Spring comes, so come the hikers, the seasonal hikers. The, dare we say it, the “fair weather” hikers?
Sure we dare, because they’re probably the first to admit that unless there’s not a cloud in the sky, unless the temperatures not 66 degrees (plus or minus 4 degrees), and unless there’s some pretty flower blooming or some tree putting on a color show, they’ll be doing things indoors, thank you.
Editor’s note: This post originally ran at the start of last fall. We’ve tweaked it, and will continue to run a version of it at the start of every fall hiking season to help you avoid crowded trails in the most popular hiking season.
Officially, fall starts tomorrow, Sept. 21, officially at 3:21 p.m. EST. Appropriately, a rainy front is ushering in cold air about the same time that will drop temperatures about 15 degrees, into the low 70s initially. By the weekend, expect highs in the upper 70s, lows around 50.
Last weekend we were frozen in snow and ice, today it’s 70 and raining, it may snow again Wednesday but it definitely will be cold again. Real cold. But this weekend is looking hiking perfect. Temperatures Saturday will be around 50, in the upper 30s Sunday, all under mostly sunny skies. So no time to quibble: you need to get out.
At our weekly GetHiking! Triangle hike a couple weeks back, I was approached at the trailhead by a woman who introduced herself as being from Virginia Beach, Va. She, her daughter and a friend were in town asked if they might tag along with our group.
This weekend will feel like mid to late October throughout much of the state.
Consider: As of noon today, the temperature atop Mount Mitchell was 53 degrees, with winds out of the southeast at 14 miles per hour, gusting to 18. Overnight, the temperature dropped to 45, with a wind chill of 40 degrees. Saturday, the temperature is expected to top out at 61.
That’s fleece weather.
Granted, this is on top of the East Coast (though these readings are from a station at 6,200 feet, nearly 500 below the Mount Mitchell summit). But these types of temperatures can be expected throughout the high country this weekend.
Even in the Piedmont, cool temperatures will prevail. Forecast highs for Saturday are in the low 70s with overnight lows dipping into the mid 60s.
This translates to one thing: a fall-like window for hiking.
Be advised, you won’t be the only one to have this thought. The trails are likely to be jammed. Here’s a little advice on how to avoid the expected crowds.
Go long. Probably the most popular trail at popular Umstead State Park in Raleigh is the Company Mill Trail — at least the first mile. That initial mile takes you over three small ridges down to Crabtree Creek. For many, especially those with small kids, Crabtree is a good opportunity to frolic for a few minutes, may have a snack, then head back. The traffic is probably halved by the time you cross Crabtree. And Jon Holliday, founder of the Raleigh Trail Hikers Meetup, says the numbers really dwindle once you hit the 3-mile mark and meet the Sycamore Trail in the center of the park.
Avoid the popular spots. Well, duh. So how do you know what’s popular? A few ways to narrow the list. Is it a place you hear frequently mentioned? If so, don’t go. Does it have a spacious, paved parking lot (or worse yet, a visitor center)? Nix it.
Avoid the popular spots, II. Last year, nearly 1.2 million people visited Umstead State Park in Raleigh. Proximity is part of the reason: about as many people live in Umstead’s MSA (Metropolitan Statistical Area). It’s also a great park. But there are a lot of other great State Parks in North Carolina that don’t get near the love they deserve. A prime example: Medoc Mountain State Park, which barely got 100,000 visitors last year. Medoc Mountain is located near … well, that’s the problem, it’s not near or on the way to anywhere of note. But it’s just an hour and a half from the Triangle and well worth the drive. You can find a list of other underloved state parks here.
Avoid the popular spots, III. Another way to find a State Park that may be under visited: Get a state road map that has state parks on it and seek out the more remote ones. Medoc Mountain, again, is one example. Other good one: South Mountains State Park which is just far enough off I-40 and from Morganton to require a little extra effort to get to. South Mountains has 18,000 acres and had only 194,000 visitors last year.
Look for secondary entrances. Most parks have a main, advertised entrance, but they also have lesser-known secondary entrances. Get a map of your favorite place to hike and see where the boundaries brush up against roads. If there’s a trail near that point, you may well have a secondary entrance with roadside parking.
Check out preserves, conservancies and land trusts. They often have smaller, but less popular, trail networks. And because the land is being preserved, you can bet there’s some thing extra special about it. (Find a land trust near you by checking out the Conservation Trust for North Carolina website.)
