I’m reminded of this memorable event because I wonder if, 53 years from now, I’ll remember where I was on my very first Great Trails State Day. OK, probably not because I would be 130 and my memory might have faded by then. But I won’t be fuzzy on my whereabouts because of a lack of great ways to observe Great Trails State Day, which is this Saturday.

Great Trails State Day is part of our ongoing Year of the Trail activities in North Carolina. Year of the Trail was decreed by the State Legislature, and it wasn’t an empty proclamation. It came with $29.15 million for the Complete the Trails Fund (target to North Carolina’s then 12, now 14 State Trails), and the suggestion that if there was good response to Year of the Trail, more state money for trail development might be forthcoming. And it was: the state budget recently passed for 2023-2025 included $25 million for trail development.

Back to Saturday. How will I be observing Great Trails State Day?

• Will I be in Burnsville, celebrating the fact there are more than 100 miles of public hiking trails (not to mention climbing and paddling) in Yancey County?
• Will I be in Caldwell County participating in Hudson Parks & Rec’s “Story Walk,” held in conjunction with Smart Start?
• Perhaps I’ll throw the bike on the rack and head to Goldsboro for “Ride the City” for one of three levels of guided bike rides.
• Of course, there’s also the “Pinecone Pathways Special Edition Treasure Hunt” in Moore County, where there’s the chance to find one of 10 glass-blown pinecones secreted along the trail.
• There’s also the “Downtown Greenway Guided Walking Tour,” a 4-mile guided walk through downtown Greensboro.

As of 9 a.m. on Oct. 18, there were 32 Great Trails State Day events listed on the Great Trails State Coalition website, with events to be found across the state, from Corolla (“The OBX Way: Corolla Trail Talk)” to Old Fort (“McDowell Moves 2023“).

Actually, I do know where I’ll be for Great Trails State Day: Shelby, where the City of Shelby and the N.C. Department of Natural Resources’ Hometown Strong initiative will celebrate Shelby Trail Days with three days of events, starting Friday and ending Sunday afternoon. The event includes hikes on the Shelby greenway system, including the dedication of the first mile of the new Carolina Harmony Trail, a rails-to-trails project that will link downtown Shelby with the South Carolina state line. Thirteen trail-related events in all, AND, it’s held in conjunction with Shelby’s Mush, Music & Mutts Festival. (As part of the event, even though it’s not on Saturday, is a guided hike at Crowder’s Mountain State Park from the Boulders Access, which you can learn more about here.)

All in all, Great Trails State Day will be a day to remember. Perhaps even when you’re 130.

* * *

For all the Great Trails State Day events, visit the Great Trails State Coalition website here.

GetHiking! Fall Weekend Escape on the AT at Hot Springs

Looking for one last hiking fling for 2023? Join us Nov. 10-12 for two days of hiking on the Appalachian Trail out of Hot Springs. Both hikes start from Tanyard Gap: Saturday’s heads up to Rich Mountain, then returns to Hot Springs on Forest Service Trail down a long ridge; Sunday’s hike follows the AT west over Lover’s Leap into Hot Springs. Learn more about the weekend and sign up to join us here.

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Actually, it’s the Grand Opening for just one of the parks; the other is more of a sneak preview.

Officially opening for good is Bertie Beach, a 147-acre tract of wildness (pictured at top), also referred to as Tall Glass of Water, that sits on the Albemarle Sound in Bertie County. Bertie Beach gets its name from the 2,200-foot sand beach that eases into Albemarle Sound, the nearest beach for miles. But the tract has so much more:

• Hiking. There’s a 2-mile trail that weaves through the coastal woods and wetlands that dominate the tract. Flat hiking that exposes you to a land reclaiming its natural state after years of agricultural use. Eventually, there will be 7 miles of trail.
• Swimming. The beach marries the best of the natural world with modern convenience, including restrooms, outdoor showers, a water bottle refill station and a picnic pavilion.
• Primitive camping. A good cool-weather option at the coast.
• Canoe and kayak access. In addition to access, there’s also a kayak storage kiosk. 

