Piedmont

Charlotte

1. Colonel Francis Beatty Park, 4330 Weddington Road. 5.75 miles. Relatively flat singletrack loop that’s mildly technical. Good beginner venue.  Details here or call (704) 643-5725.

2. Lake Norman State Park, 159 Inland Sea Lane, Troutman. 17.5 miles. Rare North Carolina State Park singletrack is known for good flow and opportunities for beginners and advanced riders alike.  Details here or call (704) 528-6350.

3. National Whitewater Center, 5000 Whitewater Center Parkway. 17 miles. Well-groomed, well-marked trail network with good mix of beginner, intermediate and advanced trail. Bike rental included with price of admission to NWC, though you only need to pay parking fee to ride the trails. Details here or call (704) 391-3900.

Other trails of note: North Meck, Huntersville; Beech Springs/Poplar Tent, Concord; Sherman Branch, Midland; Anne Close Springs Greenway, Fort Mill, S.C.

More info: Charlotte Mountain Bike, Tarheel TrailBlazers.

Triad

4. Hobby Park, 2301 West Clemmonsville Road, Winston-Salem.  7 miles. Long-standing Triad mountain biking tradition, Hobby Park is geared toward more advanced riders. Details here or call (336) 727-8000.

5. Northeast Park, 3421 Northeast Park Drive, Gibsonville (use 4010 High Rock Road for GPS purposes). 5 miles. New network is gaining a reputation for fast flow. Details here or call (336) 375-2322.

6. Owls Roost/Bur Mill Park, 5834 Bur-Mill Club Road,  Greensboro. 5 miles. An oldie and enduring goldie for good reasons: one, the flow has been compared to a good mountain ride and two, the trail connects with others in Greensboro’s vast Watershed Lakes trail network. Details here or cll (336) 373-3800

Other trails of note: Country Park, Bald Eagle, Wild Turkey, Reedy Fork, Lake Brandt, Hagen Stone, Greensboro; Salem Lake, Horizon Park, Tanglewood, Winston-Salem.

More info: Greensboro Fat Tire Society, Mountain Biking in the Triad, Singletracks.com, Triad mtb.

Triangle

7. Carolina North, 1089 Municipal Drive, Chapel Hill. 20 miles (approximate). Mileage includes official trail on 750-acre holding of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and adjoining unofficial trail behind Seawell Elementary School. Mix of double and single track. Details here or call (919) 883-8930.

8. Harris Lake County Park, 2112 County Park Dr., New Hill. 8 miles. Clearly marked trail distinguishes beginner, intermediate and advanced trail, though advanced trail includes ride-arounds making even toughest trail accessible to most riders. Details here or call 919-3874342.

9. Lake Crabtree County Park, 1400 Aviation Parkway, Morrisville. 8 miles. The most popular trail network in the Triangle, in park because of its central location, in part because it’s very beginner friendly. Adjoins more challenging bandit trail and 13-miles of bike and bridle trail at neighboring Umstead State Park. Details here or call 919-460-3390.

Other trails of note: Little River Regional Park, Durham; Briar Chapel, Chapel Hill; New Light and Beaverdam, Falls Lake State Recreation Area; Legend Park, Clayton; Garner Recreation Park, Garner.

More info: TriangleMTB.com, Triangle Off-Road Cyclists.

Elsewhere in the Piedmont

10. W Kerr Scott Reservoir Trails: Dark Mountain, Overmountain Victory Trail, Fish Dam Creek Trail, Warrior Creek trails, Wilkesboro. 35 miles combined. These are popular destination trails: Get in shape, then come ride for the weekend on these well-designed and maintained trails. Beginners should start with the Overmountain Victory Trail. Details here.

11. Uwharrie Mountains: Keyauwee, Supertree, Wood Run Road trails. 22 miles combined. 10 miles west of Troy on NC 24/27. Longtime trail network underwent a facelift in 2011, to rave reviews. Wood Run is 11 miles of easy, aerobic fire road, Supertree is 5 miles of easy to moderate singletrack, Keyauwee is 6 miles of more challenging singletrack. Details here and here.

Mountains

12. Bent Creek Experimental Forest, Asheville. 24 miles. A big trail network of singletrack and double track on its own, it connects with other trails in the region to create some true epic rides. Proximity to Asheville makes it especially popular. Details here or call 828-667-5261.

