Tag Archives: Pettigrew State Park

This weekend: All paths lead to good times

Not the boat you'll be touring the Scuppernong, but a boat with keen significance to the area.

Leave the driving to a park ranger on a boat trip up the Scuppernong River, hike Hanging Rock with GetHiking! Triangle, or hike into history in the Swannanoa Valley.

Coast

Pettigrew State Park offers frequent tours of the Scuppernong River. Usually, those tours are by canoe, a great way to experience the Scuppernong but not everyone’s cup of tea-colored water. Saturday, the park lets you leave the paddling to others on its afternoon Scuppernong River Tour.  One advantage: without having to deal with navigation you can focus on the waterway’s abundant wildlife and natural beauty. read more

This weekend: A proper September sendoff

The Scuppernong. Photo courtesy Mike Dunn

Say goodbye to September with a coastal paddle, a Piedmont adventure race, or a day in the mountains with your heads, thoughtfully, in the clouds.

Coast

Perhaps we’ve mentioned this a time or three before; if so, forgive us. But one of our favorite paddles in the state is on the Scuppernong River upstream from Columbia. Wide and open as the river is at Columbia, shortly before giving it up to Bull Bay and the Albemarle Sound, the river just upstream, where it becomes part of Pettigrew State Park, is close and intimate. Perfect for a fall canoe trip. read more

This weekend: Trails paddled, trails run

Paddle a popular coastal river or a prominent Piedmont lake, or take to the trail post haste in the Pisgah.

Coast

Pretty sure we’ve recommended this before and that’s fine: it’s a trip we can’t recommend enough. It’s Saturday’s paddle on the coastal Scuppernong River portion of Pettigrew State Park. Pettigrew is noted for its record old-growth trees, which you’ll find along the Scuppernong as well. Here, you’ll find ancient Atlantic white cedars (known locally as junipers) that reach diameters of three feet and heights of 100 feet. The area is also a wildlife oasis, assuring lots to see on this paddle. read more

This weekend: Paddle, pedal, (star) party

Mother Nature may be slow to get in on the spring season but the events calendar isn’t. A great range of spring activities are on tap across the state this weekend, starting with star parties across the state Friday night, followed by a paddle on the Scuppernong River Saturday and the Tour de Lure mountain road ride. Get out and embrace spring! read more

Do it all on New Year’s Day

Post-hike Russian tea at the Eno River Association New Year's Day Hike

When I first started writing about fitness and the outdoors back in the early 1990s, there were a handful of ways you could welcome the New Year in most communities. There was usually a 5K run, a bike shop sponsored a casual ride, canoe clubs held members-only paddles, there was a hike or two, and some oddball group was jumping into a local lake (and jumping right back out again). You had options for welcoming the new year, but not a lot. read more