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.

The post Mountain campgrounds begin to reopen appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

Where you can’t hike

Initially, visitor centers, restrooms, camping and cabins were closed. Now, many trails are being closed as well.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The entire park, with two small exceptions, closed March 24, and will remain closed at least through April 6.

Appalachian Trail. The Appalachian Trail Conservancy, which oversees the 2,193-mile trail, asks that hikers, whether they’re planning a day hike or a thru hike, avoid the AT. They explain why here. Further, the Cherokee, Nantahala, Pisgah, George Washington and Jefferson national forests have shut down AT access points in their jurisdictions.

Shenandoah National Park. The park is yielding to locally imposed restrictions; in general, it appears most of the access points are closed. Learn the latest on what is and isn’t open here.

North Carolina State Parks. Twenty-seven state parks/recreation areas/natural areas are completely closed, trails included, as of Tuesday. Find an updated list here.

Where you can hike but maybe shouldn’t

Just because a trail is open doesn’t mean it’s a good idea to hike there, especially right now. That’s because the trails most likely to be open are more remote. Trails that maybe aren’t as traveled, as well maintained, as easy to follow. In short, trails where you may be more likely to get in trouble and need help. And the last thing you want, especially right now, is to distract medical personnel from more pressing medical emergencies. That said … .

Blue Ridge Parkway. Visitor centers and restrooms are all closed, trails remain open. This could change, however, if it becomes apparent that visitors aren’t observing the 6-foot zone of comfort and/or are gathering in groups of 10 or more. Avoid trailheads that are close to more populated areas (and thus, are more likely to be crowded). If you arrive at a trailhead and it is packed with cars, move on to the next trailhead. Find a directory to the parkway’s 369 miles of trail here.

Virginia State Parks. All 38 parks remain open for day-use activities, including hiking. All other activities are closed through June 10. For the latest on Virginia State Parks, go here.

National Forests. Trails remain open, though trailhead facilities are closed, making access in many spots tricky. One of the reasons we love hiking our national forests is that the trails are generally less developed and present more of a challenge. Exactly the reason you might want to avoid them now (see “distract medical personnel,” above). Keep tabs on the status of our North Carolina national forests here, Virginia’s national forests here.

Where you should hike

Getting out and hiking is good for you in oh-so-many ways, from lowering your blood pressure to keeping you sane (both especially important right now). So while the COVID-19 pandemic may be shrinking your options, you do still have a viable option: your own neighborhood. North Carolina’s statewide Shelter in Place rule, as is the case with many such rules nationwide, allows for getting out to exercise. A few quick thoughts on that front:

Stay close to home. As the Outdoor Alliance notes, the most responsible way to do so is by staying close to home. The farther you travel, the more potential you have to spread illness, by having to stop for gas, to eat, to use the restroom. 

Observe the basics of social distancing. Keep a safe distance from others: the general rule of thumb is 6 feet, we suggest 10.

Focus on local parks and trails. If you’re not familiar with your neighborhood, we recommend calling up Google Maps and drilling down to your neighborhood. Use the measuring tool (the ruler) to help determine your walking comfort zone: that is, how far you feel comfortable walking. Establish your zone, then see what lies within it. Look for green splotches (possibly parks), green dotted lines (natural surface hiking trails) and solid green lines (paved multi-use trails, such as greenways). 

We’ll be back Friday with more thoughts on exploring your neighborhood.

The post Where you can’t, can but shouldn’t, and should hike 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.

The post Four N.C. State Parks close trails; Let’s work to keep more from closing appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

Here’s a look at what I’ve found for our upcoming GetHiking! and GetBackpacking! adventures. Hopefully, my sleuthing can help you in figuring out your own upcoming adventure plans.

GetBackpacking! A Weekend on the Appalachian Trail between Carvers Gap and U.S. 19E

When: This weekend

What we learned: I wasn’t worried about the trail being flooded: it begins above 6,000 feet and stays high for much of its 13.7-mile run. Still, my first check was with the Appalachian Trail Conservancy website, whose Trail Updates page is a complete rundown of current closings, reroutings and other issues that may affect your hike. The North Carolina section (updates are broken down by state) listed no specific advisory for this stretch, though it did advise caution in general for downed trees and hanging limbs as a result of the storm. Of greater concern were the roads getting to the trailhead: Florence dropped some wet on the mountains, and landslides had been reported. But not on the roads we take, according to the N.C. Department of Transportation’s Travel Information page and its interactive map.

Status: It’s a go

GetHiking! Camping Weekend: Grayson Highlands and Mount Rogers

When: This weekend

What we learned: Virginia closed all of its State Parks in preparation for Florence, but all have now reopened, including Grayson Highlands. A look at the Grayson Highlands State Park page shows that only one park facility is closed, and it isn’t our group campsite. As for the Mount Rogers end of the trip, the USDA Forest Service site for both George Washington and Jefferson National Forests reported that all recreation areas were closed. That, though, from a post dated Sept. 12, before the storm. A call to the “customer service desk” for both forests indicated it might be faster to leave a message than to wait for a representative. It was also unclear whether the Virginia Creeper Trail, also part of the trip, was open.

