True, the color change is yet to be pervasive. But there are a handful of places where you can get a feel for fall hiking right now. Today, we share some of our favorites. Most make the list because they’re along water, where fall color tends to first become evident. Some make the list because they have plenty of edge forest, where color also tends to pop early. All but one is in the piedmont — and the one that isn’t is pretty darn close. 

We use a bulleted, quick-hit format to share our findings. The less time you spend sifting through words, the more time that’s left for hiking. 

Falls Lake State Recreation Area

Durham, Wake counties

• Mountains-to-Sea Trail
• 60 miles of trail tracing the coves ducking in and out of this man-made lake.
• 14 access points, which stretches ranging from just under a mile to not quite 7 miles. Shuttles are easy to set up.
• Recommended stretch: Red Mill Road to Red Mill Road, 4.9 miles. Spends a little time on the north end along Falls Lake, spends a lot of time throughout clinging to edge forest. Very few hikers, making it and ideal hiking spot during the popular fall hiking season.

Details here

Greensboro Watershed Lakes

Greensboro

• Mountains-to-Sea Trail
• 42 miles of trail
  • Some multi-use, mostly the trail along the south shores of the lakes
• 14 access points
• Recommended: Piedmont Trail, 3 miles (one way), from near Strawberry Road, along north shore of Lake Brandt. Another generally quiet stretch of trail in fall, with constant exposure to Lake Bryant.

Details here

Lake James State Park

Nebo (Morganton)

Fonta Flora State Trail

• 30+ miles of trail
  • Some multi-use
• 3 access points
• Recommended: Fonta Flora State Trail leading east toward Morganton (it’s eventual destination to the east; to the west, it will extend to Asheville). Highlight: Right outside the park, the trail passes through the Fonta Flora Brewery!

Details here

Smith Mountain Lake State Park

Huddleston, Va

• 15 miles of trail
  • Some multi-use
• 8 access points
• 500 miles of shoreline (much of it, however, is private)
• Recommended: Striper Cove Trail, 3.1 miles, nearly all along the lake.

Details here

Lake Norman State Park

Troutman (Charlotte area)

• 38 miles of trail
  • Some multi-use
• 3 access points
• Cove hiking
• Recommended: Lake Shore Trail, 5 miles, most along coves

Details here

Moses Cone Memorial Park

Blue Ridge Parkway, Milepost 294 (near Blowing Rock)

• 25 miles of trail
• Access from the Manor House up top and Bass Lake at the base, in Blowing Rock
• Wide, smooth carriage trail paths
• Recommended: Bass Lake (bottom), Flat Top (top)

Details here

The post 6 Hikes for Early Fall Color appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

You have that option this Saturday when the N.C. Dept. of Natural and Cultural Resources’ Hometown Strong initiative leads two hikes totaling 9 miles on two State Trails. The trails in question: the Fonta Flora State Trail west of Morganton and the Wilderness Gateway State Trail just south of Morganton. Let’s take those hikes in order.

Fonta Flora State Trail

When: 9:30 a.m., Saturday, Sept. 14

Where: Lake James Visitor Center, Nebo

Details: 

• Difficulty level: moderate
• Distance: 5 miles total
• Estimated hike time: 2.5 hours
• We will take a short break at the turnaround point.

The trail: Authorized in 2015, the Fonta Flora State Trail eventually will connect Morganton and Asheville with a hiking and biking trail, a distance of about 100 miles. The trail will traverse Lake James State Park, part of Pisgah National Forest and Fonta Flora County Park in Burke County. It will also connect to the Overmountain Victory State Trail and the Mountains-to-Sea Trail. About 30 miles of the trail are currently complete. On this hike we will hike a 2.5-mile stretch (5 miles out-and-back) starting from the Lake James Visitor Center. 

The stretch we will hike spends time both along Lake James and in an inland forest. We will take a mellow pace for this hike.

For more info and to sign up, go here.

Wilderness Gateway State Trail

When: 2:30 p.m.,Saturday, Sept. 14

Where: Clear Creek Access, South Mountains State Park, Morganton

Details: 

• Difficulty: The Clear Creek portion of the hike is moderate to moderately strenuous, the Lake View portion moderate.
• Distance: 4.2 miles
• Estimated hike time: 2 hours

The Wilderness Gateway State Trail is one of the most recent additions to the North Carolina State Trails system – so new that it doesn’t yet exist. But N.C. State Parks and the Foothills Conservancy, the nonprofit administering the trail, have a pretty good idea of where it will go as it links the Hickory area with South Mountains State Park and Chimney Rock State Park; the 4 miles we will hike at the Clear Creek Access to South Mountains State Park is a good representation of what the Wilderness Gateway State Trail will be like.

