Sure we dare, because they’re probably the first to admit that unless there’s not a cloud in the sky, unless the temperatures not 66 degrees (plus or minus 4 degrees), and unless there’s some pretty flower blooming or some tree putting on a color show, they’ll be doing things indoors, thank you.

But while the weather is perfect and pretty things are popping out of the ground, well, the trails are fair game. At least, the ones the seasonal know about. The ones that are easy to find and, for the most part, easy to hike.

Last week, we told you how to find those trails on your own. This week, we share five of our favorites (one of which we’re hiking this weekend!).

Butner-Falls of Neuse Game Lands

10+ miles of trail

Bahama

Recommended routes: 4.5 miles, 6 miles

In the Triangle, the two most popular places to hike are Umstead State Park with roughly 5,600 acres, and Eno River State Park with 4,319 acres. What if we were to tell you that there’s a on the north side of Falls Lake more than four times that size with miles of trail? Plus, it’s flat and rarely gets hiked? That should be enough — but we’ll give you a smidge more. The hiking here is open, on gravel access roads that pass meadows and impoundment ponds designed to attract wildlife. Especially good on cool days because of the exposure, especially good on Sundays, since these are gamelands (currently, there is no hunting on Sundays — or from Memorial Day through Labor Day). And again, flat and no crowds. Our guides (see below) highlight a 4.5-mile hike from the Butner Depot and a 6-mile hike from the Flat River Access.

Trailhead: Butner Depot: 4209 Brickhouse Road, Bahama; Flat River Access: Flat River Waterfowl Impoundment, 5094 Old Oxford Road, Durham.

More info here.

Uwharrie National Forest: Birkhead Mountain Wilderness lollipop loop

11.8 miles
Asheboro
Starting from the trailhead off Tot Hill Road, you’ll hike the Birkhead Mountain Trail south for two miles before hitting the popular loop that Boy Scouts, among others, have been using for years to cut their backpacking teeth. Where the Robbins Branch Trail enters from the right, continue straight on the Birkhead for two miles. Note along the way that despite the fact this is a designated wilderness, the trail is well blazed. After two miles, go right on the Hannahs Creek Trail, where, for the first time, you abandon ridgelines in favor of passages along holly-clogged creeks. After a mile and a half, go right on the Robbins Branch Trail, which climbs a rocky (for the Piedmont) ridgeline before dropping to its namesake creek and rejoining the Birkhead after 3.2 miles. Go left for the two-mile return to your car. You can filter water from Hannahs Creek and Robbins Branch, though both run low in summer and during dry weather.
Trailhead: 3091 Tot Hill Farm Road, Asheboro.
More info here.

Pilot Creek Trail

Pilot Mountain State Park

6.6 miles (out and back) 

When we first began recommending uncrowded trails more than a dozen years ago, we recommended the trails accessed at the summit of Pilot Mountain. But since 2012, those trails have been discovered: on nice weekends it can take a half hour or more just to score a parking spot up top. Now, our favorite Pilot Mountain trail is Pilot Creek, which starts from an access off Boyd Nelson Road north of the park and works its way along the north flank of the mountain to connect with the Grindstone Trail. Pilot Creek offers much of what hikers flock to Pilot Mountain for: rocky terrain and some moderately challenging climbs. You won’t get the views (it sticks to the base of the mountain), but you won’t get the crowds, either.

Trailhead: Pilot Creek Access, Pilot Mountain State Park, 382 Boyd Nelson Road, Pinnacle

More info here.

Rock Castle Gorge Loop

Rocky Knob Recreation Area, Blue Ridge Parkway (Virginia)

10.4 miles

This is one gorgeous hike that the masses aren’t likely to undertake. And they certainly aren’t going to pick it up from its hidden trailhead at the bottom of the gorge. Pick up the trail and hike counterclockwise, hiking up Little Rock Castle Creek through a spectacular hardwood forest. Mellow at first, the trail has a steep climb requiring some scrambling, before entering another mature hardwood forest and, shortly, reaching the Parkway. From there, it’s about 3.5 miles along the ridge, through several open meadows, before descending back into the gorge. The last 2.5 miles is a relaxing downhill along Rock Castle Creek.

Trailhead: Primitive camping trailhead at the base of the gorge, off VA 8. From the Blue Ridge Parkway near the Rocky Knob Campground, take VA 8 headed south. After 3.6 miles, go right on Rock Castle Road, which will terminate shortly at the trailhead. Hike in about 200 feet to pick up the trail.