Status: On hold, likely to postpone

GetHiking! Classic Escape to Curtis Creek and Graybeard Mountain

When: Weekend of Sept. 28-30

What we learned: Curtis Creek is in the Pisgah National Forest. (In fact, it was the first tract of land in the Pisgah, back in 1913). It’s in a particularly narrow valley that descends from the Black Mountains to the Piedmont, and thus seems especially vulnerable to flooding. And while it, along with the rest of the Pisgah, was closed prior to Florence, it has reopened. Graybeard Mountain is rather unique in that it is part of the Montreat Conference Center’s 2,500-acre Montreat Wilderness. It remains open to hiking as well, according to the website.

Status: It’s a go.

GetBackpacking! Intro to Backpacking Graduation Trip to South Mountains State Park

When: Weekend of Sept. 28-30

What we learned: One of the many reasons we love our North Carolina State Parks is that they do a great job of keeping us informed. All parks were closed last week; on Monday, the park website reported that some parks would reopen on Tuesday, and as Tuesday dawned, 24 parks had reopened, including South Mountains. A note atop the park’s page notes that debris cleanup may be occurring, so keep an eye out.

Status: It’s a go.

GetBackpacking! Overnight Sampler at Eno River State Park

When: Sept. 29-30

What we learned: The park is open. However, a bridge linking the Buckquarter Creek and Holden Mill trails is washed out, closing the Holden Mill Trail until the bridge can be fixed or replaced. We don’t necessarily cross the bridge, but it involves a creek that we will need to cross upstream. Probably worth scouting to make sure the rock-hop crossing we use is still in place.

Status: It’s a go

GetBackpacking! Intro to Linville Gorge

When: Oct. 5-7

What we learned: As far as we can tell from the Forest Service website, the gorge is open. However, we saw some video posted of Linville Falls running at 8,000 cubic feet per second: it’s typically flow is 100 to 200 cfs. Since the gorge is extremely steep and narrow, it’s a good bet the bottom of the gorge — and the campsites therein — have been hit. However, this trip base camps on the east rim, well above the fray. One of our favorite sources for the gorge — LinvilleGorge.Net — didn’t have information up just yet; we’re awaiting approval to become part of the Linville Gorge Facebook Group, which should have some up-to-date, hands-on information.

Status: It’s a go (though we may need to tweak the plan)

Beyond this two-week window, things look good, with one exception. The first weekend in December we have a backpack trip scheduled on the Neusiok Trail in the coastal Croatan National Forest. The forest is downstream from New Bern, which received 16.65 inches of rain from Florence. A saturated forest floor combined with hurricane-force winds and a largely pine forest (pines have shallow roots) means there could be a significant number of trees down. Since we doubt anyone’s been in yet to assess the damage, we’ll wait a week or two before checking on this one. Our source: the Carteret County Wildlife Club, which maintains the trail. Another good source: NeusiokTrail.org.

And if the Neusiok isn’t open by December? The 21-mile trail is one of our most popular backpack trips, but if it can’t happen, we’ve got a pretty exciting coastal alternative in mind just across the state line, False Cape State Park and the Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge in Virginia. 

Funny, because while I’ve known about Back Bay, it never occurred to me as a good backpacking destination until I needed to start snooping around. Amazing how a potential roadblock can expand your horizons.

Happy trails!

Joe

Resources

The sources we used to check on our trips (which may be helpful for checking on yours):

• Appalachian Trail Conservancy
• N.C. Department of Transportation’s Travel Information
• Virginia State Parks
• Grayson Highlands State Park
• George Washington and Jefferson National Forests  
• Montreat Conference Center / Wilderness
• South Mountains State Park
• Eno River State Park
• Nantahala National Forest
• Pisgah National Forest
• LinvilleGorge.net 
• Croatan National Forest
• Carteret County Wildlife Club
• NeusiokTrail.org 
• Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge
• False Cape State Park

For details on the trips mentioned above, visit GetHiking! Triangle.

The post Post Hurricane Florence: What’s open, what’s not? appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

Weirdly, a lot of us felt powerless as our elected federal officials shut down the U.S. government for 16 days. We elected them, but I’m pretty sure most of us didn’t elect them to do this.
You can stress this point when your local representatives come up for reelection. Unfortunately, that’s a ways off. If you prefer instant gratification, here’s a suggestion: This weekend, now that the government is again open for business, visit one of the federal parks, forests, refuges, trails, historic sites, military parks — whatever, that was closed during the recent … situation.
Our friends at the N.C. Division of Tourism, Film and Sports Development have put together a list of federal sites you can visit statewide. Click on the site for information on planning a visit.
This weekend, let your elected officials know how much you appreciate these gems — and don’t appreciate them being capriciously closed. Take a day trip.

• Blue Ridge Parkway
• Great Smoky Mountains National Park
• Cape Hatteras National Seashore
• Cape Lookout National Seashore
• Appalachian Trail
• Overmountain Victory National Trail
• National Forests: Nantahala, Pisgah, Uwharrie, Croatan
• Carl Sandberg Home National Historic Site
• Guilford Courthouse National Military Park
• Moores Creek National Battlefield
• Fort Raleigh National Historic Site
• Wright Brothers National Memorial
• Wildlife Refuges (11 statewide)
• Military Museums at Fort Bragg

The post Send a message: Get out and explore a federal park appeared first on GetGoing NC!.