That’s what we’re about here at GetGoingNC.com: our guided hikes are intended to introduce you to new trails you can hike on your own, our classes give you the skills to confidently hike and backpack independently, and our trail guides, books and tutorials are likewise intended to activate and inform the explorer within. 

Typically, our GetOut! blog for the coming weekend deviates slightly from that mission by ferreting out for you upcoming hikes, trips and programs. Today, we deviate from that deviation. Today, we provide you with some of the resources we use to find out what’s happening in the weekend ahead. Find an area of interest, click the link, proceed to a calendar of events and plan away.

Regional land trusts

Land trusts offer some of the best programs around, from the Eno River Association’s Sunday Hike Series to the Triangle Land Conservancy’s Speed Hikes.

• Triangle Land Conservancy here
• Eno River Association here
• Piedmont Land Conservancy here
• Three Rivers Land Trust here
• NC Coastal Land Trust here
• Tar River Land Trust here

North Carolina State Parks

North Carolina’s state parks host a variety of activities throughout the week, in the evening, on weekends. Most have an educational focus, many are just intended to get you out in the wild. Activities include hiking, paddling and various nature programs. Most are free. Check out what’s going on this weekend at a state park near you, here.

N.C. Environmental Education Center

The state’s 200-plus environmental education centers have outdoor events of an educational nature going on throughout the week. Check ‘em out here.

Paddling

Up for a paddle trip? Several outfitters run trips in North Carolina, with most focused on a specific geographic area. Among them:

• Frog Hollow Outdoors (central Piedmont)
• Haw River Canoe & Kayak (central Piedmont)
• Headwaters Outfitters (western North Carolina mountains)
• Paddle NC (North Carolina coast)
• Zaloo’s Canoes, Kayaks & Tubes (northern North Carolina mountains, New River)

General adventure

Blue Ridge Outdoors magazine has an online calendar that includes a variety of activities throughout the region, from trail runs to paddle trips. Find it here.

At the 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.

Finally, a reminder that it is supposed to a springlike weekend — highs in the upper 50s, lows in the mid 30s under skies that grow sunnier as the weekend progresses — and your favorite trails could be crowded. The answer? Find a new favorite that won’t be as crowded. We recommend 5 in our Wednesday blog, which you may find here.

GetOut! And enjoy! 

Know of a resource we should include in our list of outdoor calendars? Pass it along to joe@getgoingnc.com.

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It’s been cool most of the week throughout our blogging area, and it will be cool again at least on Saturday, making this the perfect summer weekend to get in a hike.

Mount Jefferson Downhill Skateboarding Event, Saturday and Sunday, starts at 9 a.m. both days, Mount Jefferson State Natural Area, West Jefferson. Scratching your head, are you? Here’s the deal: The 1.6-mile road to the summit of 4,683-foot Mount Jefferson will be closed to vehicles both days to accommodate the mountain’s annual downhill skateboard race. Yup, youngsters on skateboards — more than 100 of ‘em — will skateboard down the mountain, dropping more than 700 vertical feet along the way. However, there will be shuttle service to the top of the mountain: park at the Lowe’s in West Jefferson and take a shuttle to the top, where you can hike the park’s 5 miles of trail. And you can check out the race as well. (FYI, one of the sponsors for the race, the Ian Tilmann Foundation, will be giving helmets to the first 100 kids who sign a pledge to wear a helmet while skateboarding.) Learn more about the race here and hiking at Mount Jefferson here.

Ranger-led Hike on the Profile Trail, Sunday, 10 a.m., Grandfather Mountain State Park,  Banner Elk. Think of Grandfather Mountain and you think of winging bridges and wild weather. That’s all on top of the mountain. At the base, on the massif’s northwest flank, lies the start of the Profile Trail, which revels in stately Southern Appalachian hardwoods and tranquil hiking. Join a ranger to explore this softer side of old Grandad on a 2-mile, 2-hour hike. Learn more and sign up here.

Sunday Morning Birdwalk, Sunday, 8 a.m., Eno River State Park, Durham. Ever walk through the woods in the early morning, hear the avian chatter and wonder who’s talking — and what they’re saying. Eavesdrop with a ranger on this leisurely 2-mile hike. Learn more and sign up here.

GetHiking! this weekend

What are our GetHiking! groups in North Carolina and Virginia up to this weekend? Plenty, thanks for asking …

Live the video

The Joyce Kilmer/Slickrock Wilderness in the Nantahala National Forest, coupled with the adjoining Citico Creek Wilderness in adjoining Tennessee, make up more than 35,000 acres of some of the wildest terrain on the East Coast. GetBackpacking! spent four days exploring the wilderness this past weekend, and will return next year. Until then, learn more about the area’s trails here.

More options

Looking for more options for weekend adventure? Check out our GetOut! Find An Adventure resource page here.

The post GetOut! Your Friday Nudge for Weekend Adventure appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

Your best shot at weekend adventure this weekend: do it Saturday because Sunday it looks like you might be iced in. More about Sunday in a moment. First, a thing or three to do Saturday:

Hike to Tory’s Den, Saturday, 1 p.m., Hanging Rock State Park, Danbury. We did this hike for the first time a couple months back and were struck by the contrast to the top of Hanging Rock. Whereas the top of the mountain is dominated by rock outcrop and dazzling views, the same rock outcrops here at the base are festooned in rhododendron and mountain laurel, making for a most intimate hike — and place to hide, as British Loyalists did during the American Revolution. A ranger tells all. Learn more and sign up here.

Tunnel Trail Hike, Saturday, 10 a.m., Chimney Rock State Park, Chimney Rock. New trail alert! An effort is underway to build a continuous trail along the horseshoe-shaped rim of the Hickory Nut Gorge southeast of Asheville. A big part of that effort is the recently completed Weed Patch Mountain Trail on the north rim of the gorge. Saturday, the Friends of Chimney Rock State Park lead a hike from the west end of Weed Patch to Eagle Rock: the two-mile out-and-back includes passage through a naturally occurring tunnel. The hike is lead by the Friends of Chimney Rock State Park. A fee may apply. Learn more and sign up here. 

North American Wood Duck, Sunday, 3 p.m., Weymouth Woods Sandhills Nature Preserve, Southern Pines. We’ll throw in one Sunday event, in the coastal plain, which may avoid winter’s visit. This one-mile hike checkouts Weymouth Woods wetlands in search of this festively colored fowl. Learn more and sign up here.

Now, about that winter weather:

• State parks. If you’re planning a visit, North Carolina State Parks are good about posting weather-related closures on their website (they’ve already closed all mountain campgrounds for Saturday to Monday). If in doubt, check here first.
• Cross-country skiing. If you’re a northern expat and still have your cross-country skis, here’s where you might be able to use ‘em in the Piedmont. And find where to x-country in the mountains, here.
• Hiking. And because we don’t get to hike in the snow all that often, you might need a refresher in how to make that happen comfortably and safely. For that, head here.

About today’s video: We shot this week’s inspirational video on a scouting trip Thursday on the Weetock Trail in the coastal Croatan National Forest. The trail is among the wildest and most elusive we know. It’s also the location of our first big GetOriented! Finding Your Way in the Woods day trip, next Saturday, Dec. 15. Learn more about the Weetock and that trip, here.

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