Basin Hike, Saturday, 10 a.m., Fort Fisher State Recreation Area, Kure Beach. This is about the time when we start getting excited about hiking at the coast. I know, we’re just hitting peak color in the Piedmont, but the cool temperatures and clear skies are made for a coastal adventure. And this hike is always the first one that comes to mind: the 1.1-mile hike starting on the beach, heading inland through salt marsh, past a World War II bunker that once housed something of a celebrity, and finally to an overlook overlooking The Basin and Zeke’s Island beyond. Some of the most wide-open space you’ll encounter on trail in North Carolina. Space is limited, reserve a spot by calling 919.458.5798. Learn more here.

Fall Birdwatching Hike, Saturday, 2 p.m., Lake James State Park, Nemo. As the event description accurately notes, the Paddy’s Creek area, where the hike will be held, “offers just the right mix of open water, shoreline woods and fields to see lots of species ….” And on this guided hike, with Ranger Jamie Cameron as your guide, you’ll learn what those species are. Bring binos and a field guide, if you have ‘em. Learn more here.

Birding and Nature Hike, Sunday, 8 a.m., New River State Park, Laurel Springs. Often in the deep woods, you hear birds, but you don’t always see them. Thus, a more useful way to ID a bird is by its call. That’s the goal on this 2-mile hike: learning to identify a call and understand what it likely means. Learn more here.

Hike DIY

Three more options, all DIY (with a little direction):

• The weekend’s weather begs for a long day on the trail. A reminder that we wrote about long trails in the region on Oct. 20. Find “Long Hikes for Cool Fall Days” here.
• You can find 5 more long hikes in our eguide, “5 Long Hikes for Getting in Shape,” available in our store, here.
• If you’re looking for a hike that’s more season-specific, check out our “3 Hikes for Mid Fall,” also available in our store, here.

Whatever you do this weekend, GetOut! And enjoy.

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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. 

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Portions of the 29 North Carolina State Parks that had been closed as a result of the coronavirus reopened this past weekend. Some reopened all their trails, some just a few. It’s worth a visit to the N.C. State Parks Facebook page for a sense of how things went systemwide. You’ll need to go beyond the photo of cars queued up as far as the eye can see at Raven Rock State Park to get a sense of what Reopening Day was like. 

It’s not clear what time that photo was taken, but one person who visited Raven Rock left this comment: “Got there SUPER early and enjoyed an AMAZING hike on Campbell Loop. Parking lot was empty when we got there, full when we left, as expected. Pays to be an early bird!”

A hiker at Carver’s Creek State Park only saw three families. Morrow Mountain S.P. also had plenty of room for roaming, said another observer.

I hiked at Eno River State Park, arriving a few minutes after it opened at 8 Sunday morning. When I left around 10, there were 16 cars in the main lot at the Fews Ford Access, about par for a Sunday morning, maybe even less than you might expect on a morning that felt more like fall than May (temperature of 39, cloudless skies). We went to Occoneechee State Natural Area this morning and saw one person on the trail.

How will it be next weekend? Not as crowded, we suspect. The forecast calls for the first hot weather of the year — upper 80s — and that’s bound to keep the fair-weather hikers away. 

We’ll have more on the prospects for weekend adventure Friday. For now, enjoy our visit to Eno River State Park on Sunday, in this brief video.

The post The return of N.C. State Parks appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

For instance: 

• Eno River State Park, only trails originating from the Fews Ford and Cole Mill access areas will be open (Pleasant Green and Cabelands remain closed, probably to keep crowds from the quarry, pictured above). 
• Crowders Mountain State Park, only “some trails” from the Sparrow Springs access will open.
• Pilot Mountain State Park, the summit parking area remains closed; all hiking must be done from satellite parking areas. 

At other State Parks — Umstead, Hanging Rock and Raven Rock — all trails will reopen.

Hours are altered at some parks as well, and some parks are marked as having “limited capacity,” though it’s unclear what that means. Before heading out, check out this park-by-park rundown of what’s open and what’s not.

A thought about heading out this weekend. The weather forecast is ideal for much of the region, with temperatures in the low- to mid-60s and sunny skies. That means the number of hikers flooding the state’s newly reopened trails could spike. On the other hand, that likely will siphon off hikers who have been flooding your local favorite trails, the ones no one else was supposed to know about. We recommend letting the excitement of this weekend’s reopening pass before paying those trails a visit, and sticking, for at least one more weekend, with those local favorites.

