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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We just got back from a week-long trip and it was killer. We covered 73 miles on foot, averaging 10.4 miles per day. According to my Fitbit, we climbed 369 floors, or about 53 floors a day (for perspective, that’s just a few floors shy of the Bank of America Center in Charlotte). As outdoor adventures go, it was physically challenging: that New York City can really wear you out.

When we decided to spend a week in New York, my main goal (among many) was to visit Central Park. A half mile wide and two-and-a-half miles long, this 843-acre urban park is testament to what good city planning early on can accomplish. According to the Central Park Conservancy, which manages the park, about 38 million people visit the park each year, or, on average, 104,000 people every day. 

When it was conceived in the 1840s, Central Park was seen as a way for New Yorkers to escape the crush of urban life. One of the key features of the Greensward Plan eventually chosen for the park was that it effectively shielded park-goers from the city that lay beyond its borders. (Ironically, this massive clearing is now one of the best spots to view the towering midtown Manhattan skyline.)

But, as I quickly discovered, it’s not just Central Park. That early success spawned a commitment to parks and their restorative powers: today, New York City has more than 1,700 parks across its five boroughs. In Manhattan, it seems, you can’t walk more than three blocks without hitting a park. Some are small pocket parks only big enough for a playground. Some are big enough to accommodate a game of touch football or Frisbee. In Central Park, you can train for a marathon. We wound up plotting our routes between main attractions — the New York Public Library, Grand Central Station, Greenwich Village, among others — by how many parks we could walk through along the way. 

What helped us rack up our miles was being able to go carless. Every morning I walked a mile through our Brooklyn neighborhood to get coffee at a Russian market, then meander my way back. New York’s incredible public transit system took us close to everywhere we wanted to go: take a train to downtown Manhattan, walk five or six miles, take the train back. 

And those 53 floors a day? Mostly from descending or ascending to catch a train. (And extra credit on our travel days, when we had about 60 pounds of luggage in tow.) Those trains and the buses, especially at rush hour, provide one of the best core workouts imaginable: you’re standing, the train is swaying and bucking at 30 mph — you better believe your core gets a workout. And, when our New York City days came to an end, we were rewarded with the best night’s sleep you can imagine.

When we returned in today’s wee hours after our 7-day NYC adventure I was spent. And I was glad to have a looming weekend to recover: just 21 miles backpacking the coast’s Neusiok Trail — with nary a stair or a hill in sight.

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When I drive through a small town, I wonder what unsung recreational treasures are hidden within. Sometimes I get lucky and stumble upon them. And every once in a while I get a call from the director of a local parks and rec department asking if I’d like a tour. …

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Paul Horne must have picked up on my perplexed look. I was staring at what looked like three pieces of modern sculpture plunked down in the middle of Mary Hayes Barber Holmes Park, a 10-acre greenspace that opened in 2009 on Pittsboro’s north side. If it hadn’t been in mulch, usually an invitation for play, I would have expected a chastising “Do not climb!” sign in front.

“It’s a climbing feature,” said Horne, Pittsboro’s park planner — and parks and recreation staff. “I’m told it has 5.10 moves.” Sure enough, small holds were carved into jungly creation, the work of a Colorado firm that makes climbing walls and structures.

“Our goal,” said Horne, “is to create a sense of place that reflects Pittsboro.”

Creating a sense of place and play would seem to be a tall order, especially in these days of tight municipal budgets. It’s a truism of the times that has forced Horne, who’s been on the job four years, to get creative in his parks planning.

Take Mary Holmes Park. The 10-acre site was donated and the town found grants to cover much of the construction cost. Horne has also held costs down by keeping his eye out for good deals. For instance, many of the boulders strategically placed around the park came from a construction site that was eager to be rid of them. A woodworker, Horne, who grew up in Granville County and went to UNC, has helped with the “sense of place” mission by doing some of the less-demanding woodwork that helps give Pittsboro’s six parks their natural feel. And he’s constantly on the lookout for items that give a personal touch.

“C’mere,” he says, walking quickly through a light rain to a gazebo. “Look up.” From the rafters’ apex a Nordic-looking god carved of wood stares down at us. “It’s a Green Man carving,” Horne says. “I pick them up when I find them and put them in places like this. I don’t know how many people notice them.”

In the end, an asset to the town valued at over $1 million cost Pittsboro about $30,000.

It occurs to me that this little recreational oasis off US 15/501 just south of the US 64 bypass would make a great leg-stretching stop for travelers taking the scenic route across the state. If only they knew it was here. There’s no mention of a park from the highway (unlike the heads-up you get for the nearby McDonald’s and KFC), and even from US 15/501 there’s only a small sign to suggest the fun that awaits two blocks in.

That’s more notice, though, than you’ll get for Pittsboro’s newest park, the 52-acre Rock Ridge Park located three miles south of town off US 15/501 — again, anonymously.

“I’m working to get a sign out here on the highway,” says Horne.

Rock Ridge is worth the search, however. The first phase of the park opened in September and includes a kilometer-long paved walking trail and play area that features two especially cool features: a German-engineered (“over-engineered,” says Horne) pendulum swing that looks like it’s not for the weak-of-stomach, and an 80-foot zipline. Horne initially wanted to run the zipline down a steep slope on the property (a hilly plot donated by 3M, which has quarry operations nearby), but that idea was nixed  as “too dangerous.” There’s also a high fort, intended as an escape for kids but also a good aerie for parents to keep tabs on their kids, and hiking trails. Phase II of the park’s development calls for mountain bike trail. “I want to say six miles,” says Horne, “but I’m not sure.”