On this hike, we will hike 1.5 miles out on the Clear Creek Trail, then return and hike a mile on the Lake View Trail. The former will give you a sense of the elevation gains in the area, the latter circles a mountain lake.

For more information and to sign up, go here.

It’s about a half hour drive from the Fonta Flora trailhead to the Wilderness Gateway trailhead. The morning hike should end around noon, leaving plenty of time to catch lunch and make the afternoon hike.

A great way of experiencing the future of North Carolina hiking today. For more about the Fonta Flora State Trail, the Wilderness Gateway State Trail and the state’s 12 other state trails, go here.

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Is there an avid birder in you eager to take flight? A good introduction would be Sunday’s Spring Bird Hike at Lake James State Park in Nebo. Lake James’ expansive shoreline (it runs for 150 miles) gets lots of bird action this time of year as migrants flee their wintering grounds in the south to head north for the summer. Warblers, vireos, tanagers, grosbeaks, buntings — they’re all making the trip. The session is at 8 a.m. More info here.

Until recently, exploring Turnbull Creek Educational State Forest in the coastal plain southeast of Fayetteville was a bit of a challenge, primarily because the educational forest was closed on weekends (when most of us have a chance to be educated). That’s no longer the case, with weekend hours recently added. In addition, they’re also offering guided hikes on the first Saturday of every month, starting this Saturday through October. The First Saturday – Guided Hike with a Ranger is short, about a quarter mile, but rich in education on the ways of a coastal plain forest. It’s free. For more info, go here.

Speaking of first Saturday’s, join the Triangle Land Conservancy for its First Saturday Hike at Brumley North this Saturday from 10 a.m. to noon. Brumley North, between Chapel Hill and Hillsborough, packs a wide array of ecological experiences — from hard oak forest, to grass fields, to boggy wetlands — along just 3 miles of trail. Learn more and register here.

Got a hankerin’ to roll up your sleeves and make something? A trail, perhaps? The Tar River Land Conservancy is looking for help Saturday to help build 1.3 miles of new trail at its Robertson Creek Nature Preserve in Creedmoor. Not only is the 3-hour Trail Building at Robertson Creek Preserve a good workout, it’s also a great way to see how a trail is designed and built. Starts at 8:45 a.m., ends noonish. New to trail building? No problem — you’ll be teamed up with an experienced trail builder. Learn more here. 

Weatherwise, there’s a chance of rain this weekend, mostly Saturday, and cooler temperatures. 

That’s far from everything going on this weekend, but it’s a good start. A great weekend, all-in-all, to GetOut! and explore!

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Looking ahead to summer hiking

We have three weekly hiking series scheduled for this summer:

• 

  GetHiking! Friday Morning Summer Hike Series, 8 hikes at 8 a.m. on trails in the western Triangle. More info here.

• GetHiking! 50+ Wednesday Evening Summer Hike Series, 10 hikes at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesdays, on trails in the western Triangle (plus popsicles at the end of each hike). More info here for single hikers, here for couples and families.
• GetHiking! Summer 2022 Hike & Paddle Series, 8 hikes, on Sunday mornings and Tuesday evenings, plus two paddle trips, on the Haw River and the Three Rivers Area in Durham County.  More info here.

 We also have three weekend hiking trips, all in the mountains on the Mountains-to-Sea Trail. Each weekend includes about 20 miles of guided hiking, camping, and meals. The trips are:

• Summer on the MST Weekend Escape to Doughton Park, June 10-12, go here.
• Summer on the MST Weekend Escape to Mount Pisgah, July 22-24, go here.
• Summer on the MST Weekend Escape to Price Lake, Sept. 9-11, go here.

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So we’ll focus on Saturday and Monday this week, with Monday being the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. Our thoughts … .

Saturday

Waterfowl Hike, 9 a.m., Lake Norman State Park, Troutman. One of the many joys this time of year is the great waterfowl migration along the Atlantic Flyway. And on the long trip from Canada south, these migrating waterfowl need to stop to rest and refuel every once in a while. It’s a bit like stopping at South of the Border on your way to Florida. For migrating waterfowl, it turns out that Lake Norman’s Park Lake is the Pedro’s of the waterfowl migration. Join a ranger for a walkabout to see what who’s migrating. Learn more here.

