There’s a pretty good looking weekend ahead, with a little rain possible Saturday, warmer temperatures on Sunday. Both days look good for getting out.
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).read more
It has been warm of late. Hot, even. And humid. Boy, has it been humid. But there’s nothing like working up a good sweat, is there? Even if you’re just dashing to your car to go to the store.
Well savor it while you can, people, because it won’t be summer forever! The fall equinox is just 40 days off, and Labor Day, the emotional start of fall, is just 24 days away. So take advantage of the heat while you can. This weekend, for instance:read more
It’s gonna be one summery weekend, with temperatures in the 90s throughout most of our adventuring region. Our recommendations for this weekend are with the heat in mind.
Stream Safari, Saturday, 2 p.m., Stone Mountain State Park, Roaring Gap. Water — clear, cool water — is a key component of this event, in which water bugs, water quality and staying cool are the focus. If you’re one of those folks who’ve always meant to visit Stone Mountain (but haven’t), here’s a good opportunity. And since Stone Mountain is likely a drive for many of you, we suggest also paying a visit to the park’s namesake, a 600-foot granite dome, via the 4.5-mile Stone Mountain Loop Trail (which also visits a 200-foot waterfall). Learn more about the hike here, the park here.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 or slide show 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.
Today’s 90-Second Escape: Southern Snowy Trail’s
For a lot of us, the weather outside is never too frightful to discourage a delightful romp. Such was the case with last week’s snow storm, which wreaked havoc during its debut, but laid the groundwork for several days of rare snowy adventure in the Piedmont of North Carolina.
Today’s 90 Second Escape begins with a trail run at Lake Johnson during the storm’s opening moments on Wednesday, to its last hurrah on Sunday, on a GetHiking! Triangle hike at Umstead State Park, before temperatures in the 60s erase the last traces of white.
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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 or slide show 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.
Today’s 90-Second Escape: Late Spring at Lake Johnson
If you live in North Carolina, you likely experienced one of the most memorable Memorial Days, weatherwise, you can recall. Temperatures in the 70s, low humidity, cloudless skies. For all three days. Better weather you won’t find in these parts outside of mid-fall. Hopefully, you were able to take advantage.
Today, back-to-work day for many of us, was a little more seasonal. High in the mid-80s, higher humidity. Sunny skies, but with a late afternoon threat of rain. Summer weather has begun. If you’d forgotten what that’s like, we spent a few minutes with a video camera at Raleigh’s Lake Johnson. The good news? It may not be Memorial Day weekend weather, but not too bad all the same.
Enjoy this preview to summer.
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