Dragon boating Saturday on Lake Lure (see "Mountains").
Paddle a swamp, paddle someone else’s boat, paddle a dragon.
Coast
There’s great cache in being able to say you paddled the Great Dismal Swamp. After all, people have gone into the massive wetland in the northeast corner of the state (and southeast Virginia) and never come out. On Saturday’s Kayaking the Canal paddle at Dismal Swamp State Park you can earn both Dismal bragging rights and, since it’s ranger-led and on a canal, be assured that you will emerge unscathed (save, perhaps, a mosquito bite or two if you don’t later up beforehand).read more
Explore the largest overwintering population of waterfowl along the East Coast at Lake Mattamuskeet, learn who your winter hiking companions are, or hike the Celo community. It’s all possible this weekend in North Carolina.
Coast
This one is well worth the price considering its a waning chance to sit in on a nature program led by one of the state’s premier naturalists. Friday and Saturday, the N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences sponsors “Lake Mattamuskeet Adventure,” a chance to explore Lake Mattamuskeet and the neighboring Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge, which together represent one of the largest overwintering sites for waterfowl on the East Coast. Spend day both days — 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. — learning to identify the various waterfowl, raptors and other birds that spend the season here.read more
You’ll need a wet suit to participate in Saturday’s second annual North Carolina Surf to Sound Challenge, you won’t need a firearm to go on Saturday’s gunless deer hunt at Lake Crabtree, and you will need skis or a board but not a lot of money to go skiing in the mountains.read more
Monday — never an easy time for the outdoors enthusiast. After a weekend of adventure, returning to the humdrum work-a-day world can make one melancholy. To help ease the transition, every Monday we feature a 90 Second Escape — essentially, a 90-second video of a place you’d probably rather be: a trail, a park, a greenway, a lake … anywhere as long as it’s not under a fluorescent bulb.read more
It’s another diverse weekend in North Carolina: Take a preseason plunge into the chilly Atlantic, run up a quartzite monadnock, or spy on your feathered friends (in the name of science).
Coast
Here’s a good opportunity to see just how sturdy your cardio is: The 8th Annual Special Olympics Polar Plunge Saturday at Carolina Beach. Picture yourself at the Le Mans-style start, you in your fetching bathing suit making a mad dash for the 51.3 degree waters of the Atlantic — all in support of Special Olympics. Related festivities — live entertainment, costume contest, auction, food, drawings for prizes — start at 11 a.m., the plunge takes place during the heat of the day, at 3 p.m. (air temperatures around 60 are forecast).read more
