Lake Waccamaw Archives - GetGoing NC!

This weekend: A Day to Get Out and Celebrate Mother Earth

JoeMiller — Thu, 20 Apr 2017 15:45:42 +0000

A previous night hike at Mount Jefferson State Natural Area

It’s little surprise that there’s lots going on in the great outdoors this Earth Day weekend. Saturday alone (the actual Earth Day), the N.C. Office of Environmental Education lists more than 50 events on its calendar. Lots to choose from; here are some we especially like.

Coast

One way to approach Earth Day is to use it as an opportunity to visit a place you’ve yet to explore. Lake Waccamaw State Park, for instance. Lake Waccamaw is one of the few remaining water-filled Carolina Bays, the focal point of a 2,176-acre state park that sits off the beaten path in the southeastern coastal plain.

Saturday, the Lake Waccamaw Friends celebrates this gem with a day of fun, including a 5K and a cornhole tournament. There’s live music, kids events, food and more. And the chance to learn more about the lake.

Logistics: Lake Waccamaw State Park Friends’ Earth Day 5K and Cornhole Tournament, Saturday, April 22, 8 a.m. – 7 p.m., Lake Waccamaw State Park, Lake Waccamaw. $10 5K fee, $20 for the family. More info here.

Saturday forecast: Hi of 86, chance of thunderstorms.

* * *

Lake Waccamaw

Looking ahead: Millpond Day 5K Family Fun Run/Walk, Saturday, April 29, Merchants Millpond State Park, Gatesville. More info here.

Piedmont

What better way to celebrate Earth Day than with a celebration of some new earth. OK, the earth itself isn’t new — it’s been around a while. But Brumley Forest is new earth in the sense that it’s a new slice of earth for us to explore, courtesy the Triangle Land Conservancy.

Brumley Forest brings to seven the number of TLC preserves open to the public in the Triangle region. Perched on 613 rolling, forested acres in Orange County (between Durham and Hillsborough), the preserve has 5.5 miles of hiking-only trail and nearly 9 miles of multi-use trail, the first trail in the TLC system open to mountain biking. Saturday’s festivities will include guided hikes and mountain bike rides, nature activities, yoga, food trucks, local beer — plenty to keep you busy during the 8-hour celebration, which kicks off at 9 a.m.

Logistics: Brumley Nature Preserve Grand Opening, Saturday, April 22, 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Brumley Preserve, 3055 New Hope Church Road, Chapel Hill. More info here.

Saturday forecast: High of 75, chance of rain.

* * *

Looking ahead: Nocturnal Hike, Saturday, May 20, 8-9 p.m., Pilot Mountain State Park, Pinnacle. More info here.

Brumley Forest

Mountains

If you’re in the mountains and already have Earth Day plans, how about squeezing in an Earth Day Night activity? Mount Jefferson State Natural Area plans to celebrate the Day with with an Earth Day Night Hike, a one-mile hike on the ridge out to Luther Rock (and back). Check out the lights of town below, listen for owls and other creatures of the evening. Starts at 8 p.m.

Logistics: Earth Day Night Hike, Saturday, April 22, 8 p.m., Mountain Jefferson State Natural Area, West Jefferson. More info here.

Saturday evening forecast: Highs in the low 60s with the chance of thunderstorms tapering.

* * *

Looking ahead: Grandfather Mountain Wildflower Walks, Grandfather Mountain State Park, Banner Elk, hikes are ongoing, go here for a list of dates.

* * *

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

Great Outdoor Provision Co.
Calendar includes three weekly events for each of its seven markets: Chapel Hill, Charlotte, Greensboro, Greenville, Raleigh, Wilmington and Winston-Salem. Search by market.

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.

U.S. National Wildlife Refuges
Rundown, by month, of regular activities at the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service refuges in North Carolina.

