Here are our 5 recommendations for the weekend.

Tanawha/Nuwati Wildflower Hike with a Park Ranger, Saturday, 2 p.m., Grandfather Mountain State Park, Banner Elk. This hike allots plenty of time (3 hours) to cover about 3 miles in search of spring wildflowers. You’ll want that time, too, to learn about the diverse terrain this hike covers along the southeastern flank of Grandfather Mountain. The hike begins at the Boone Fork Parking Area off the Blue Ridge Parkway (MP 299.9) and is limited to 15 hikers. Learn more here (including how to register).

Canoe Hike, Saturday, 2 p.m., Jones Lake State Park, Elizabethtown. Jones Lake is one of a half million Carolina bays in the Southeast, curious oval depressions whose existence has yet to be explained. Most of those bays have long since filled in, most of the remaining water-filled lakes are small, often less than 500 feet long. Jones Lake, however, is about 8,000 feet long and covers 224 acres, providing lots of room for exploring on this ranger-led paddle. All equipment is provided, participation is limited to 11 people, the first 11 people to register by calling 910.588.4550. Learn more here.

Naturalist Day Hike 2022, Saturday, Low Water Bridge Preserve, Montgomery County. The Low Water Bridge Preserve is in the Uwharrie Mountains, on the Uwharrie River just west of Ophir. On this hike, you’ll walk about 3 miles, with the main attraction the various neotropical migrating birds — warblers, vireos, tanagers, waterthrush and more — you’ll see along the way.  Your odds of seeing, or at least hearing, them? Darn good, since the hike will be lead by folks who know how to call a bird. Learn more here.

Lake Johnson Park Nature Explorers, Sunday, 1:30 p.m., Lake Johnson Nature Park, Raleigh. You know what most guided hikes lack? The chance to be a kid again, to flip logs and see what’s under them, to dig into the leaves and soil and see what’s going on, to see what’s living in creeks and streams. That’s the beauty of the Lake Johnson Nature Explorers events, because you can do all that and more with naturalists who can tell you what’s what. Learn more and sign up here.

Blood Moon Night Hike, Sunday, 8 p.m., Hammocks Beach State Park, Swansboro. We love night hikes for several reasons. For starters, there’s the light: this hike starts about 5 minutes before official sunset, then continues into the gloaming, with diminishing light for the next 25 minutes or so. Walking through dusk lets you participate in the natural world’s shift change, as daytime critters make way for their nocturnal cousins. You’ll also enjoy cooling temperatures, which becomes increasingly important as we head into summer.  And, of course, there’s the night sky on a night hike; on this particular night you’ll get to hike under the Blood Moon, a full moon that earns its distinction by occurring during a total lunar eclipse, which causes the moon to take on “a copper or reddish appearance.” This hike covers a half mile. Learn more here.

Again, a good weekend to GetOut! And explore.

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Night hike, anyone?

If Sunday evening’s Blood Moon hike tweaks your interest in evening hiking, then check out our upcoming GetHiking! Wednesday Night Hikes series, which begins Wednesday, May 18, and runs for 10 weeks. The hikes start at 6:30 p.m. and cover about 3 miles, wrapping up by 8. Apres hike frozen concoctions follow. Learn more and sign up to join us here.

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After a dang cold week we’re heading into a darn nice weekend, with mostly sunny skies and temperatures, brace yourself, reaching 60.

So if you’ve been hibernating so far this winter, now’s your chance to emerge from your den for an adventure. An adventure such as:

• Advanced Hike, Saturday, Feb. 2, 1 p.m. Hammocks Beach State Park, Swansboro. Hammocks Beach is taking a page from our Winter Wild hike series playbook with this 2.5-mile hike on trail that’s not yet trail. It’s a great chance to get a sneak peek at this emerging trail, the first at Hammock’s Beach itself, as it meanders through a mixed pine/hardwood forest bordering Queens Creek on newly acquired property. Expect downed trees, “possible fauna interaction,” and other potential obstacles on this ranger-led hike. Learn more and sign up here.
• Cox Mountain Hike, Saturday, Feb. 2, 1:30 p.m. Fews Ford Access, Eno River State Park, Durham. This hike begins with passage over the Eno on a suspension bridge, followed by 4-plus miles on trail up, over and around Cox Mountain. Nice stretches along the Eno included. More info and sign up here.
• 3 Mile History Hike, Sunday, Feb. 3, 2 p.m. Carvers Creek State Park, Spring Lake. If you’re new to hiking, you’ll love this flat-as-can-be 3-mile hike “exploring the millpond, silos, pavilion, and other historical farm buildings not yet open to the public.” More info here.

