Blue Ridge Parkway

Campgrounds

• Price Park Campground at MP 297: April 2-Oct. 31
• Linville Falls at MP 314: April 2-Oct. 31
• Crabtree Falls at MP 339: May 28-Oct. 31
• Mount Pisgah at MP 408.8: May 28-Oct. 31

Other facilities

• Moses Cone Manor House at MP 294: April 15
• Linville Falls at MP 316: April 30.
• N. Museum of Minerals at MP 330: Friday, Saturday, Sunday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. through April.
• Craggy Gardens at MP 364.5: 10 a.m.-4 p.m. starting April 17.
• Waterrock Knob at MP 451: 10 a.m.-4 p.m. starting April 17.

Shenandoah National Park

Campgrounds:

• March 25: Lewis Mountain Campground (mile 57.5)
• March 26: Big Meadows Campground (mile 51.2)
• May 5: Mathews Arm Campground (mile 22.2), Loft Mountain Campground (mile 79.5), and Dundo Group Campground (mile 83.7)
• Picnic Grounds will open on the following schedule:
• March 25: Lewis Mountain Picnic Grounds (mile 57.5)
• March 26: Big Meadows Picnic Grounds (mile 51.2)
• Open year round: Dickey Ridge Picnic Grounds (mile 4.7), Elkwallow Picnic Grounds (mile 24.1), Pinnacles Picnic Grounds (mile 36.7), South River Picnic Grounds (mile 62.8), and Dundo Picnic Grounds (mile 83.7)

Other facilities:

• Dickey Ridge Visitor Center (mile 4.6 Skyline Drive): open Fridays through Tuesdays, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. (closed on Wednesdays and Thursdays), No indoor exhibits or films.
• Byrd Visitor Center (mile 51 Skyline Drive)
• Open 7 days a week, 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., No indoor exhibits or films.

The restaurants, lodges, and associated facilities operated by the park concessioner, Delaware North, open as follows:

• March 25: Lewis Mountain Cabins and Campstore (mile 57.5)
• March 26: Skyland Resort (mile 41.7 and 42.5)
• March 26: Big Meadows Wayside (mile 51.2)
• April 1: Elkwallow Wayside (mile 24.0)
• April 23: Big Meadows Lodge (mile 51.2)
• April 23: Loft Mountain Wayside (mile 79.5)
• May 5: Loft Mountain Campstore (mile 79.5)
• May 28: Skyland Stables (mile 42.5) and

For more information about planning a trip to Shenandoah National Park, please visit our website at http://www.nps.gov/shen or call the park at (540) 999-3500.

Meanwhile in our national forests

George Washington and Jefferson National Forestsare opening recreation sites on the Eastern Divide Ranger District in Bland, Botetourt, Craig, Giles, Montgomery, Pulaski, Roanoke, Smyth, Tazewell, and Wythe Counties, Virginia and Monroe County, West Virginia:

• April 15: The following reservable group campgrounds: Boley Fields, Caldwell Fields, Craig Creek and Steel Bridge.
• May 13: On a first come-first serve basis: The Pines, White Rocks and White Cedar. (The White Rocks and White Cedar Campgrounds will be opened with reduced services as their water systems are currently not operational.)

And in the Pisgah National Forest:

Mortimer Campground in the Wilson Creek area of the Pisgah National Forest’s Grandfather District has reopened after being closed for a year for repairs.

More info

Learn more about these and other campgrounds at recreation.gov.

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Today, we take an overdue look at how to get the most out of your National Forest adventures by getting familiar with their websites, starting with the fact that National Forest home pages are broken down by state, not specific forest. For the Pisgah National Forest, for instance, you’ll start on the North Carolina National Forest page (likewise for the Croatan, Nantahala and Uwharrie national forests). In Virginia, you’ll find the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests on the Virginia page.

Our look at the National Forests is overdue because of all the playgrounds we have at our disposal in the Southeast, National Forests are far and away the biggest. In North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia, there are a combined 4.2 million acres of National Forest Service land alone. That compares with about 570,000 acres of State Park land. That’s why it’s important that you know what’s going on in your local National Forest, where so many of our trips occur.