* * *

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This weekend: Waterfowl watch, wilderness run

JoeMiller — Thu, 02 Jan 2014 15:35:00 +0000

Wood duck (photo courtesy North Carolina State Parks)

Resolved to get out more in 2014 but need to ease into it? We’ve got two birding programs that promise a mix of mellow movement and awesome outdoor exposure. And if you’re looking to up your competitive resume in the year just begun, we’ve got a run in the mountains in a lesser-known natural area. Regardless of where you currently fit into the movement spectrum, it’s a good first weekend to an active new year.

Coast

Lake Waccamaw in the southern coastal plain is worth a visit no matter the season. It’s a rare surviving Carolina bay, a series of mysterious oval lakes that once numbered in the thousands along the East Coast, though all but a handful of which have since filled in. Limestone bluffs along the lake’s north shore neutralize the lake’s tannic waters, providing a habitat for plants and animals found nowhere else. The nearby Green Swamp adds to the area’s ecological diversity.

In winter, the lake becomes home to various species of overwintering waterfowl, including a wide array of ducks. Part of the fun of watching this winter waterfowl display is knowing who’s who, a skill you can become more proficient at at Saturday’s Ducks at a Distance program at Lake Waccamaw State Park.

Logistics: Saturday, Jan. 4, 2 p.m. Free. Learn more about the park here, for more information call 910.646.4748.

Saturday forecast: Sunny, clear, high of 49.

Lake James (photo courtesy North Carolina State Parks)

Piedmont

Think about this from the perspective of a bird based in Canada or the northern tier states. Winter is coming, food will be scarce; you need to head for warmer climes. All your feathered friends are thinking the same thing, and most are a twitter over a common destination: the North Carolina coast. “Sure hope Lake Mattamuskeet isn’t as crowded as last year,” worry the northern pintails. “I do hope we can find a decent place at Pea Island,” fret the tundra swans. All your bird buddies are heading to the North Carolina coast.

If you were a smart migrant, what would you be thinking? You’d be thinking about a quiet place away from the coast, a nice 6,800-or-so-acre lake with maybe 150 miles of shoreline that’s not on the radar of all the other winter migrants. A place such as Lake James, located on the cusp of the southern Appalachians.

A lot of birds do apparently think this way, making Lake James a great place for a Waterfowl Hike such as the one Saturday morning, where a naturalist ranger will point out who’s who, where they’re from and how long the plan to stay.

Logistics: Saturday, Jan. 4, 10 a.m., Lake James State Park, Nebo. More info on the park here, more information on the program by calling 828.584.7728

Saturday forecast: Sunny with a high of 42.

Box Creek Wilderness (photo courtesy M. Schmerling, Union Mills Learning Center)

Mountains

Even if you consider yourself well-versed in the natural areas of North Carolina’s high country, you might not be familiar with the Box Creek Wilderness near Union Mills. At 5,185 acres, Box Creek is the largest private Registered Natural Heritage Area in the state, its status coming as a result of its “sheer number and rarity of imperiled species and natural communities as well as for its importance in protecting the highest quality and rarest natural communities and species. “At Box Creek you’ll find more than 100 rare and priority conservation species of plants and animals, 18 globally rare plant communities, and forest supporting 28 rare or conservation priority bird species.

That’s a lot to see! And what better way to see it than on a run benefitting the Union Mills Learning Center, which celebrates and promotes the region’s natural, cultural and historic heritage. Sunday’s Box Creek Wilderness Run includes a 5K (all on paved roads) and a 10K (a mix of paved and gravel roads).

Logistics: Saturday, Jan. 4, 8:30 a.m. $20 ($10 for 12 and under). More info here.

Sunday forecast: Sunny, high of 42.

* * *

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

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.

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.

U.S. National Wildlife Refuges
Rundown, by month, of regular activities at the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service refuges in North Carolina.

* * *

Like us on Facebook and get health, fitness and outdoors news throughout the day.

GetGoingNC.com

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The post This weekend: Waterfowl watch, wilderness run appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

Trails made for a December hike

JoeMiller — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 18:19:37 +0000

For the most part, you can hike in the mountains year-round. Hiking in the Piedmont is enjoyable from October into May, and at the coast conditions are favorable for three, maybe four months of the year (the non bug-infested months). Winter, though, is the one time when all regions, from mountains to sea, are in play for a good hike. Here are our recommendations for hikes that seem especially well-suited for December.