More info here.

Bluff, Stream, Dam Site and Discovery trails melange

Medoc Mountain State Park, Hollister

6 miles

Medoc Mountain is on the cusp of the coastal plain, but its demeanor is decidedly Piedmont. Low hills are divided by the clear Little Fishing Creek, which carves a steep bluff on the south side of the park. We’ll hike atop that bluff, through splashes of holly and mountain laurel and past the site of the first winery in the U.S. (the park gets its name from a province in the Bordeaux region of France known for its vineyards). Perhaps best of all, because of its off-the-beaten-path location it is one of the least-visited state parks in North Carolina.

Trailhead: The Visitor Center is at 1541 Medoc State Park Road, Hollister, NC. The trailhead for the described is 1.3 miles to the south, off Picnic Area Road.

More info here.

* * *

GetHiking! Guides

We have guides from our GetHiking!- and GetBackpacking!-run trips for four of the hikes described. Check ‘em out by clicking on the appropriate link:

• Butner Game Land: Butner Depot Hike
• Butner Game Land: Flat River Access
• Birkhead Mountain Wilderness Hike
• Medoc Mountain loop

The post 5 Trails for avoiding Spring crowds appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

Though conditions haven’t been ideal for spotting early fall color — warm, sunny, dry days followed by cool nights — we are beginning to see some change. Last weekend, we saw sourwoods and dogwoods aflame at South Mountains State Park (a popular and close destination for Charlotte hikers), and even this week we’ve seen those first responders of fall start to light up the woods along the Eno River in Durham and Orange counties. With fall color in mind, we offer our thoughts on the weekend. 

Fall Foliage Hike, Saturday, 10 a.m., Stone Mountain State Park, Roaring Gap. Located at the base of the Blue Ridge Escarpment, Stone Mountain does seem a likely place to catch early fall color. On this ranger-led hike you’ll explore some of the best places to find that color, and you’ll also be able to learn about the trees in question and what causes the change. Learn more here.

In the Pines Guided Hike, Saturday, 10 a.m., Gorges State Park, Sapphire. While the focus of this hike is pine trees, there’s a good chance you’ll see some early fall color in this rugged and diverse park, which contains 21 of the 44 natural community types found in the mountains of North Carolina. Learn more here.

Swoop In: Fall Hawk Watch, Sunday, noon to 3 p.m., Jockey’s Ridge State Park, Nags Head. You won’t see fall color at the coast, but you will experience another fall phenomenon: the fall hawk migration. Hang out on the dunes, learn about hawks and their fall migration, and participate in the international hawk count project. Learn more here.

If you’re planning to find color on your own, a reminder that last week in this space we wrote about the best ways to find fall color is currently busting out. Find that blog, with numerous resources, here.

Our last thought: this won’t help you find fall color but it could help you find something even more valuable: your way out of the woods. Saturday at 9 a.m., we’re holding our monthly GetOriented! Finding Your Way in the Woods clinic, at Umstead State Park in Raleigh. We spend a half hour going over map and compass skills, then head down the trail and off to help you test your newfound skills and relate what your map and compass are telling you to the world around you. Learn more and sign up here.

Whatever you do this weekend, remember to GetOut! And enjoy!

Hikes for fall

Some trail just lend themselves to certain seasons more than others. We identify six of those trails, in the Piedmont, in two of our GetHiking! Guide compilations. 

• Piedmont: 3 Hikes for Fall. Learn why the Cane Creek Natural Area, Seven Mile Creek Natural Area and Day-Hike Section L of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail along Falls Lake are especially good all-around fall hikes. Download the guide here.
• Piedmont: 3 Hikes for Mid Fall. Jordan Lake State Educational Forest, the Fews Ford Access at Eno River State Park and MST Day-Hike Sections Q and R highlight this collection, which you can download here.

The post GetOut! A Fall-like Weekend Awaits appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

And to get you out on the trail this weekend, we’re offering our hiking guides to you for 50 percent off. 

What’s so special about these guides? you ask.