Winter Bird Hike, 9:30 a.m., Pilot Mountain State Park, Pinnacle. Another program for the birds, this one primarily focused on the park’s permanent residents. Bring ‘em if you’ve got ‘em (binos, that is). Learn more here.

Oh, Deer! 2-3 p.m., Blue Jay Point County Park, Raleigh. In this installment of the park’s Family Wildlife Series you’ll learn about the neighbors we all have today — deer. Why are they everywhere? Come find out. Free, but registration is required. More info here.

Monday

George Washington Carver Memorial Hike, 10 a.m., Lake James State Park., Nebo. We love a hike with a little history, especially if it’s history we’re only vaguely familiar with. On this hike, for instance, you’ll learn about crop rotation and the scientist who pioneered the concept, George Washington Carver. Learn more here.

Next weekend

The forecast for next weekend is winter perfect for being out in the woods. Good to hear, since we’ll be holding our first GetHiking! Weekend Escape of the year, at Jones Lake State Park southeast of Fayetteville. Two days of hiking around Jones Lake, two nights of stargazing under one of the least light-polluted skies in the state. Learn more and sign up to join us here.

Parting thought

Another possibility for Saturday: chopping firewood and stocking up on provisions. The forecast appears to be trending away from powder, more toward power outage.

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So with our predilection for post-sunset saunters, we were pleased to see that as part of Merchants Millpond State Park’s Holiday Decorations program with Gates County Community Events, the park will also be closing later, at 8 p.m. as opposed to 6 p.m., both this Friday and Saturday and next (Dec. 10, 11, 17 and 18). That means you can come and check out the holiday decorations, then enjoy about three hours of nocturnal navigation. 

Merchants Millpond (pictured above) is an especially intriguing spot for a night hike. It’s setting in the swampy northeast corner of the state (it’s a neighbor to the Great Dismal Swamp) gives it a “Creature from the Black Lagoon” feel — at night. Spanish moss drips from bald cypress and tupelo gum, casting eerie shadows on a breezy night. A chorus of frogs in the surrounding wetlands provides a surreal soundtrack. And there’s the park’s “Enchanted Forest.” Again, all this in the dark.

Learn more about how to take advantage of Merchants Millpond after dark and enjoy the park’s holiday decorations by going here.

* * *

Two loves of mine from childhood: 1. Being outside, 2. Reading. That may explain why an event Sunday at 12:15 p.m. at Lake James State Park captures our fancy. The event: Story Walk: ‘The Hike.’ Targeted to preschool and kindergartners, the event focuses on the book, “The Hike,” by Alison Farrell. According to Goodreads.com: “This book tells the story of three girls’ friendship—and their tribulations and triumphs in the great outdoors. Here is the best and worst of any hike: from picnics to puffing and panting, deer-sighting to detours.” In short, it sounds like just the thing to spark an impressionable youngster’s love of the outdoors.

Learn more about “The Hike,” the book, here, the “The Hike”, the hike, here.

* * *

Here’s another thing we love: winter. Specifically, exploring the outdoors come winter. This isn’t the place to wax about our love of the season (but this is). Suffice it to say it’s a misunderstood season, one that could, like so many things, be better appreciated with a little knowledge. Knowledge like the kind you’ll get Sunday at 2 p.m. at Lake Crabtree County Park in Morrisville, when a naturalist talks about the winter woods. 

On the Winter Tree Walk you’ll “learn about some evergreen plants that are still brightening up the landscape and try to identify some trees that have lost their leaves for the winter.” 

Free, but preregistration is required, by going here.

* * *

As I mentioned at the top, I love a night adventure. Rarely, though, do we see a night adventure that extends from one day into the next. But if you want to catch the peak of a meteor shower, that’s the price you must pay. And that’s the only price for the Geminid’s Meteor Shower program Monday and Tuesday at West Point on the Eno city park in Durham.

Starting at 10 p.m. Monday and lasting until 2 a.m. Tuesday, you can hang out at West Point’s Eno Environmental Educational Pavilion and watch up to 120 meteors per hour streak across the sky. Again, the event is free but space is limited and preregistration is required, by going here.

Weekend Weather: It gets toasty (and perhaps a little wet) Saturday, with temperatures rising into the low 70s; a late-day cold front Saturday brings temperatures back into the seasonal range Sunday, with highs in the low 50s. Get a more specific forecast for where you are here.

Explore with us!

We have all sorts of GetHiking! hikes and trips planned for winter, including our just-begun Holiday Hiker series, with hikes Sunday afternoon, Tuesday evening, Friday morning and on the Wednesdays preceding Christmas and New Years. Check out the action here.

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