Certainly doesn’t inspire thoughts of a day on the trail. A long day, at least.

That’s why this time of year we pull out our Summer Shorts: hikes long enough to sate your thirst for trail, but short enough to prevent heatstroke.

I got into shorter trails when I moved north of Greensboro four years ago. The reason? There were no long trails close by. Initially, the Shorts came in handy when I simply didn’t have the time to invest a half day, drive included. They become even handier when the heat settles in. 

Today, a salute to Summer Shorts. Five hikes I turn to when the heat gets turned up.

MST James M. Johnston Nature Preserve

Hillsborough

320 Elizabeth Brady Road

2 miles out and back 

Just across from Historic Occoneechee Speedway, now part of the N.C. State Parks system, sits a small preserve that clings to a bluff overlooking the Eno River. And clinging to the bluff is a mile-long stretch of trail that includes elevation (150 feet), floodplain forest, and rhododendron and mountain laurel stretches that’ll make you swear you’re in the mountains. 

The trail itself is a mile in length; to get there from the Occoneechee trailhead you’ll need to tack on another mile (out-and-back). This flat stretch makes for a nice warm-up, especially in summer, for short-but-steep climb that awaits. Looking for more mileage? A loop on the speedway adds a half-mile; tack on another 1.5 miles on the MST west into Hillsborough, and another half mile, still on the MST, to Occoneechee Mountain State Natural Area. What you wind up with here is a hike with a length for all seasons.

More info here

Seven Mile Creek Nature Preserve

Hillsborough

2187 Moorefields Road

1.5 miles

I’ve been hiking Seven Mile Creek for a decade now and I still think only a handful of us know about this 360-acre gem. Granted, it’s small and with a mile and a half of trail it may not be worth a drive across the Triangle, especially if you’re looking for miles. But in summer there’s passage along the preserve’s namesake creek, which, like the Eno it deposits into a mile downstream, is more montane than piedmont. A mature forest offers a sun-sheltering canopy and good sightline through the understory. Get ambitious and you can cross the creek at low water and pick up an old roadbed across the way. Or head upstream for a little timberbashing. Even with those additions, don’t expect to hike much more than a couple miles total. 

More info here, at the Orange County website

Take a 87-second virtual video tour here

Richard P. Gravely Jr. Nature Preserve

Ridgeway, VA

2525 Eggleston Falls Road

2 miles

This was quite the unexpected find when I moved to Eden. I don’t what I expected to find on this 75-acre preserve just a 17-minute drive from home, but what I found was an outer loop that spends part of its time along a stretch of the Smith River rich with rhododendron and mountain laurel. A connectoin trail runs along a ridge with lush hardwoods and a cemetery dating back to the mid-1800s. Depending upon the time of year you’ll find a range of wildflowers — including trillium, bloodroot, and wild orchids— ferns and mushrooms. It’s also got some elevation, topping out at just under 750 feet.

More info here

Knight Brown Nature Preserve

Stokesdale

221Waterfield Lane

3+ miles

The hike: Few places do as good a job of quickly escorting you from civilization as the 189-acre Knight Brown Nature Preserve. Take the Beechwood Bottom Loop Trail from the trailhead and hike clockwise, and you quickly descend to Belews Creek. (As soon as you reach the creek, look across, to the north, for a cascade tumbling down the far slope.) Large sections of three trails run along the creek, which has forged a surprisingly deep valley: in just over a tenth of a mile, the terrain rises 80 vertical feet above the creek. The east-facing slope probed by the Leatherwood Loop Trail has some understory growth, but for the most part, the high canopy provides a protective roof above open terrain below. Nice in summer because it blocks out the sun but not the downslope breezes, nice in winter because the leafy canopy disappears letting the sun’s warming rays penetrate. Belews Creek, which runs west, then north through the preserve, offers rocky relief, spilling over car-size boulders in spots, before mellowing out on its journey to the Dan River. An exceptional hike in all seasons.

More info here

Hickory Creek Access: Mayo River State Park

Stoneville

Tyne Road (off of Bennett Road),

GPS: 36.5093, -79.9984

This access is so new it’s barely on the park website. It’s so new it doesn’t even have an address. It’s so new that to get there, you need old-timey written directions (from US 220, take the NC 770 ramp and head west on NC 770 for 6.8 miles; turn right onto Victory Hill Church Road for 3.1 miles; turn right onto Bennett Road for 0.6 miles; turn right onto Tyne Road and into Hickory Creek Access). The trailhead is atop a subtle summit where you’ll seem to have options: only one, well marked, is the actual trail. Take it for a leisurely 0.8-mile hike down a mellow ridge to the Mayo River. Much of this hike is on an old, barely detectable, roadbed. Reaching the Mayo is a bit anticlimactic as the river bottom is densely vegetated and views of the river are limited. Turn and hike back to the trailhead. Up for another mile or so? Just before where you parked is a gated dirt road which offers a half-mile or so of easy hiking before “No Trespassing” signs suggest it’s time to retreat. If the heat has yet to defeat you, it’s three quarters of a mile down the access road to the park entrance. All told, you can get in about 4 miles of quiet hiking.

