Coast

If you’re simply looking for all-out fun this weekend, you can do no better than this weekend’s Cape Fear Kite Festival at Wrightsville Beach. This is a non-competitive kite-flying event, which means you should feel good about bringing your own homemade work of art. Yet it also attracts serious kiters, looking for one last chance to fly in the 2013 season.

Logistics: Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 2 and 3, all day, at the Shell Island Resort on Wrightsville Beach. More info: 910.520.1818.

Weekend forecast: Sunday’s looking better than Saturday. Click the link for the latest.

Piedmont

We know, we should be recommending hikes to catch the fall color, what with all the fall color and all. Yet we can’t help but think what great potential there is in Friday’s Night Hike at South Mountains State Park. South Mountains’ 40-mile trail network is ideal for hiking at night; much of the trail system is old roadbeds and as such, the trails are generally wide and devoid of the ankle-grabbing rocks and roots that trip so many of us up on our night hikes. Besides, you can always arrive a couple hours before the 6 p.m. hike and take in some park color on your own.

Logistics: Friday, Nov. 15, 6 p.m., South Mountains State Park, Connelly Springs. More info: 828.433.4772.

Friday forecast: Daytime high of 70 dropping to 45 at night, 80 percent chance of rain.

Mountains

It’s hard to think of a better way to spend the first weekend of fall, with sunny skies and highs forecast in the upper 50s, than by taking a hike. A hike, say, in the Pisgah National Forest southwest of Asheville, where the color is still good and you can begin to break out your cold weather gear. That’s the Carolina Mountain Club’s plan for Sunday, when they do a 14.5-mile loop hike encompassing Squirrel Gap and Horse Cove Gap in the Pisgah. If you’re unfamiliar with these trails, don’t be surprised; as the CMC notes, these are “lesser-used trails” that promise great scenery.

Logistics: Sunday, Nov. 3, 8:45 a.m. (carpool from Asheville). More info by contacting hike leader Carroll Koepplinger, 828-667-0723, carrollkoepp@bellsouth.net More info on the route, here.

Sunday forecast: High of 59, sunny skies.

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

The post This weekend: Kites ‘n’ hikes appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

Coast

Not long ago, a biathlon/duathlon typically meant running and swimming. More and more, it can mean pretty much anything. Such as running and paddleboarding.

That’s the case at Saturday’s Wrightsville Beach Biathlon, where participants will depart from the dock harbor side at the Blockade Runner, paddle four miles through Banks Channel, hop off the board and run four miles ending on the ocean front at the Blockade Runner. The race kicks off at 9 a.m., proceeds benefit StandUp for a Clean Ocean

910.256.2251 for more information.

Piedmont

Kite flying is one of those activities that gets woefully short shrift as a form of exercise. Think about it: You have to run a little to get the thing up in the air, it goes up — then you have to run after it to fetch it from three houses down when it inevitably crashes. Do that a couple dozen times in an afternoon and you’ve got a good workout.

Saturday, Cary’s Bond Park will be all about kites at the town’s 16th Annual Kite Festival. The event kicks off at 10 a.m. with a kite building clinic at the Cary Senior Center ($16 for residents, $21 for outsiders; registration for the clinic required: 919.469.4100). At 1 p.m. there’s a stunt kite demonstration by Kites Unlimited from Atlantic Beach, and at 1:45 the kite flying begins, by amateurs and pros alike, with awards to include Youngest Kite flier, Oldest Kite flier, Quickest Take-off and Best Tangle.

Here’s how to get to Bond Park.

Mountains

You may have mountain biked at Dupont State Forest and you may have hiked there. But have you ever run there? Saturday’s your chance, at the 11th Annual Dupont Forest 12K Trail Race. This rugged 10,000-acre playground near Brevard has some of the most accessible waterfalls in the state and an extensive trail network that exposes you to just about every inch of the forest.

Registration is $30 day of race, and there’s competition in a variety of age group categories. Race begins at 10 a.m.

More info here.

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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.

The post This weekend: kite flying, paddleboarding, trail running appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

You know what that means — time is running short to explore the outdoors before the weather gets really cold. A few of your options this weekend:

Coast

Few things make you feel like a kid more than flying a kite. The thrill of getting your kite airborne after a dogged sprint, watching it climb higher and higher into the wild blue, chasing after it over fences and through the neighbors’ backyards after the string snaps. Good times — and a good workout, too.

Head to Wrightsville Beach this weekend and feel like a kid again at the annual Cape Fear Kite Festival. Lots of hands-on opportunities, including kite-making classes for kids and stunt kite lessons — from certified stunt kite professionals — for all. You can also watch the best in the business put stunt kites through their paces and checkout an airborne parade featuring a wide array of funky kites.

The festival runs Saturday and Sunday, from 10 a.m.- 5 p.m. both days. More info here.

Piedmont

If you’ve done much hiking with the kids this fall, you’ve no doubt been bombarded with lots of challenging questions: Why did that leaf turn red but that one turned yellow? Why do they change color in the first place? How close are we to a restroom? It’s almost enough to make you want to curtail hiking until the leaves have all fallen and the forest is a cold, gray landscape.

Or maybe not. Especially when there are so many hikes out there where a trained naturalist leads you around and answers these questions for you. Once such hike is this Sunday, from 10-11 a.m. at Historic Yates Mill County Park in Raleigh. Take a hike and relax while someone with actual knowledge answers your kids questions. It’s free, for ages 6 and up.

More info here.

Mountains

You’ve been an avid greenway walker for years. Secretly, though, you yearn to tackle more challenging trail in the mountains. But your noviceness intimidates you, as does the notion of being out in the wild. You need some major handholding — not to mention some basic equipment.

That’s what you’ll get on a guided hike Sunday into Panthertown Valley led by Gary Eblen of Diamond Brand Outdoors, the Asheville outfitter. Maps and compasses are provided, daypacks and hiking poles are available as well. There’s a $25 fee, but that should buy you some reassurance as you explore an area often referred to as the Yosemite of the East. (It’s actually more of a diorama of Yosemite: cool, with waterfalls, towering pines, and an enchanted valley setting, just on a smaller scale. A good venue for a first-time forest explorer.

For more info and to reserve a spot, call 828.891.6585

* * *

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.

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.

The post Weekend plans? Two if by land, one if by air appeared first on GetGoing NC!.