Regardless of where you head, though, some advice on how to minimize contact with your fellow hikers: 

• Hike early. Most N.C. State Parks open at 8 a.m. — a good time to go, especially this weekend with near-perfect weather. It’ll be chilly early — 34 on Saturday in the Triangle! — which should keep the numbers down at the trailhead. Sunday morning is also a good time to be out.
• Hike late. It’s May, so most State Parks are open until 9 (though, again, some parks are altering their hours)! Take advantage of these later hours to get out. Remember to take a headlamp or flashlight.
• Avoid the main trailheads. Find the more remote trail access points to where you’re headed. In particular, look for trailheads that don’t have paved parking, are on gravel roads, don’t begin from a visitor center, don’t have restrooms. Study the map; you can find them. 
• Avoid the main trails. Start from a more remote trailhead and you’ll be on a trail that likely doesn’t get much foot traffic — initially, at least. A lot of these trails will hook up with more popular trails eventually.
• Avoid parks near urban areas. Twelve state parks kept their trails open while the other 29 had to close. Why? Because they were in more remote locals. At least for this weekend, you might want to focus on trails in those more remote parks, which you can find here.

Have a great weekend!

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Under Phase 1 of the reopening of North Carolina in light of the coronavirus pandemic, “parks and trails are encouraged to reopen.”

That was one of several elaborations on Phase 1 made by Gov. Roy Cooper this afternoon during a coronavirus briefing. Phase 1 goes into effect Friday at 5 p.m.

North Carolina’s 29 state parks that have been closed (12 have remained open, with trails only) will reopen Saturday, says parks department Public Information Officer Katie Hall. That will include trails, most restrooms and most boat ramps. Visitor centers and other facilities will remain closed during Phase 1.

Under Phase 2, beginning May 22, camping will resume (except for group camps). Cabins will be open weekends only. Some beaches and designated swimming areas would open, as well as picnic areas, though with no reservations. All facilities would reopen under Phase 3, a date for which is to be determined.

We’ll let you know of more specifics as they become available. You can also find more detailed information about the phased reopening on the N.C. State Parks website.

In the meantime, here’s a look at the current status of our other major public lands:

North Carolina

Blue Ridge Parkway. Most trails along the parkway remain open, though restrooms and portable toilets, visitor centers, campgrounds, picnic areas, and concession operations are closed.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park. On May 9 (Saturday), the park, which has been essentially closed since April 4, will begin a phased reopening, focused on roads and trails. Which roads and trails were not specified in a release dated April 30.

“Campgrounds, picnic pavilions, visitor centers, and many secondary roads will remain closed during the first reopening phase, which is expected to last for at least two weeks,” the park reports on its website. To accelerate the second round of openings, the park will engage in “disinfectant fogging operations for restrooms and public buildings, installation of plexiglass shields at visitor centers, personal protective equipment requirements for maintenance workers, new safety protocols for emergency services staff, and reduced group size limits.”

Your best bet for the latest on what may be opening Saturday is to follow the park’s Facebook page.

Croatan, Nantahala, Pisgah and Uwharrie National Forests. There’s been no change in the status of the four national forests in North Carolina since April 13. You can find a rundown of all closures here, including the trails that were closed in the Pisgah National Forest on April 13, here.

Virginia

Shenandoah National Park. Closed on April 8, the park has yet to announce plans for a phased reopening. Last Friday, the park reported on its Facebook page that it was “working with our local communities and public health officials, as well as state and national guidelines to develop a phased plan for reopening that ensures the safety of Park staff, local communities, visitors, and resources.” Check their Facebook page for the latest.

George Washington and Jefferson National Forests. Closures include all campgrounds and recreation areas, portions of the Appalachian Trail on Forest Service property, the Virginia Creeper Trail and all shooting ranges. Otherwise, trails are open, though the Forest Service advises: “Stay Home Now, the Forest Will Wait Across the South, people are exercising close to home to comply with state and local guidance about not traveling for recreation. When shelter-at-home orders are lifted and public health and safety are restored, the forest will be waiting. Treasured places like national forests are being managed for everyone’s enjoyment far into the future.“

Virginia State Parks. All 38 parks in the system are open for day-use activities, including hiking, but closed otherwise until June 10 (“otherwise” closures include cabins, camping, restrooms and bathhouses). Keep updated at the State Parks website, here.

Both states

Appalachian Trail. The Appalachian Trail Conservancy, which oversees the 2,190-mile trail that passes through 14 states, continues to ask that people stay off the trail “to keep both the Trail and its broader community safe and healthy.” But with several states along the route relaxing or planning to relax stay-at-home orders, “the ATC has convened a task force to develop guidance on how A.T. visitors can re-engage safely with the Trail.” For updates on the task force’s recommendations and about the reopening of the trail, go here.

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