Coast

Lake Waccamaw on a rough winter day.

Lake Waccamaw State Park, Lake Waccamaw. Lakeshore Trail, 5 miles. More info here.
This coastal plain trail takes in a little of everything on its journey from the Visitors Center along the shore of this Carolina Bay to the Waccamaw River. According to the park website, the trail “cuts through a pine forest, past one of the oldest stands of cypress trees in the area, under towering hickory trees, alongside grass beds in the lake that provide cover for a variety of fish species and beside sandy beaches perfect for picnicking or pausing to gaze across the lake.” Expect a variety of color. Learn more about the park — including where the heck it is and how to get there — at its website. Enhance your visit by going on Saturday, Dec. 21, and signing on for the Holiday Hike, a ranger-led hike focusing on winter tree ID.

Birkhead Mountain Wilderness

Piedmont

Uwharrie National Recreation Trail, Uwharrie National Forest, 40 miles, with shorter options (Trip No. 36, “Backpacking North Carolina,” Hike No. 37, “100 Classic Hikes in North Carolina”). Details on the forest here. Back in the 1970s, when the Uwharrie Trail was originally blazed, it covered 50 miles and was a popular backpack destination for regional scout troops. Fittingly, it was those very troops who helped build the trail. Parts of the trail later fell into disrepair; the useable part of the trail dropped by half. But the Uwharrie Trail is on the rebound: Early this month a new 4-mile run opened linking the 20-mile Uwharrie National Recreation Trail to the south with a trail network in the Birkhead Mountain Wilderness Area, creating 40 miles of continuous trail. The growing trail provides access through the Uwharrie National Forest, site of an ancient mountain chain where peaks once climbed to 20,000 feet but today fall short of 1,000. Quick climbs through this Southern Appalachian hardwood forest are greeted not with peaks but rounded ridgelines featuring chunks of exposed granite. Lower passages are often along several creeks that penetrate this mid-state national forest. Three roads cross the trail, making for shorter, shuttled options.

Piedmont Trail along Lake Brandt.

Greensboro watershed lakes, 42 miles total, short hikes of as little as a mile. Details here. Falls is a great time for hiking. Alas, it’s also a great time for several other activities, starting with watching college and pro football. Much as you’d like to hit the road for a day trip in the mountains, kickoff is at 1. What’s a sports fan to do? Hike closer to home. Triad residents have numerous good options around the three watershed lakes — Brandt, Townsend and Higgins — north of town. Forty-two miles of watershed hiking trails take you through a variety of environments. The 1.6-mile Palmetto Trail, for instance, features some interesting geology; the 3.6-mile Nat Greene Trail offers a smorgasbord of Piedmont ecology.

Mountains

Bluff Mountain at Doughton Park

Doughton Park: Basin Cove Loop, Blue Ridge Parkway near Boone, 7-18 miles (Trip No. 11 “Backpacking North Carolina”). This trip has all sorts of options. Starting from Longbottom Road at Basin Creek you immediately have three: To the north, Cedar Ridge Trail takes you up to the Parkway near the Brinegar Cabin, where you can catch the Bluff Mountain Trail south through the vast meadows and balds that make Doughton Park a popular Blue Ridge Parkway destination. To the south, Flat Rock Ridge Trail traces another ridgeline up to the Parkway, where you’ll take Bluff Mountain Trail north through Doughton Park. Straight takes you up Grassy Gap Trail to a primitive campground where three options await. The 2-plus-mile Bluff Mountain Primitive Trail takes you straight up the escarpment to Doughton while the southern veering Grassy Gap Trail, following old roadbed, is the most mellow way to reach the top. Or, take the Basin Creek Trail up a narrow canyon where falls seem to trip over themselves for your attention. The trail ends at the one-room Caudill cabin, where a determined couple raised 13 kids more than a century ago. Not a bad option in the bunch.