In addition to building new parks, Horne is trying to spruce up Pittsboro’s longstanding ones. Thirty-six-acre Town Lake Park had become overgrown by invasive species. Efforts are underway to reclaim the park and lake, in part by yanking the strangling vines and underbrush that obscure the lake’s beauty. That will also enhance existing hiking trail at the lake and give incentive to build more.

Tight budgets or no, Horne is working on future parks projects. Pittsboro has its first installment on a greenway system, a 1,200-foot stretch of crushed gravel path along Robeson Creek through town, a skateboard park is in the offing at McLenahan Street Park, and Horne would like to blaze hiking trail along a 6.5-mile frontage of the Haw River, roughly between US 64 and Bynum. That land isn’t in Pittsboro’s town limits but it is within its 3-mile planning jurisdiction. That land, fyi, is part of the Lower Haw River State Natural Area: a trail currently runs along the river’s jungly east bank, but folks familiar with the west bank, the area under Pittsboro’s purview say the terrain is much different, more mountainlike.

It’s the town’s smallest park, Kiwanis on less than an acre off Credle Street, that Horne’s Pittsboro-specific parks mission is best expressed. Earthy, arty Pittsboro, home to a thriving arts community, a customer-owned grocery and perhaps the only steampunk cafe in the Piedmont, is reflected here at Kiwanis, where fruit-bearing trees provide natural snacks, playground equipment is carved from wood and creative play is encouraged at every turn.

Says Horne, “We hope to make the park system highlight the town’s strengths.”

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Explore Pittsboro’s parks

For general information on Pittsboro’s parks system, go here. For a map of the parks, go here.

Click on the following parks to learn more about them.

Kiwanis Park
Mary Holmes Park
McClenahan Park
Rock Ridge Park
Town Lake Park
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Today: Hit your neighborhood park.

Last year, a postage stamp of a park — 11 acres — opened within walking distance of our house. It’s got limited green space — 1.4 acres — but it’s more than enough for a game of catch, Frisbee, family flag football or Whiffleball. It’s got a short — 0.4 mile —  paved walking trail — but it’s got some swerve and is good for a training-wheeled biker, a skateboarder or an inline skater. It’s got a modernistic playground that I have yet to tire of. I mean, that the kids have yet to tire of. And it’s got a small creek and little nature nooks ideal for in-depth, in-dirt inspection. In short, it’s a great two-hour escape guaranteed to have the entire crew nap-ready upon returning home. Chances are, there’s a similar park not far from you.

To find the park nearest you, contact your local parks & rec department, which you can track down using this list compiled by the North Carolina Recreation & Park Association.

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“We feel we’ve achieved our goal if no one sees this as a park for kids with disabilities, but rather as just a park,” Marla Dorrel said early yesterday morning. “Our goal was to integrate, not separate.”

The “our” she refers to is Kids Together Inc., the non-profit formed in 1995 to make reality the vision of then 7-year-old Kristin Holcombe and 6-year-old Helen Rittelmeyer. Both had sisters with special needs, both wanted a playground where they could all play together. Thus was formed the non-profit Kids Together Inc., which raised $300,000 toward the construction of the popular playground near Cary Parkway and Tryon Road, which opened in 2000.

The urban park is popular with kids of all abilities (and ages) because of its innovation.  There’s Katal the dragon, who snakes his way through a hillside, extensive climbing structures, a variety of swings (from infant, to traditional to chair swings designed for kids with physical challenges), playhouses and your typical playground fare. The park is peppered with original sculpted art (“Botanical Benches” by Baltimore artist Rodney Carroll, Oracle and Dinosaur benches from Greensboro’s Jim Gallucci) and features a hand-picked array of plant life “specially chosen to be child-friendly, with a stimulating variety of colors, textures and fragrances.” Weaving it all together is a flowing path that provides easy access to the entire 16-acre park. It’s a design, created with the help of world-renowned park designer Robin Moore of N.C. State University, intended to let kids make their own adventures.

Those adventures can present themselves in curious ways.

Katal the dragon (pictured at top) bobs in and out of a hillside, it’s various serpentine sections exposed every 10 feet or so. Today, the surface around Katal is a fall-absorbing rubber but in the early days Katal was surrounded by earth. One day, Dorrell, who is Kids Together’s president, noticed a small boy with a pail and shovel determinedly digging at the base of Katal’s neck. Dorrell watched the boy for a couple minutes, then had to ask: “What are you looking for? He told me, ‘I know the rest of the dragon is under here; I’m trying to find him.”

Dorrel spoke about the park, which was since been renamed in her honor, Saturday morning prior to her nonprofit’s annual fundraiser, the Kids Together Family Fun and Fitness Walk. (The group continues to play an active role in the park, having raised an additional $15,000 over the past decade for various improvements. Currently, they’re raising funds to build a misting station opposite the dragon.)

The park is a parent’s dream: Kids can entertain themselves here for a morning, an afternoon, or both.

“We wanted to create the kind of environment that doesn’t tell a child what to do,” says Dorrel. “It’s free play. We want to encourage kids to explore.”

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Marla Dorrel / Kids Together Park: To get there, go here.

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