As always, you can find more opportunities this weekend here:

• North Carolina State Parks have a variety of adventures planned for the weekend. Check those options here.
• North Carolina Environmental Education Centers has an extensive calendar of what’s happening at its affiliates; check it out here.
• You can also find more adventures right here, at GetGoingNC.com

GetHiking! this weekend

As for GetHiking!, here’s what we’ll be up to this weekend:

GetHiking! Celebrate Groundhog Day at White Pines Nature Preserve, Saturday, Feb. 2, White Pines Nature Preserve, Pittsboro. e’ll loop together the preserve’s various trails for a 6-mile hike exploring the preserve’s variety of habitats, from fern-covered slopes to damp bottom-lands; mountain laurel and Catawba rhododendron cling to bluffs above the Rocky River. More info here.

GetHiking! Tuesday Night Hikes: Horton Grove Nature Preserve, Saturday, Feb. 2, 7 p.m., Horton Grove Nature Preserve, northern Durham County. Our lone Tuesday Night Hike on a Saturday, we’ll start in an open meadow (great for stargazing under a near new moon), then link together five trails for a 5.5-mile hike through a largely hardwood forest made barren by winter. The trails here are in especially good shape: if you’re a more experienced hiker but have never hiked at night, this is a prime opportunity to give it a try. Sign up and we’ll immediately send you a Night Hiking Tips sheet. Also: we leave no hiker behind on the trail: there will always be a hike leader with you. More info here.

To learn more about the Winter Wild hike series mentioned above, check out our next Winter Wild off-trail adventure, to the Uwharrie Mountains on Feb. 23, here.

Live the video

Today’s video was shot last weekend on the Mountains-to-Sea Trail along Falls Lake in Raleigh.  Learn more about exploring that stretch and the statewide trail as a whole, here.

The post GetOut! Your Nudge for Weekend Adventure appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

Look! Up in the Sky! Saturday night, Haw River State Park (8 p.m.) and Pettigrew State Park (8:30 p.m.). If it’s August it must be the Perseid meteor showers. Grab your camp chair or a blanket, sit (or lay) back and watch the best light show around. Remote Pettigrew, located in the remote coastal plain, an area with minimal light pollution, seems an especially good bet for a night of brilliant sparklers. More info here.

On the water. The dog days of August: the perfect time to be on the water. Here are three opportunities:

• Canoe the Mayo, Saturday, 10 a.m. – 2:30 p.m., Mayo River State Park, Mayodan (Triad). A rate opportunity to test drive a canoe on an intimate river. Canoe, paddles, personal flotation device provided; you need to provide a shuttle to get back to your car. More info here.
• Kayak Tour, Sunday, 8:30-11 a.m., Hammocks Beach State Park, Swansboro (coast). Follow a ranger and explore the marshland and ecosystems around this coastal state park. Kayaks, paddles, pfds provided. Free, but preregistration required, by calling 910.326.4881.
• Tubing at the Park, Sunday, 1 p.m., New River State Park, Connelly Springs (mountains). With paddling, you’re above the cool water, with tubing part of you is in it. More info here.

Find more adventure at the following:

• North Carolina State Parks has a variety of adventures planned for the weekend. Check those options here.
• North Carolina Environmental Education Center represents environmental ed centers across the state and has a calendar complete with every class and trip these centers are conducting. Find it here.
• Right here, at GetGoingNC.com.

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Hey, like the headline says: find your adventure (below) and hop to it.

Coast

Fess up: how many plastic bags of shells to you have from beach foraging sessions past? Lots, no doubt.

Did you know there are things you can do with those shells? Crafty things, things you might not have thought possible that you could use to spruce up your home or office? Better still, for those long week beach vacations, things that could keep the kids busy for an afternoon or two.

Learn “about some of the unique beach findings and what crafty ways can be applied with them” on a free clinic at Hammocks Beach State Park Sunday afternoon. Come before the 2 p.m. start, gather some fresh stuff, then discover how to craft a creation with it.

You will get a chance to build your own craft to take home.

Registration is required by contacting the park office: 910-326-4881.

Logistics: Coastal Craft Series, Sunday, April 16, 2 p.m., Hammocks Beach State Park, Swansboro.  Free, but registration is required, by calling 910.326.4881. More info here.

Sunday forecast: High of 80, sunny.

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Looking ahead: Nature Designs Art Festival and Earth Day Celebration, April 22, Raven Rock State Park, Lillington.

Piedmont

Are you a citizen scientist? Then use your skills for the forces of good over the next several days by representing the Triangle in the nationwide City Nature Challenge.

Says the sponsoring N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences, “This competition pits several American cities against each other to see who can document the most biodiversity on the iNaturalist app over a 5-day period. We’re going up against cities that are a lot bigger than we are (Los Angeles, Miami, San Francisco, Chicago, Boston, and others), but North Carolina’s amazing biodiversity and the great urban wildlife we see every day can help us win!”

It won’t be easy. “We likely need over 15,000 submissions to have a shot of taking home the gold, so we need YOUR help snapping photos of Triangle Area plants, animals, or fungi, April 14-18, and submitting them to iNaturalist by April 30. We’ve got prizes for the top three local contributors as a thank you, too!”