Before you take that camping trip …

Let’s say you’re planning a weekend camping trip. A quick visit to the News & Events page of your local National Forest website will reveal all sorts of helpful information, including: 

• Latest COVID-19 information and what facilities are open and closed as a result of the pandemic.
• Fire danger. That group camping trip? I dunno about you, but and a campfire — winter, spring, summer or fall — is a vital part of the group camping experience. Check beforehand to make sure the fire danger isn’t high — and that you are allowed to have a fire — before heading out. This is especially important for winter trips, when a fire not only helps ward off below-freezing temps, but makes it possible to stay up past a 4:30 p.m. sunset.
• Closures: For instance, in Virginia, if you’re planning a hike to Spy Rock from from the Montebello Fish Hatchery, you better think again! That trail and parking lot are closed as of Dec. 18 and will be until April 30. There is, however, an alternate route to Spy Rock which you can find on the site. Over on the Tennessee page you would learn that Unaka Mountain Road is closed due to winter weather, which could affect a visit to the Unaka Mountain Recreation Area. 
• Map information. Maps! Maps! Maps! Don’t even think about heading out into the wild — even the semi-wild — without a map. Each site will have map recommendations, including the best online app maps for the forest. The Virginia National Forest site, for instance, directs you to Avenza for map app coverage of their forests. 
• Alerts & Notices. This category covers some of the above plus a vital bit of information for campers and backpackers: where bears have been active. Checking on the latter, for instance, can tell you whether a bear canister is required in certain areas for backpacking. Or whether a camping area has been closed because of bear activity. One helpful feature you’ll find for the Francis Marion and Sumter National Forests in South Carolina is a compilation of current conditions at both national forests’ recreation areas. For instance, it is here that you would learn that the Parsons Mountain Recreation Area is closed and will not reopen until May 1, 2021. You can then scan up and down to check your Recreation Area options.

It’s closed … and where is it?

Checking these websites is not only prudent before taking a trip — a trip that could be torpedoed because the access road is snowed in or the campsite is closed — but it can also prove a productive rabbit hole, providing a way to discover new places to explore. That Unaka Road Closure notice from the Cherokee National Forest site, for instance, made me wonder where Unaka Road is and what impact it might have on an adventurous type. So I Googled it and discovered it fed something called the Unaka Mountain Recreation Area, which I discovered abutted North Carolina, my home state. I plugged Unaka Mountain Recreation Area into AllTrails and discovered five trails, several of which would be worth the four-hour drive. Great information considering my 2021 dance card is filling fast.

So, two good reasons to check out your National Forest Service websites. One, to make sure the hike you want to take is a hike you can take. And two, the sites can help you find places to explore that you didn’t know were there. 

The Unaka Mountains, for instance, where we’re planning to visit this spring. After, that is, we check to make sure Unaka Mountain Road has reopened.

* * *

USFS News & Events

Click the following links to visit the News & Alerts pages for the following Southeast U.S. National Forest Service locations.

• North Carolina National Forests: Croatan, Pisgah, Nantahala, Uwharrie
• Virginia National Forests: George Washington, Jefferson
• Tennessee National Forest: Cherokee
• South Carolina: Francis Marion, Sumter National Forests

GetHiking! Southeast Podcast

Among other things on this week’s GetHiking! Southeast Podcast we discuss using the resources of the National Forest Service websites to help you plan your trips. Give a listen here.

The post National Forests: Check the Site before Taking the Hike appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

That rain that moved through the region yesterday ushered in a cool front that will drop temperatures into the low 80s throughout much of GetGoingNC’s adventure land, ideal weather for some weekend adventure. There may be a rogue thunderstorm or two Sunday afternoon, but by-and-large, pretty delightful weather. 

That said, we must leave you now for a long delayed backpack trip to South Mountains State Park.

But before we go, some resources to help you plan your weekend:

If you’re staying close to home — where it’s safer — we have two suggestions:

Hike local

Duke Forest. More than 7,000 acres spread over three counties with miles of trail open to the public. Today’s video explores one of our favorite places to explore, in the forest’s Korstian Division, in Durham. You can find additional information on exploring Duke Forest at the Duke Forest website.

Mountains-to-Sea Trail. The MST, North Carolina’s statewide trail, runs 120 miles through the Triangle and links Pilot Mountain with Hanging Rock north of the Triad — lots of good exploring to be had here. Learn about where to pick up the trail here.