If you’re an avid hiker and know the local trails well, probably nothing. These guides are aimed at folks who: 

• Don’t hike as much 
• Aren’t sure where to go
• Are nervous about exploring a trail on their own, especially a new one

Our GetHiking! guides help take the mystery out of a trail by including: 

• Overview of the hike so you can tell if it’s something that appeals to you 
• A short video, to give you an even better feel for the experience
• Key details such as how to get to the trailhead, distance, difficulty, trail length, type of hike (loop, out-and-back), whether there are restrooms at the trailhead, kid friendliness, whether dogs are allowed and more.
• A custom map showing the route
• A detailed route description

We also have packets that include hikes with a common theme. For instance:

• 3 Hikes for Avoiding the Masses. Avoiding the crowded trails of fall can be a challenge. You’ll encounter far fewer people on these trails. Check it out here.
• 5 Great Hikes for Beginners. Just getting into hiking, or just coming back after a hiatus? These 5 hikes are suited for newbies. Check it out here.
• 5 of Our Favorite Land Trust Hikes. If nature is hiking’s big draw for you, these 5 hikes on land trust properties should be especially appealing. Check it out here.
• 5 Great Short Hikes. Short on time? These hikes of 2 to 3 miles are ideal quick escapes. Check it out here.
• 3 Hikes for Fall. These would seem especially appropriate, no? Check it out here.

Don’t let a little uncertainty keep you from enjoying a gorgeous September weekend on the trail. You can find all of our hikes here. And, through Sunday, if you enter the code GETOUT at checkout, you’ll get 50 percent off.

A little direction will help you get the most out of the weekend. GetOut! And enjoy!

The post GetOut! The Weekend Forecast? Go for a Hike! appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

Meaning?

We’re not really sure what’s going to happen. 

Action?

Plan your weekend as usual, but before heading out, check the radar. It will be pleasantly warm this weekend — perhaps topping 80 in the Piedmont, but mostly in the upper 70s — but not hot enough to generate those pop-up storms that come from nowhere. (And no, I am not a meteorologist, just a guy who’s spent most of his life poking a wet index finger in the air to gauge the weather.) Thus, if you check the radar of choice of your weather app, you’ll be able to fairly accurately judge what’s coming, at least within the next few hours. If your radar has a projection function, engage it to see where the weather is likely headed.

Then, head out and look for wildflowers!

Though the trout lilies have passed — narrow bloom window, they — so many other wildflowers are now in bloom. Spring beauties, which first appeared in February? Still abundant. Just this week we’ve also seen star chickweed, common chickweed and sticky mouse-ear chickweed; early saxifrage, violets, bluets, rue-anemone, Dutchman’s breeches (pictured above) and more. 

Where can one find spring wildflowers this weekend? 

For starters, Grandfather Mountain State Park kicks off its popular Spring wildflower hike series Saturday with a mellow 3-hour hike on the Profile Trail, along the Watauga River. Space is limited, preregistration is required, by calling 828.963.9522 or by emailing grandfather.mountain@ncparks.gov. Find more info here.

And here are some recommendations for some of our favorite wildflower hikes:

• GetHiking! Guide to Brumley Forest North in Hillsborough. A 3.5-mile trail network made for a weekend like this: you can hike one trail, you can hike ‘em all, if the weather holds. Find it here.
• GetHiking! Guide to Hiking Raven Rock’s Bridle Trails. Hankerin’ for a longer hike? These two 4-mile loops start from the same trailhead: finish the West Loop and the coast (or, rather, the sky) is clear? Tack on the East Loop for an even 8. Find it here.
• Brumley Forest North Nature Preserve, Chapel Hill. Just over 3 miles of trail takes you through a variety of terrain, including several open areas — meadows, farm ponds — where you can take in the warming sun. Check out our guide, here.
  Confluence Natural Area, Hillsborough. Where the east and west branches of the Eno River meet you’ll find this 200-acre preserve operated by the Eno River Association. About 2 miles of trail, much of it along the Eno’s intimate beginnings. Check out our guide, here.
• Eno River Fews Ford 7-Miler, Eno River State Park, Durham. We crafted this hike out of five trails in the park’s Fews Ford Access with the goal of quickly escaping weekend crowds and enjoying a quieter, more laid-back Eno. The Shakori Trail was in particularly fine wildflower form earlier this week. Check out our guide, here.
• Three daffodil hikes. Where there are daffodils, a sturdy perennial that blooms as early as January, there are typically wildflowers to follow. Find three of our favorite hikes from above — Brumley Forest North, Confluence Natural Area and the Eno River Fews Ford 7-Miler — in this package. Check out our guide, here.
• 5 Great Short Hikes in the Triangle. Short hikes of less than 4 miles perfect for beating a looming storm — and finding wildflowers. Find it here.

Find all of our GetHiking! Trail Guides here.

The post GetOut! Possible thunderstorms, definite wildflowers appeared first on GetGoing NC!.