Much of this will be open or partially open Saturday.

As if this weren’t enough of a draw, you can also get a sneak peek at the new Salmon Creek State Natural Area, which adjoins the Bertie County property. 

If you haven’t heard of Salmon Creek, it’s no surprise. In short succession, the original 1,000-acre tract, which surrounds its namesake creek, was purchased in 2017 by the N.C. Coastal Land Trust, which realized that the land’s natural beauty and archaeological attributes (native Algonkin artifacts have been found at the site) far outweighed in importance the threatened 2,800-unit development with a 212-slip marina planned for the site. The site was given to the State of North Carolina in December 2018, and in July 2020, the Coastal Land Trust threw in another 297 acres. Combined with the Bertie County site, that’s more than 1,400 continuous acres of exploring.

Saturday morning, N.C. State Parks is hauling its two Big Canoes — Hellbender and Loggerhead — to Salmon Creek for your exploring pleasure. Both canoes seat about 12 folks and will be able to navigate a ways upstream. Trips depart at 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. 

Again, Salmon Creek has not officially opened, so this is a rare opportunity to explore without, technically, trespassing.

I should mention, too, that there will be paddling Friday afternoon on Bennetts Millpond, Friday evening on Pembroke Creek, and Saturday afternoon into evening on Edenton’s Queen Anne’s Creek. The latter coincides with Edenton’s Sounds of Summer Music Festival at the waterfront Colonial Park: enjoy live music from the water!

For more information on Edenton’s Year of the Trail Weekend Festival, go here.

It’s a great way to spend a sultry summer weekend.

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Until this year.

This year, as part of North Carolina’s observance of Year of the Trail, among the hundreds of Year of the Trail events are 11 weekend trail festivals. Most will follow this format:

• Friday evening: a night hike, maybe a downtown concert, an introductory remark or two. 
• Saturday: Guided hikes, paddle trips, mountain bike rides. We’ll start around 9 a.m., go until 5 p.m. or so. There will also be a downtown festival, with craft and outdoor vendors, food and live music. There might well be more live music Saturday evening.
• Sunday: Sunday started out as a EIY (Explore It Yourself) day, with guide material supplied for select adventures. and that will still be the case. But we’re finding we have more and more to offer, so some structured events are sneaking into the mix. Volunteer service events (trail maintenance, trail building, etc.), for one. And we may be adding birding to the mix.

A quick explanation of what I mean by “we.” The 11 events are hosted by the communities and by the NC Department of Natural and Cultural Resources’ Hometown Strong initiative. Hometown Strong was created by Gov. Roy Cooper to help the state’s 80 rural counties boost their economies. I joined Hometown Strong last summer to help communities in those counties do just that by helping them showcase their, in my opinion, largely under-appreciated outdoor recreation assets. Hence the 11 Weekend Trail Days Festivals, which are shown below with their festival dates:

• Elizabethtown/White Lake, Feb. 17-19
• Morganton, March 3-5
• Eden, April 21-23
• Sanford, May 12-14
• Elizabeth City, June 2-4
• Old Fort, June 2-4
• Edenton, July 21-23
• West Jefferson, Aug. 4-6
• Shelby, Oct. 13-15
• Robbinsville, Oct. 27-28

First Festival: Elizabethtown/White Lake

What will these festivals look like? They continue to evolve, but the first one, in Elizabethtown/White Lake southeast of Fayetteville, looks like this:

Friday, Feb. 17

• 3-7 p.m. –  Check-in at the Trail Weekend Headquarters at the Cape Fear Farmers Market, where you’ll find food, vendors and information on the weekend’s events.
• 6:30 p.m. – Night hike at Jones Lake State Park, Cedar Loop Trail