Carolina Thread Trail. In the Charlotte area (including South Carolina), the Carolina Thread Trail now includes 300 miles of dirt trail and 170 miles of blueway in a 15-county area (eventually, the plan is a 1,600-mile trail network linking the region). Learn where you can explore the CTT here.

Land trusts

Local land trusts also provide great opportunities for exploring, including:

Triangle Land Conservancy. The TLC has been protecting land in the Triangle since the 1980s, and has seven preserves currently open for exploring, including a GetHiking! favorite, Horton Grove Nature Preserve in northern Durham County. Learn more and support them here.

Catawba Lands Conservancy. Among their efforts, the CLC is the driving force behind the Carolina Thread Trail, an ongoing effort to link 16 counties in the Charlotte area (including in South Carolina) with trail. Learn more and support them here.

Piedmont Land Conservancy. The PLC has protected more than 24,000 acres in a nine-county region, mostly in the Triad, including one of our favorite spots to hike, the Knight Brown Nature Preserve near Greensboro. Learn more and support them here.

Piedmont Environmental Council. Has worked with landowners to protect more than 420,000 acres of rural and natural land in the piedmont area around Charlottesville. Learn more and support them here.

Conservation Trust for North Carolina. Based in Raleigh, this nonprofit has saved most of its land along the Blue Ridge Parkway, but is active elsewhere. We’re particularly intrigued by their Princeville Collaborative project, where they’re working to help instill land conservation principals in a coastal plain community recovering from two 100-year floods in a 17-year span. Learn more and support them here. 

Farther afield

More than a thousand miles of trail can be found in the following:

• Blue Ridge Parkway
• Great Smoky Mountains National Park
• North Carolina State Parks
• North Carolina National Forests (Croatan, Pisgah, Nantahala, Uwharrie)
• Shenandoah National Park
• Virginia National Forests (George Washington and Jefferson)
• Virginia State Parks 

GetOut! this weekend. And enjoy!

The post GetOut! Your Friday Nudge for Weekend Adventure appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

Hiking trails continue to be over-run. Thank the run of great weather (OK, there’s been a little rain here and there) and a lack of other recreational options during the age of Coronavirus for that.

But this overcrowding is more of a situation for trails intended for two feet. What about all the trails built for four?

In North Carolina’s State Parks system alone, 11 locations have equestrian trails, from the 32-mile network of interlocking horse trail at South Mountains State Park, to the 2-mile Bridle Out & Back Trail at Stone Mountain State Park (which visits a still!). Those 11 parks have a total of 35 equestrian trails offering 118 miles of riding. 

Or hiking, depending upon your recreation perspective. 

And that’s just in the state parks. The state’s four national forests offer hundreds of miles of trail open to both horseback riding and hiking. 

You’ll find a few key differences between equestrian trails and dedicated hiking trails:

• Fewer bridges. Horse trails crossing major rivers will have bridges, but otherwise you’ll be fording streams when you reach water. Reason: it takes a substantial bridge to support a one-ton horse, and horses are less averse to getting their feet wet than we are. One of the reasons we focus on state parks in this post is that water crossings within their boundaries are likely to be less challenging than those in national forests. If water crossings make you nervous, get a good scouting report before hiking an unknown equestrian trail. And if you can’t find a good review online, at least get a topo map of the trail and look for what might be significant crossings.
• Typically wider. To allow for a horse’s greater girth and to allow for two of these greater girth’s to pass on the trail, horse trails tend to be wider, often piggybacking on old roadbeds. Though wider, they often aren’t wide enough to create an opening in the canopy overhead, so you still benefit from shade on a summer’s day.
• Typically have more overhead clearance. Because of the overhead clearance required for a horse and rider, these trails generally are trimmed high above the trail. Coupled with the fact these trails are also wider, you tend to get better air flow, which is especially helpful on a summer’s day. 
• Can be more sloppy. Because a one-ton horse makes a greater impact on a trail than a 180-pound person when they go through a low-lying wet area they can leave divots that become small holding ponds. Thus, they can be a bit sloppier. Sturdier hiking shoes or boots are advised when hiking an equestrian trail. 

There’s a chance you’ve already hiked on a horse trail. If you’ve hiked the Multiuse Trails at Umstead State Park in Raleigh, you’ve hiked on horse trail. 