Sam Knob area

Sam Knob Loop (Trip No. 14, “Backpacking North Carolina”). This loop off the Blue Ridge Parkway on the edge of the Shining Rock Wilderness is the ideal spring opener. It’s not too long (8.2 miles), water is assured but, at this altitude (between 5,000 and 6,000 feet) not an obstacle, and there’s just enough climbing to wake your hibernating legs, but not enough to make them wake grumpy. Plus, mile-for-mile it may be the most scenic trip in the book, taking in just about every type of southern Appalachian landscape — from balsam forest to rocky knob to open meadow and tight rhododendron passage — imaginable. A good overnight trek.

The post Trails made for a December hike appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

This weekend: Paddle for glory, hike for color

JoeMiller — Wed, 09 Oct 2013 15:24:23 +0000

Fall revs up in the high country with increasing color while paddling opportunities linger in the Piedmont.

Chimney Rock in fall. Photo by Chuck Hall

Coast

We venture into the wild for various reasons. One of those reasons: to learn about, and see new things. A visit to Lake Waccamaw State Park offers some especially interesting learning opportunities. For instance, the park’s website informs us: “Lake Waccamaw’s water quality contributes to an interesting mix of animal life in the park. Several species are found only in or around the lake and nowhere else on Earth. These species are known as endemics.” Among those endemics: Waccamaw darter, Waccamaw silverside, Waccamaw killifish, Waccamaw spike and the Waccamaw fatmucket.

How many opportunities do you get to experience a fatmucket? At least one, on Saturday’s Afternoon Paddle: Big Creek Adventure. Start on the creek, wind up in Lake Waccamaw, a Carolina bay, with lots of the unusual to see on the way.

Logistics: Saturday, Oct. 12, 2 p.m. Free. More info on the park here.

Saturday forecast: High of 77, mostly cloudy.

Piedmont

5Ks are a dime a dozen (closer to $35 a dozen, if you’re going by the entrance fee). But canoe and kayak races? And Saturday’s Fall Canoe and Kayak Race at Mayo Lake in Person County on Saturday isn’t just a race: you can race a canoe, you can race a kayak, you can race a technical course, you can race a linear course and you can race in your age group. That’s a whole lot of racing, especially for the modest $15 entrance fee.

Logistics: Saturday, Oct. 12, 10 a.m., Mayo Lake in Person County. Learn more about the race and find out where Mayo Lake might be, here.

Saturday forecast: High of 70, overcast.

Mountains

All hail the Waccamaw fatmucket (only at Lakw Waccamaw). Photo Courtesy N.C. State Parks.

The mountains are getting lit early this fall, with a blaze of red, yellows, oranges and hues in between. The report from Chimney Rock is especially enticing: “Splashes of red are appearing in the dogwood and sourwood trees, along with yellows in the poplars,” reports Chimney Rock Park. But wait, there’s more: “This is a very good wildflower season for goldenrod, snakeroot, Wingstem and a variety of asters. Brown-eyed Susans and sunflowers are also blooming, with some Pink Turtlehead remaining.”

Enjoy the show on your own on the park’s trail system, or tap into the 11 a.m. naturalist-led hike that will be occurring every Saturday through October, commencing from the Meadows area.

Logistics: Every Saturday at 11 a.m., Chimney Rock Park in Chimney Rock. Admission to the park is $12 for adults, $6 for 5- to 15-year-olds, and free for the 4 and under set. More info here.

Saturday forecast: High of 75, trending from clear to partly cloudy.

photo by Chuck Hill

* * *

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

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.

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.

U.S. National Wildlife Refuges
Rundown, by month, of regular activities at the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service refuges in North Carolina.

* * *

Like us on Facebook and get health, fitness and outdoors news throughout the day.

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The post This weekend: Paddle for glory, hike for color appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

This weekend: GetHiking! with us

JoeMiller — Wed, 11 Sep 2013 15:23:23 +0000

You could practically hear the wolves start to howl as the sun sets over Lake Waccamaw — if there were wolves at the lake.

