One thing about the recent weird winter weather: the breaks are, mercifully, falling on the weekends. Our upcoming one, for instance, is supposed to be dry with temperatures that’ll defrost your winter-weary soul. At least in the Piedmont and at the coast. The mountains, on the other hand, promise more winter fun.

Coast

Even Carolina Beach, where you can find the occasional palm tree (albeit an immigrant) was icing over midweek this week. Saturday, though, the high is expected to flirt with 50, and the sun is even scheduled to make an appearance in the afternoon. Sounds appealing, no?

Appealing enough, in our opinion, to check out Saturday’s Biological Wonders program. “Join a park ranger on this hike to see and learn about all the different plant communities here in Carolina Beach State Park,” promises the program description. Some of those plant communities — the brackish marshes, the cypress pond — will make the temperature seem a good five degrees warmer.

Logistics: Saturday, Feb. 15, 2 p.m. Carolina Beach State Park. For more info: 910-458-8206

Saturday forecast: Partly cloudy by afternoon, high of 48.

Piedmont

Modesty aside, the best hike on the books for this weekend is our GetHiking! hike Sunday in the Birkhead Mountain Wilderness of the Uwharrie National Forest. The Birkheads present a nice challenge (bigger climbs than you’ll find elsewhere in the Piedmont) and long stretches of solitude. And, they’re centrally located in what the local boosters like to call North Carolina’s Central Park. All three of our GetHiking! groups — GetHiking! Charlotte, GetHiking! Triad and GetHiking! Triangle — will be participating in this hike.

For the more aggressive hiker we have an 11.5-mile option, for the stop-and-smell-the-flowers crowd we have a 7.4-mile option. Both start at noon, albeit from different locations.

Logistics: Sunday, Feb. 16, noon, Birkhead Mountain Wilderness area of the Uwharrie National Forest. For more info, check out the GetHiking! chapter nearest you: Charlotte, Triad, Triangle.

Sunday forecast: Partial sunshine with a high of 47.

Mountains

Sunday’s Carolina Mountain Club hike at Montreat has the potential to memorable on several fronts. On its merits alone, this is a fine way to spend most of a Sunday. This 7.5-mile circuit takes in Lookout Mountain and the Old Mount Mitchell Toll Road up to Pot Cove Gap. From there, it heads back down the mountain on the Graybeard Trail.

The kicker comes if the forecast holds true. Up to a foot of snow is forecast for the area through Friday evening, and light snow is forecast for the hike. Got snowshoes? Bring ‘em.

Logistics: Sunday, Feb. 16, 9 a.m. (carpool meeting time, from Asheville). Montreat. For more info, go here.

Sunday forecast: Light snow early, then clearing with a high of 48 at lower elevations.

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It’s the 5th Annual Cold Stroke Classic in Wrightsville Beach on Saturday, an aptly-named stand up paddlleboarding race for the third weekend in January. Meanwhile, in the Piedmont you can whistle while you work, on the trails at Morrow Mountain State Park, or retreat to Montreat for a climb up mile-high Graybeard Mountain with the Carolina Mountain Club.

Coast

Looking to up your stand up paddleboarding game? Check out Saturday’s 5th Annual Cold Stroke Classic commencing from near the Blockade Runner in Wrightsville Beach. There’s a 7-mile elite race consisting of two laps in the protected waters behind Wrightsville, a 3.5-mile recreational affair of one lap.  Prizes in both categories, plus the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary and SeaTow will be on hand to provide assistance in the event you need some.

Logistics: Saturday, Jan. 19, racer meeting at 9:30 a.m., racing begins at 10 a.m. $45 for rec race, $65 elite race, tack on $15 for race day registration. More info here.

Saturday forecast: Sunny and a high of 60.

Piedmont

Was one of your New Year’s resolutions to give more back to the outdoor world you take so much from? If not, it should be, and you should waste no time in acting on this altruistic goal you have so selflessly set. In fact, you can act as soon as Saturday, on a Volunteer Trail Workday at Morrow Mountain State Park. You’ll get to use fun rangerlike tools — shovels, rakes, lopping shears, mattocks, to name a few — and work up a good winter sweat helping to maintain the park’s hiking and equestrian trails.

Logistics: Workday starts at noon at Morrow Mountain State Park near Albemarle. Wear hard-toed boots (if you have ‘em) and bring sturdy gloves (again). Come ready to work. Questions handled in advance by calling the park at 704.982.4402.

Saturday forecast: Partly cloudy, high of 54.

