Coast / Coastal Plain

It’s every kid’s perfect summer night: wait until sunset, then grab a flashlight and wander through the local cemetery. A rite of youth fraught with the forbidden: sneaking out after dark, trespassing, cavorting among the dead … . No wonder it was a highlight of being a kid.

Now, those illicit evening romps are back, albeit with the edge replaced by education. Saturday evening, join local historians Dr. Chris Fonvielle and Robin Triplett, along with cemetery superintendent Eric Kozen on an Evening Flashlight Walking Tour through Wilmington’s Oakdale Cemetery. Learn about the history of Oakdale, Civil War veterans, funerary art and interesting Port City citizens, all while reliving those carefree days — nights, rather — of youth.

Vital Stats: Evening Flashlight Walking Tour, Saturday, July 16, 8 p.m., Oakdale Cemetery, Wilmington. $15. More info and to sigh up: 910.762.5682, friends@oakdalecemetery.org

Saturday forecast: 8 p.m. temperature of 82 with a 24 percent chance of rain.

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Looking ahead: Kayak Eco Tour to Masonboro Island, Aug. 16, Halyburton Park. More info here.

Piedmont

Think of Pilot Mountain and you think of crowds. Of cars slowly making the two-mile drive to the summit, of trying to find a place to park, of elbowing your way down the Jomeokee or Ledge Spring trails.

Sunday, we invite you to experience a different side of Pilot Mountain on the trails less traveled. At 9:30 a.m., our GetHiking! Triad hiking group will take a 6-mile hike on the Mountains and Grindstone trails, circumnavigating the conical mountain’s base. We’ll avoid both the clouds and the heat.

Vital Stats: Pilot Mountain hike, GetHiking! Triad, Sunday, July 17, 9:30 a.m. More info and to sign up, here.

Saturday forecast: Temperature of 72 at the start, with a chance of rain.

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Looking ahead: Occoneechee Geology Hike, Occoneechee Mountain State Natural Area, Hillsborough, Saturday, July 23. More info here.

Mountains

It may seem oxymoronic to put the words “sprint” and “triathlon” in succession. Most of us generally associate a triathlon with an endeavor of endurance: swimming, then biking, then running. In the case of an Ironman, that’s swimming 2.4 miles, then cycling 112 miles, then running a marathon, or 26.2 miles. Lordy.

In that context, then, the dimensions of Sunday’s Asheville Triathlon — a 400-meter pool swim, 11.6-mile bike ride, and a 5K (3.1 miles) — may indeed seem like a sprint. Which isn’t to diminish the challenge, a challenge taken up by up to 200 participants annually.

Feeling like a challenge? Details below.

Vital Stats: Asheville Triathlon, Sunday, July 17, 6:45 a.m., Asheville Recreation Park, Asheville. $60. More info here.

Sunday forecast: 63 degrees at 7 a.m. under partly cloudy skies.

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Looking ahead: “Movie: Winter on Mount Mitchell,” July 31, 2:30 p.m., Mount Mitchell State Park. More info here.

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Those are our thoughts on the weekend. Find more options at the sources listed below.

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The post Your Weekend: Adventure as different as night and day appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

Coast

No matter how far you’ve ever walked, I’m guessing you’ve never walked back in time. You can Saturday, on the monthly two-hour historical walking tour through Wilmington’s Oakdale Cemetery.

“Oakdale,” writes Janet Seapker on the cemetery’s Web site, “was part of the Rural Cemetery Movement that swept the US in the mid-Nineteenth Century. Rural cemeteries converted large tracts of land into garden settings. As families purchased lots, they mixed ornamental plants in with the native vegetation, making Oakdale one of the city’s most beautiful spots.” As such, the cemetery is something of a who’s who — or rather, who was who — of historic Wilmington, housing in eternal slumber past majors, congressmen, writers, merchants and others.

It’s the stories of Oakdale’s at-rest residents that’s the focus of this Saturday’s tour, which begins at 10 a.m. It’s free for Friends of Oakdale Cemetery, $8 otherwise. For more info, including the cemetery’s location, go here.

Piedmont

It’s been mild this week, but the weekend promises to be back in the 90s — what better time to kick off your sandals and go wading in a nearby river? And if you’re 5 or older, it could only get better if you were encouraged to look for stuff living on the river’s bottom!

That’s the plan Saturday at Eno River State Park, when a naturalist will lead a contingent of 5-and-up waders in search of aquatic life on the bottom of the Eno River at Fews Ford. Located at the end of Cole Mill Road, Fews Ford is a wide spot in the river (hence its ford status) that’s rocky and usually clear, great for both cooling off and finding elusive water life.

There’s no fee but the hike is limited to 12, so pre-registration is required, by calling 919.383.1686. The fun starts at 1:30 p.m.

Mountains

Always on the lookout for a good excuse to visit Black Mountain, it’s hard to find better temptation than Saturday’s Splash & Dash benefiting the Black Mountain Pastoral Care & Counseling Center. First thing to like: the race — a 400-meter pool swim followed by a 5K — is a wallet-friendly $30 per person. Sound like a bit much for your current level of training? Then there’s the second thing to like: the Spring & Dash option, a 200-meter pool swim followed by a 3K, for the scaled-down price of $20. And if you flat out haven’t been active period, there’s the Dip & Dash option: a 50-meter swim followed by a 1K run for just $15 (that last option, it turns out, is just for the 6- to 10-year-old set.

Race begins at 8:30 a.m., last-minute registration is from 7:15-8:15 a.m. More info by calling the host Cheshire Fitness & Racquet Club at 828.664.0400 or emailing info@cheshirefitnessclub.com.

Photo at top of Oakdale Cemetery by Eric Kozen

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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.

The post What? No weekend plans? Then make some appeared first on GetGoing NC!.