Coast

Not sure why, but November is one of my favorite times to paddle at the coast. Perhaps the droves of summer tourists are gone, perhaps because the cold of winter — a cold exacerbated by being on the water — has yet to settle in. In any event, it’s a magical time to be on the water. One of the best places to experience this magic: the peaceful waters of Bogue Sound behind the North Carolina Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores.

Saturday, join a naturalist for an Early Bird Paddle Trip beginning at 9 a.m. All equipment — paddle, vest, canoe/kayak — provided, as is the interpretive eye of a trained naturalist who can help you make sense of the salt marsh ecology. A great way to spend two hours on a Saturday morning.

Logistics: 9-11 a.m., $20, ages 10 and up. 800.832.FISH. Here for more details.

Weekend forecast: Sunny, high of 59.

Piedmont

This weekend is probably your last chance to enjoy fall color, so enjoy it to the fullest on a guided hike. Saturday’s Fall Foliage Hike at Historic Yates Mill County Park in Raleigh, for instance. Join a naturalist to learn about what makes the green world explode in color come fall on a hike at this special preserve.

Logistics: 11 a.m.-noon, Saturday, Nov. 3. Free, but pre-registration is required. 919-856-6675

Saturday forecast: Sunny, high of 57.

Mountains

Can you believe we’re suggesting skiing as an option the first weekend of November? A bizarre mix of Hurricane Sandy and a cold front dumped 11 inches of snow on Beech Mountain, 7 at Sugar and 4 at Cataloochee, all in North Carolina. Sugar and Cataloochee were further capitalizing on the cold by making snow and expected to open today. Temperatures were expected to continue cold into the weekend, supporting at least overnight snowmaking efforts. As of today (Wednesday, Oct. 31), Sugar and Cataloochee. It was unclear whether any additional Southeast resorts would open this weekend, including Snowshoe Mountain in West Virginia, which had nearly two feet of snow as of Tuesday morning.

Logistics: Follow the breaking North Carolina and Southeast ski situation at SkiSoutheast.com.

Forecast: From today through the weekend daytime highs are expected to rise into the upper 30s with overnight lows in the upper 20s. With heavy snow expected to leave the region tonight, conditions will remain for overnight snowmaking.

* * *

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.

* * *

The post This weekend: Skiing? In early November? appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

Coast

One of the best uses of a kayak is in exploring the tidal flats along the coast. Your boat sits low in the water, making it perfect for a intimate, ground’s-eye view, a view made all the better by the craft’s quiet glide, which attracts minimal attention from wealth of critters who call this home.

Saturday, explore the Theodore Roosevelt Natural Area near the North Carolina Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores on a three-hour, aquarium-led paddle. $20 ($18 for aquarium members), kids 6 to 12 must be accompanied by an adult. Shoves off from the aquarium at 9 a.m., returns at noon. And if you can’t make this Saturday’s trip, there are plenty more planned for this summer.

Seek details here.

Piedmont

Guess we’re in a paddling mood, because the most enticing event we see in the Piedmont is a kayak trip Saturday at Lumber River State Park. The trip departs at 9 a.m. from the Chalk Banks Access Area near Wagram. According to the Lumber River State Park Web site, the Lumber  (pictured at top) is “one of the country’s few wild and scenic rivers — the only black-water river with this designation in North Carolina.”

You don’t have to know how to paddle, but you do need to know how to swim (though it seems that if you know how to do the former, you wouldn’t need to worry about the latter).

Also: While the trip is free, you do need to call and reserve a spot, at 910.628.4564

Mountains

We’ll chuck the paddle for the hiking boots here in the high country, where the Carolina Mountain Club will be hiking the Mountains-to-Sea Trail Saturday. Specifically, the 7.9-mile stretch beginning at the Mills River overlook and ending at the Chestnut Cove overlook. “This is a pleasant MST hike, mostly downhill, with one climb over Ferrin Knob,” according to the club’s hiking report.

Carpool for this hike will leave the Westgate Shopping Center near Exit 3B off I-240 in Asheville (here are directions and a photomap) at 10 a.m., with a second meeting location off the Blue Ridge Parkway at the French Broad Overlook at 10:15 a.m.
More info: Hike leader Lenny Bernstein at 828.236.0192, lsberns@att.net

* * *

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.

The post Weekend plans? Grab a paddle and hiking boots appeared first on GetGoing NC!.