Start your weekend Friday evening with a Friday the 13th evening wander around Lake Waccamaw, then spend what promises to be a glorious Saturday high in the mountains at the Elk Knob Headwaters Community Day, or join us in Raleigh at Umstead State Park and get hiking — with our new GetHiking! Triangle program.

Coast

Exploring a natural mystery in the dark? We’re in! Especially if it’s a chance to explore a place with as much mystery and intrigue as Lake Waccamaw. Lake Waccamaw’s Friday the 13th Park After Dark event gives you the opportunity to do a night wander in a swamp, amid plants that eat meat and around the mystery that is Lake Waccamaw, a Carolina Bay described as “one of the greatest geological mysteries of the eastern United States.” Was this (and the thousands of other bays that once dotted the eastern seaboard) the result of an alien invasion (in the form of meteorites)? Something to think about as the gloam turns to night … .

Logistics: Friday, September 13, 7 p.m. Free. Learn more about the park here.

Friday forecast: A cold front moves through, dropping the daytime high of 90 to an overnight low of 59. 30 percent chance of rain.

Above the Company Mill Trail, at Crabtree Creek.

Piedmont

We’re going to promote ourselves this week, without reservation. Saturday marks the first hike in our new GetHiking! Triangle program (a program we hope to spread). Working with our sponsor, Great Outdoor Provision Co., our goal is two-fold. One, to get aspiring hikers out the door and into the woods. If you’ve taken a hike or two in your life and liked it but, for whatever reason, haven’t hiked more, GetHiking! Triangle is for you. We aim to take the mystery out of hiking and to expose you to some of the great trails in the Triangle and beyond. Our second goal is to take more experienced hikers who find themselves hiking the same trails week after week and expose them to the vast network of trails in the Triangle, the Piedmont and statewide.

Our first hike is Saturday at Umstead State Park. We’ll be doing the popular Company Mill Trail in a baby bear, mama bear, papa bear approach. Newcomers have the option of an out-and-back down to Crabtree Creek (2 miles), more experienced hikers can do a 4.5-mile truncated version of the trail, while folks up for a good workout can do the entire 6-mile lollipop loop. And the weather for our first hike could not be better, with WRAL calling it “A spectacular day with lots of sunshine, very comfortable temperatures and low humidity.”

You can keep tabs on our weekly hikes and other activities by joining our GetHikingTriangle! Meetup group. And if you don’t have plans for this Thursday night, we’ll be kicking off the program at Great Outdoor Provision Co.’s Cameron Village store at 6:30 p.m. We’ll talk about where we’ll be hiking this fall (with slideshow), we’ll have refreshments (including a local craft beer tasting) and everyone gets a free pair of SmartWool hiking socks!

Logistics: Saturday, Sept. 14, 8 a.m., Umstead State Park (Harrison Avenue entrance off I-40). More info here.

Saturday forecast: High of 75 (likely in the low to mid 60s at the start), sunny, low humidity.

Atop Elk Knob.

Mountains

How do you make a mountain hike in September even better? By adding a pot luck. That’s the plan at Saturday’s Elk Knob Headwaters Community Day at Elk Knob State Park in Todd (between Boone and Jefferson), where all sorts of fun is planned between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. Lunch will be served at noon (bring a dish), followed by an afternoon of music, cultural and historical displays and demonstrations, a silent auction fundraiser, raffle, interpretive programs, arts and crafts, kids games, wagon rides, hikes and food.

And don’t forget to work in a hike through a northern hardwood forest consisting primarily of sugar maple, yellow birch, American beech and yellow buckeye to the 5,520-foot summit of Elk Knob. If it’s a clear day, the view is one of the best in the state.

Logistics: Saturday, Sept. 14, 11 a.m., Elk Knob State Park, Todd. More info on the festival and the park, here.

Saturday forecast: High of 64, partly cloudy.

* * *

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

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.

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.

U.S. National Wildlife Refuges
Rundown, by month, of regular activities at the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service refuges in North Carolina.

* * *

Like us on Facebook and get health, fitness and outdoors news throughout the day.

GetGoingNC.com

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The post This weekend: GetHiking! with us appeared first on GetGoing NC!.