13. Davidson River area of Pisgah National Forest, Brevard. 100+ miles. Davidson River campground makes a great base camp for exploring this vast network of trail, the Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education and Fish Hatchery is where several of the top trails depart. Some trails are only open to mountain biking from mid-October into spring. Details here.

14. DuPont Forest, between Hendersonville and Brevard. About 100 miles of all kinds of trail, from challenging double track to challenging singletrack to slickrock. Great scenery, with lots of waterfalls. Details here.

15. Kitsuma, Old Fort. 10 miles. The climb up 14 switchbacks is a grind, but the payoff is four miles of fast, rolling mostly downhill that make Kitsuma a Pisgah classic. Details here.

16. Mills River area of the Pisgah National Forest, Mills River. 82 miles. Adjoining the Davidson River area, this is another classic Pisgah collection. Most notable are the Fletcher Creek and Laurel Mountain trails. Details here.

17. Tsali Recreation Area, NC 28 at FS 1286, Bryson City area. 40 miles. Fee. Long noted for its great flow and mileage,  Tsali consists of four big loops. Mountain bikers, hikers and equestrians share the trails, with useage split up by day of the week. Details here.

More info: MTB WNC, Pisgah Area SORBA, Singletracks.com.

Coast

18. Bicycle Post, Short Bridge Road near Kings Crossing Road, Greenville. 10 miles. ($2 fee for non EC Velo Club members). Lots of trail on a small parcel of private land (hence the fee) and a remarkable — this is the coastal plain, after all — 500 feet of vertical climbing throughout. Details here or call (252) 756-3301.

19. Blue Cay,  3950 Juvenile Center Road, Castle Hayne (Wilmington area). 7 miles. Great example of a great bandit trail network evolving into a great legal network. More technical challenge than you might expect at the coast. Details here.

Other trails of note: Stoney Creek Trail, Jacksonville; Brunswick Nature Park, Wilmington area.

More info: Singletracks, com, Sir Bikes-a-lot, Cape Fear SORBA (Southeastern Off Road Bicycle Association), Down East Cyclists.

The post Top places to mountain bike in North Carolina appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

Explore Cherry Point via a triathlon, participate in the VIII Lake Lure Olympiad or try your hand (and feet and sense of balance) with yoga on a paddleboard. Just another summer weekend in North Carolina.

Coast

I’m partial to events on military bases, in part because it gives civilians such as myself access to the otherwise inaccessible, to a world we otherwise don’t get a chance to see. That exposure is compounded when the event is a triathlon, which lets you run and ride through these forbidden lands.

Saturday is your chance to explore the Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point near Havelock as part of the MCAS Cherry Point Spring Triathlon (and relay triathlon). You may not see much unusual (or at all) on the 400-meter swim, but the 10-mile bike ride and 3.1-mile run should be revealing. Awards to the top three finishers in each age category and everyone who survives gets a medal. $45 to race, $120 for teams.

Logistics: Race starts at 7:30 a.m. More info here.

Saturday forecast: High of 84, 60 percent chance of rain.

Piedmont

Yoga Paddleboarding: Now that’s something I’d pay to see. And, perhaps, participate in if the water temperature is above 80.

Yup, it’s exactly what it sounds like: Paddle out on a Stand Up Paddleboard and downward dog you go. An interesting mix, guaranteed to keep you in line, balancewise.

Logistics: Saturday at Lake Norman, 4-6 p.m. Sponsored by Gotta Yoga and Stride Stand Up Paddleboards. $89 (includes board). 540.315.4441 to sign up, here for more information.

Saturday forecast: High of 84, 40 percent chance of rain.

Mountains

Hickory Nut Gorge is the place to be this weekend if you’re into any of the following: running a 10K (the 10K Dam Run), doing a triathlon (the Lake Lure Triathlon), a one-mile open water swim, running a 5K (the Race to the Rock 5K) or doing a 25-mile bike race. They’re all part of the 8th Annual Lake Lure Olympiad, sponsored by the Rumbling Bald Resort and Rutherford Regional Health System.

Logistics: Events begin Friday and run through Sunday. Go here for more information.

Weekend forecast: Highs in the low 80s, partly cloudy Saturday and Sunday, 20 percent chance of precip Friday.

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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.

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The post This weekend: Tri, or try yoga paddleboarding appeared first on GetGoing NC!.