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.

The post 10 Hikes for Holiday Visitors appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

I ran into an old camping acquaintance Sunday in the Wilson Creek area Sunday and we spent a few minutes updating one another on our travels. Among her recent exploits: a February visit to Roan Mountain.
Roan Mountain in February? I thought. Risky business being above 6,000 feet in the dead of winter. A better time, I thought, would be … right now.
Massive Roan Mountain straddles the North Carolina/Tennessee line, and is popular for many reasons: its vast balds, sweeping views, and endless skies. What it’s best known for outside hiking circles are its expansive rhododendron gardens. These effusive pink blooms have come and gone in other parts of the state, but because of the higher elevation at Roan Mountain, the rhododendron are just now exploding — and just in time for the July 4 holiday weekend now upon us.
There are multiple ways to explore Roan beyond the traditional two-mile drive to the top ($3 entrance fee) and short walk to the actual gardens.
Here are four adventurous ways to celebrate the Fourth in Roan Highlands.

1. Hike to the gardens. Park in the lot atop Carver’s Gap, (elevation 5,500 feet) and hike south on the Appalachian Trail 1.5 miles to Roan High Knob. This is a more intimate, tree-enveloped hike: you won’t experience Roan’s great views on the way up, but you will, cloud-cover permitting, from 6,285-foot Roan High Knob. Between the elevation and the tree cover, this is an especially good hike option on a hot day. 3 miles out-and-back, moderate to strenuous.
2. Hike the balds. Also starting from Carver’s Gap, hike north on the AT. You’ll gain elevation quickly, passing through an isolated spruce-fir stand, then emerge into vast grassy balds offering 360-views of a who’s who of Southeast peaks. Round Bald (5,826 feet: 300-foot vertical gain in three-quarters of a mile) is your first stop, and you’d be justified if you wanted to plop down and spend the day here, marveling. Jane Bald (5,807 feet) beckons, just three-quarters of a mile beyond (a stretch where rhododendrons and flame azalea will be ablaze). Continue on to Grassy Bald (hanging a right turn off the AT) and top out at 6,189 feet. Now, you can kick back and settle in (though keep an eye on the sky; the weather here can change in an instant). 5 miles out-and-back, moderate.
3. Long hump to Hump Mountain. The Roan Highlands is defined as the ridge running from Roan Mountain north to 5,587-foot Hump Mountain, another stellar bald offering panoramic views. This option is for the hiker who wants to put in more mileage: 11 miles total. Start from the modest AT access point off US 19E and hike the AT north, gradually gaining elevation through a mellow draw. About four miles in, the trail gets rocky for a half mile or so, then emerges into open meadow for the climb up Hump Mountain. Return the way you came. 11 miles out-and-back, moderate to strenuous.
4. Short hump to Little Hump. Like the idea of experiencing a less-visited stretch of the Roan Highlands, but not so much the idea of hiking nearly 11 miles? From US 19E in North Carolina take the entertaining and ever-dwindling Roaring Creek Road north for about five miles to the Yellow Mountain Gap Trailhead. From there, it’s a quarter mile up an old dirt road to the AT. Go right (north) on the AT, initially through tight vegetation then emerging into yet another grassy expanse and the climb to 5,460-foot Little Hump Mountain. You’ve hiked about two miles so far (four miles roundtrip), another two gets you to Hump Mountain (eight miles roundtrip). Return the way you came. 4 miles out-and-back, moderate to strenuous.

* * *

If you go: I’ve never had the good timing to be on Roan Mountain at peak rhododendron bloom. If you go, help the rest of us live vicariously and share a photo or two on our Facebook page.

The post Four ways to celebrate the Roan Highlands appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

Sorry, that’s what I do when I get stressed — I babble, talk nonsense, confuse my blog with the blockbuster movie I envision making. Deep breath, count to 10 — better make it five, because really, who has time to count to 10 this time of year? So yes, over the next two days an expanded version of the story, which appears today in both papers.

Today, in a misery-loves-company gesture, I’ll share some survey findings on how your fellow Americans are dealing with holiday stress. These stats come from Liberty Mutual unless otherwise specified.

• 35 percent of Americans have spent beyond their financial means when buying gifts. 35 percent? An especially curious finding in light of the fact 42 percent of Americans in a SleepBetter.Org survey said they’re worried about how their going to pay their holiday bills.
• 61 percent of Americans agree that regifting is socially acceptable. If you’re tempted to regift, here’s a quick guide on how to do it successfully. If you’re in the fence, here’s an ethical take on the subject.
• 48 percent of Americans will buy fewer gifts this year. A dubious figure based on the amount of time it took me to park at Crabtree Valley Mall on Monday morning.
• 71 percent of Americans say it’s a good idea to establish a spending limit with those you plan to exchange gifts with. (The stat we’d like to see is how many people actually stick to that limit.)
• 73 percent of us stress over giving the “right” gift, according to FranklinCovey.
• 50 percent of Americans believe you should take into account how much the other person will be able to afford on a gift for you when deciding how much to spend on a gift for them. That’s either very thoughtful or very tit-for-tat.
• Stressed over who to tip for the holidays in a world where even the corner take-out joint solicits a gratuity? Here’s who we plan to tip in the spirit of the season: teacher, 55 percent; babysitter, housekeeper, hair stylist, mail carrier, all 41 percent.

• 

  $20 seems to be the consensus on an appropriate amount to spend on a holiday gift exchange.

• Most suspect stat we ran across: 86 percent of Americans plan to send greeting cards through the mail.
• Most compounding stat: During the holidays, already a time when people tend to overeat, 40 percent of adults in the American Psychological Association’s 2010 Stress in America survey said they overeat as a way to cope with holiday stress.
• First runner-up most compounding stat: 17 percent of kids surveyed said if their parents are stressed, that stresses them.
• 57 percent of Americans plan to give a gift to their co-workers, 42 percent will give a gift to their boss.

Photo at top: Ralphie appeared to have no stress over giving his teacher a rather lavish Christmas gift.

The post Stress by the numbers appeared first on GetGoing NC!.