Saturday, Feb. 18

• 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. – Food, vendors, information on events available at the aforementioned Cape Fear Farmer’s Market.
• 10 a.m. – Hike at Jones Lake State Park on the 4-mile Bay Trail
• 11 a.m. – Guided mountain bike ride at Browns Creek Nature Park and Bike Trail
• 12:30 p.m. – Guided paddle on Jones Lake State Park
• 1 p.m. – Reading by local author at Bladen County Public Library
• 2 p.m. – Guided hike on the Mountains-to-Sea Trail
• 3 p.m. – Guided hike at Bay Tree Lake State Natural Area
• 4 p.m. – Guided hike at Singletary Lake State Park
• 4-8 p.m.  Trail Weekend Headquarters moves to White Lake. 
• 4 p.m. – Guided hike on White Lake multi-use path
• 5:30-7:30 p.m. — Southern comfort cuisine dinner/fundraiser for the Mountains-to-Sea Trail
• 6-8 p.m.  Live music, White Lake

Sunday, Feb. 19

Sunday is a do-it-yourself day. We will provide maps and route descriptions.  A “hike board” will be at the Trail Weekend Headquarter for people to organize and hike together. Potential hikes include:

• Through the vines at Lu Mil vineyard
• Paved trail around Greene’s Lake and Cape Fear Winery & Distillery
• Tour and hike at Harmony Hall National Historic site open from 1-4pm
• 9 holes of disc golf at Tory Hole Park
• Jones Lake State Park
• Turnbull Creek Educational State Forest
• Bay Tree Lake State Natural Area

More info and registration

Events are free, but registration is suggested since most events are capped. You can also find more information on each event at the registration site, which resides here. Two more sites to be aware of:

• GetGoingNC.com YOTT page. You can find more information including upcoming Year of the Trail events and news, at our YOTT page, here.
• Greattrailsnc.com. And, you can find a comprehensive Year of the Trail calendar of events at greattrailsnc.com, the official event aggregator for Year of the Trail.

One last thing. These events are for everyone. We don’t care about your experience level, we don’t care if you’ve been in seclusion for the past three years (which some of you have). The goal of Year of the Trail is to develop a keen appreciation for the outdoors in every North Carolinian, all 10.7 million of us.

Join us.

The post A Year of Weekend Festivals Celebrating Trails appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

Cannon Day, Monday, July 4, five demonstrations from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Fort Macon State Park, Atlantic Beach. What says the 4th more than the firing of one of the biggest fireworks around — a cannon! Learn about the various cannons at this installation that dates back to 1747 and efforts to protect English settlers from Spanish raiders. At the end of each demonstration, they fire a cannon1 (It’s a blank, but still … .) Work in an ocean walk during your visit. More info here. 

Sunset on the Ridge, Monday, July 4, 7 p.m., Jockey’s Ridge State Park, Nags Head. Get bummed every Fourth of July because you have to choose just one fireworks display? That won’t be the case at Jockey’s Ridge, where, from atop a dune, you can catch the shows from Corolla to Ocracoke. Learn more here.

Festival for the Eno, Saturday, July 2, and Monday, July 4, West Point on the Eno city Park, Durham. It’s back! After a pandemic hiatus, this popular fundraiser for the Eno River Association returns with two days of music, food, crafts, paddling and hiking. More info here.

Wildflower Walk, Saturday, July 2, 10:30 a.m., Elk Knob State Park, Todd. Miss the wildflower show this spring in the Piedmont — or just crave more? They’re still popping in the high country, and you can catch it with an informed naturalist/ranger on this morning walk. And since it’s a bit of a drive up Meat Camp Road, we suggest adding a hike, the challenging but oh-so-rewarding 1.9-mile hike to the summit of Elk Knob. The mountaintop view is grand (see photo), but don’t overlook the craftsmanship of the trail on the way up. Learn more here.

Holiday Hike, Sunday, July 3, 2 p.m., Weymouth Woods State Natural Area, Southern Pines. Check out the rare longleaf pine stands on this 1.5-mile hike, then spend time wandering through downtown Southern Pines. Learn more here.

Enjoy your freedom this weekend! GetOut! And explore!

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