and maintained trails. Beginners should start with the Overmountain Victory Trail. Details here.

11. Uwharrie Mountains: Keyauwee, Supertree, Wood Run Road trails. 22 miles combined. 10 miles west of Troy on NC 24/27. Longtime trail network underwent a facelift in 2011, to rave reviews. Wood Run is 11 miles of easy, aerobic fire road, Supertree is 5 miles of easy to moderate singletrack, Keyauwee is 6 miles of more challenging singletrack. Details here and here.

Mountains

12. Bent Creek Experimental Forest, Asheville. 24 miles. A big trail network of singletrack and double track on its own, it connects with other trails in the region to create some true epic rides. Proximity to Asheville makes it especially popular. Details here or call 828-667-5261.

13. Davidson River area of Pisgah National Forest, Brevard. 100+ miles. Davidson River campground makes a great base camp for exploring this vast network of trail, the Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education and Fish Hatchery is where several of the top trails depart. Some trails are only open to mountain biking from mid-October into spring. Details here.

14. DuPont Forest, between Hendersonville and Brevard. About 100 miles of all kinds of trail, from challenging double track to challenging singletrack to slickrock. Great scenery, with lots of waterfalls. Details here.

15. Kitsuma, Old Fort. 10 miles. The climb up 14 switchbacks is a grind, but the payoff is four miles of fast, rolling mostly downhill that make Kitsuma a Pisgah classic. Details here.

16. Mills River area of the Pisgah National Forest, Mills River. 82 miles. Adjoining the Davidson River area, this is another classic Pisgah collection. Most notable are the Fletcher Creek and Laurel Mountain trails. Details here.

17. Tsali Recreation Area, NC 28 at FS 1286, Bryson City area. 40 miles. Fee. Long noted for its great flow and mileage,  Tsali consists of four big loops. Mountain bikers, hikers and equestrians share the trails, with useage split up by day of the week. Details here.

More info: MTB WNC, Pisgah Area SORBA, Singletracks.com.

Coast

18. Bicycle Post, Short Bridge Road near Kings Crossing Road, Greenville. 10 miles. ($2 fee for non EC Velo Club members). Lots of trail on a small parcel of private land (hence the fee) and a remarkable — this is the coastal plain, after all — 500 feet of vertical climbing throughout. Details here or call (252) 756-3301.

19. Blue Cay,  3950 Juvenile Center Road, Castle Hayne (Wilmington area). 7 miles. Great example of a great bandit trail network evolving into a great legal network. More technical challenge than you might expect at the coast. Details here.

Other trails of note: Stoney Creek Trail, Jacksonville; Brunswick Nature Park, Wilmington area.

More info: Singletracks, com, Sir Bikes-a-lot, Cape Fear SORBA (Southeastern Off Road Bicycle Association), Down East Cyclists.

The post Top places to mountain bike in North Carolina appeared first on GetGoing NC!.