Mountains

Sunday, the Carolina Mountain Club does one of our favorite hikes not-far-off-of-an-interstate-highway. That would be the 11-mile loop hike up to Graybeard Mountain from Montreat. Good views from Walker Knob and Pot Cove Gap, some steep sections, a cozy summit and a fairly mellow, overall, 2,800 feet of total climbing.

Logistics: Sunday, Jan. 20, 9 a.m. carpool departure from Asheville. Contact hike leader Les Love at 828.658.1489 or lesrlove55@gmail.com for more information.

Sunday forecast: Sunny and a high of 50.

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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.

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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Since 1993 we’ve been setting aside the first Saturday in June to celebrate the nation’s more than 200,000 miles of trail. Throughout the year, our trails give us so much: a place to run, a place to ride, a place to escape to our thoughts. It’s only fitting that we set aside one day to give something back.

According to the American Hiking Society’s National Trails Day Web site, there are currently 23 events scheduled in North Carolina. I’ve include the list by location below; just click on the event and it will take you to the event-specific NTD site where you’ll find the what, the when, the where, the whatever (“whatever” including whatever incentives and enticements may be involved).

Incentives? Enticements?

Sure. For example, if you attend the Carolina Mountain Club’s workday on the MST along the Blue Ridge Parkway, you could win door prizes offered by the Mast General Store and the American Hiking Society. Pitch in at Blue Jay Point County Park and sponsor REI will provide water, snacks and lunch.

You could discover something new on NTD as well — like Carvers Creek State Park.

Carvers Creek State Park?

Carvers Creek State Park, a park-in-the-making near Fayetteville that will be the North Carolina’s 36th state park and eventually include more than 4,000 acres. Help build trail at the park from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., then get a sneak peak of the property, not yet open for public exploration, on a ranger-led hike.

Not all NTD events involve rolling up your sleeves and and waking up Sunday with a sore back. In Greensboro, there’s an NTD Festival at Bur-Mil Park that includes geocaching, hikes, kayak demonstrations, bike clinics and rides, a vendor fair, live music, and a 5k trail run. In Lexington, you can hike or paddle Abbotts Creek and get an education in water quality. And in Black Mountain, you can explore this very cool town on a hike of their greenways.

Get out your calendar and make a date with a beloved trail for this Saturday, June 4. As an added perk: you needn’t bring flowers for this date. They’re already there.

Know of an National Trails Day event not on our list? Fill us in and we’ll add it to the list.

Mountains

Appalachian Trail Conservancy
Invasive Plant Removal
Robbinsville

Black Mountain Greenways Commission
Greenway Walk
Black Mountain

Carolina Mountain Club
MST Trail Building Work Day
Asheville

Carolina Mountain Club
MST Trail Construction
Waynesville

Friends of Panthertown, Inc.
Panthertown Valley Hike with Friends of Panthertown
Cashiers

Grandfather Mountain State Park
Grandfather Mountain State Park
Banner Elk

Jackson County Recreation/Parks Department
Breakfast at Pinnacle
Sylva

Montreat Conference Center
Trail Work
Montreat

The Swag Country Inn
Celebrate National Trails Day at The Swag
Waynesville

Piedmont

Alamance County Recreation and Parks
National Trails Day Hike
Elon

High Rock Outfitters, City of Lexington and Piedmont Triad COG
Finch Park Trails Day
Lexington

Historic Gold Hill and Mines Foundation, Inc.
Gold Hill Rail Trail Hike
Gold Hill

Yadkin River Greenway Council/Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail
Yadkin River Bank and Trails Cleanup
North Wilkesboro

Charlotte

Reedy Creek Nature Center
Reedy Creek Trail Days
Charlotte

Fayetteville

Carvers Creek State Park
Carvers Creek- National Trails Day
Fayetteville

Triad

City of Greensboro
National Trails Day Festival
Greensboro

Triangle

Chapel Hill Parks and Recreation Department
Grand Opening Morgan Creek Trail
Chapel Hill

FMST – Falls Lake
Falls Lake MST Workday
Raleigh

Friends of The Mountains To Sea Trail, Eno River Section
Eno River State Park Trail Construction and Maintenance
Durham

Hemlock Bluffs Nature Preserve
NTD Volunteer Workday
Cary

REI-Raleigh
Blue Jay Point County Park Trail Re-Route
Raleigh

Triangle Greenways Council
Walnut Creek Greenway Hike
Raleigh

Coast

Friends of Mackay Island, Inc.
Name the Eagle
Knotts Island, NC

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