But more likely, you haven’t. Three quick recommendations:

• Raven Rock State Park, Avents Creek Access. East Loop, West Loop. 8 miles. We’ll let the accompanying video tell the story on this one. In short these are two 4-mile loops with the same trailhead. Start with the West Loop hiked clockwise; three-quarters of a mile in you’ll hit Jumping Fish Falls, a 5-foot drop followed by a 3 footer. Surprisingly steep terrain, considering this is the cusp of the coastal plain.
• South Mountains State Park, 32 miles. Ninety percent of the visitors to South Mountains go to Upper Falls, which means you have the vast majority of this, the biggest state park in North Carolina, to yourself. Probably the best horse trails for hiking in the state.
• Morrow Mountain State Park, 19 miles. These trails are more intimate than you might think for horse trails. They also offer the opportunity for long stretches seeing no other hikers. And conveniently located — for folks in Charlotte, the Triad and Triangle — in the center of the state.

Miles of equestrian trails await in North Carolina for the hiker eager for something different — and less crowded. Saddle up!

Resources

N.C. State Park equestrian trails. Find a rundown of the 35 equestrian trails in the system’s 11 state parks here.

North Carolina National Forests. North Carolina’s four national forests — the Croatan, Nantahala, Pisgah, and Uwharrie, include hundreds of miles of horse trails open to hiking. Find those trails starting here.

Virginia State Parks. Nineteen Virginia State Parks have, or offer access to, more than 250 miles of equestrian trails. Find those trails here. 

GetBackpacking! Guide to Water Crossings. Intimidated by the prospect of crossing a stream that requires you to get wet? Our guide discusses proper footwear for wet crossings, as well as tips on scouting the crossing, what to do immediately before the crossing and the crossing itself. You can find our guide here; order by Monday, May 31, enter code 5WT3YYH2 and save the 99-cent fee. 

The post Hike where the horses do appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

This means that in addition to the closure of visitor centers, camping, restrooms and other facilities that were announced last week, trails at these parks are also now closed.

The reason? Failure to adhere to social distancing guidelines. 

People are turning out to hike like never before. Sunday, hiking Day-Hike Section D of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail along Falls Lake, we saw more people hiking than we’d ever seen on this stretch. And probably 95 percent were in compliance, either stepping well off the trail to allow oncoming hikers to pass, or pulling well off the trail to let faster hikers pass. Ninety-five percent seems like good odds: imagine a 95 percent free-throw shooter, or batting .950 in baseball. But with the rapid spread of COVID-19, 5 percent non-compliance is way too high a risk.

We realize how important it is to get out right now. But unless we do it in the most low-risk way possible, we will soon see all of our trails closed. We can work to make sure this doesn’t happen in two ways:

First, it’s vital that you observe social distancing requirements, including:

• Hike in groups of no more than 10 people
• Keep a minimum of 6 feet apart (our GetHiking! program recommends 10 feet, especially now in the spring allergy season when pollen-triggered sneezes can increase your … dispersal zone.
• No touching, no sharing (bring your own water and snacks)
• Do not go out, advises the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, if you have:
  • A temperature in excess of 100 
  • A cough or shortness of breath
  • Underlying health conditions that may weaken your immune system, including heart disease, lung disease, or diabetes
  • Tested positive for the COVID-19

The other thing you can do: hike the trails less traveled. That’s where we aim to help you this week, by highlighting some of our favorite places to explore that typically don’t see as much foot traffic. The reasons for this vary, but here’s a big one: they lack the trailhead infrastructure (visitor center, restrooms, picnic areas) that tend to attract the masses. To get you started, in this post we wrote last week for our friends at Great Outdoor Provision Co., we identify some of our favorite backdoor entrances to the places you already love to explore. (Again, this was last week; Crowders Mountain State Park, which is included, has since closed.)

As of right now, many of our favorite trail networks — Eno River State Park, Umstead State Park, Pilot Mountain State Park (the latter for the most part) — remain open.

Let’s work to keep it that way.

Check before heading out

In these fluid times, remember to check the website of where you plan to hike to make sure it’s still open. Some quick sources of places we love to hike:

• N.C. State Parks
• Virginia State Parks
• U.S. National Forests in North Carolina
• National Park Service
• The Trek, an online magazine that’s doing a good job of covering the national hiking and backpacking picture.

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