Intrigued? See Logistics, below, for how you can participate.

Logistics: City Nature Challenge, April 14-18, Triangle area. For more info, visit here or call 919.707.9800.

Weekend forecast: Highs around 80 under sunny skies.

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Looking ahead: Walk, Run Bike for Umstead, Saturday, April 22, Umstead Coalition fundraiser for Umstead State Park in Raleigh. More info here.

Mountains

We have a thing for Elk Knob State Park, and that thing is the view from atop Elk Knob. From its 5,520-foot summit you can see a wide swath of the northern North Carolina mountains and appreciate the unusual northern hardwood forest that dominates the region. It’s an especially great place for a guided hike, which is the plan Saturday, when a park ranger leads a 1-mile hike and discusses the park’s natural history along the way.

Logistics: Nature Hike, Saturday, 2 p.m., April 15, Elk Knob State Park, Todd. More info here.

Saturday forecast: High of 70 with a chance of afternoon thunderstorms.

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Looking ahead: Gateway to the Smokies Half Marathon, May 6, Waynesville. More info here.

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

Coast

The post This weekend: Hop like a bunny — there’s lots going on appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

The raindrops falling on many of our Tarheel heads (speaking of which, “Go Heels!”) as the work week draws to a close should dry up by the weekend. This week’s weekend recommendations come from the comprehensive events calendar kept by our friends at the N.C. Office of Environmental Education and Public Affairs. See the calendar section below for more info on the NCOEEPA.

Coast

One of our favorite hikes in the N.C. State Park system — and there’s stiff competition — is the Huggins Island History Hike at Hammocks Beach State Park. Hammocks Beach S.P. is a curious park: while the Visitor Center is on the mainland, its recreational anchors are islands accessed via the Intercostal Waterway. There’s Bear Island, for instance, served by ferry much of the year and easily the park’s most popular asset. Then there are lesser-known bodies, such as Huggins Island.

On this hike, the next edition of which is Sunday, you’ll boat out to the island and explore both the island’s natural attributes and its human history, from the folks who have tried to tame the island to its role during the Civil War.

Logistics: Huggins Island History Hike, Sunday, April 2, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m., Hammocks Beach State Park, Swansboro. Free, but space is limited and registration is required, by calling the park office at 910.326.4881.

Sunday forecast: Sunny and 71.

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Looking ahead: Wilmington Earth Day Festival, Saturday, April 22, Hugh MacRae Park, Wilmington. More info here.

Piedmont

Our state is filled with little gems of nature, gems embedded in some of the most unlikely places, yet right under our noses. Gems we often have no idea exist, even if they exist right down the road.

One such gem is the Horseshoe Farm Nature Preserve, which sits in a 146-acre tear of land created by an oxbow in the Neuse River, in Wake Forest. Part of Raleigh Parks & Rec, it’s a wonderful nature nook just off US 401. It’s a nice spot for a quiet escape, or to learn about nature, the latter being the case this Sunday. “Meadow Story and a Nature Walk” is just that: start with a story about a meadow, then walk about the meadow that dominates the preserve. Help propagate the local wildflower community along the way.

Logistics: “Meadow Story and a Nature Walk,” Sunday, April 2, 2-3 p.m., Horseshoe Farm Nature Preserve, 2900 Horse Shoe Farm Road, Wake Forest. Free, but registration is required, by going here. More info by dialing 919.870.2871.

Sunday forecast: Mostly sunny, high around 73.

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Looking ahead: Durant Family Campout, Saturday, April 22, Durant Nature Park, Raleigh. More info here.

Mountains

We’re all about active lifestyles here at GetGoingNC. We advocate movement of all sorts, from hiking and backpacking to mountain biking and paddling. Every once in a while, though, we realize we are only skimming the surface of what an active life is about. An hour or two or three a day? Ha! Try 18. As in farming.

Perhaps during the recent Farm-to-Table-fueled resurgence of the local farm, you’ve wondered if you have the right stuff to go all “Green Acres.” More so, you’ve likely wondered how on earth one gets into farming, and what it entails. Spend Saturday in Asheville and find out.

From 10 a.m. To 4 p.m., Lenoir Rhyne University sponsors “Farm Dreams? An Exploratory Workshop for Farm Dreamers.” Say the sponsors:

Discover and assess your resources, skills and farming intentions. Begin to develop an educational plan toward farming. Connect with regional training opportunities and support networks. Prioritize your next steps toward your farming goals. Hear from experienced farmers running successful farms in WNC.” 

Logistics: “Farm Dreams: An Exploratory Workshop for Farm Dreamers,” Saturday, April 1, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m., Lenoir Rhyne University, 36 Montford Ave., Asheville. $55. More info and register here

Sunday forecast: Mostly sunny and 63.

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Looking ahead: “Spring Wildflower Hike,” Saturday, April 22, Hendersonville. 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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