More info here.

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Last weekend, the snow and ice hit on Sunday; this weekend it’s on Saturday (starting late Thursday, actually). And last weekend, the farther west you went — into the western Piedmont and mountains — the more winter-like it became. This weekend, it gets more wintery toward the coast. 

With the latest forecast in mind — as of Thursday morning — we offer these thoughts on weekend fun. (Keep in mind that the American and European models were still engaged in a tug of war, so this could change by the time it hits the press.) 

Saturday

A quick thought for Saturday’s planned N.C. State Parks programs: Iffy: the Bear Island Eco-Hike at Hammock’s Beach, the Biological Wonderland Hike at Carolina Beach, the Fort Tours at Fort Macon. Probably: Pining for the Pines at Lake James, What’s a Ranger at Stone Mountain.

Sunday

For Sunday in the Probably category: Hiking Essentials, Unpacking the Daypack at Pilot Mountain; New Year of Prescribed Burning at Stone Mountain. Iffy: Fort Tours at Fort Macon, Looking for Longleaf at Hammocks Beach. Hard-to-Say: Rockefeller House Tour at Carvers Creek, Winter Bird Walk at Weymouth Woods.

Learn more about these state park programs here.

DIY hike

A possible scenario for the weekend: You get 1 to 3 inches of snow Friday, Saturday dawns mostly sunny but cold. The roads will likely be icy, likely for much of the day. You’re itchin’ to take a hike, but should you? Some quick thoughts:

• Hike the ‘hood. Even just getting out for a neighborhood walk is delightful after a snowstorm. 
• Dress accordingly. A good layer of clothing, gloves and a hat, your grippiest shoes.
• Open or closed? If the roads aren’t too bad, you might consider a hike nearby. Before heading out, check to make sure your venue of choice is open. For N.C. State Parks, for instance, your best bet is to check their Facebook page.
• Check the roads. Even if your hiking destination is a mile away, check first to make sure the roads are passable. 
• Use trekking poles! They’re especially good for staying upright on snowy, icy trail.Your best spot for one-stop road conditions in North Carolina is drivenc.com
• Go short. Enjoy your snow hike, savor your snow hike by going short. Hiking in snow is more taxing, you’ll tire more quickly, so go short. There are lots of good short hike options around.
• Take water. Always.
• Take snacks. You burn more calories in the cold; be prepared.
• Check the weather. Before heading out, check the weather — again. This storm has been all over the place and conditions are always subject to change. Check the radar in particular to make sure no pink or purple masses are headed your way.

There’s more, but those are the basics. Here’s hoping for a safe, wintry weekend we can GetOut! and enjoy. 

* * *

Short hikes 

There are 5 in the Triangle we especially like: Seven Mile Creek Nature Preserve, Orange County; Jordan Lake State Educational Forest, Chapel Hill; Bobbit Hole and Cole Mill Trail loop, Eno River State Park, Durham; Duke Forest, Korstian Division, Gate 25, Durham; Mountains-to-Sea Trail: James M. Johnston Preserve, Hillsborough. Find out why and how you can hike them in our GetHiking! 5 Great Short Hikes in the Triangle guide, here.

The post GetOut! This weekend: Like last weekend, but different appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

Sometimes you just need a little outdoor time. Not a full weekend of exploring. Not even a whole day — even a half day. Sometimes just an hour, hour and a half will do.

That well could be the case this weekend, when temperatures are again expected to reach 90, when afternoon storms are again a threat. Under such circumstances, a quick outing into a scenic spot can do the trick. 

We’ve selected 5 of our favorite quick-relief hikes in the region. They’re short — three are about 3 miles, the other two are 4 miles — and can be hiked, casually, in less than a couple hours. We provide a brief description, then a link to where you can procure our guide for each hike.

Duke Forest, Korstian Division, Gate 25. Whitfield Road, Durham. 3.2 miles. Most of the trails in Duke Forest are gravel service roads; there’s a smidge of that on this hike, but for the most part it’s nicely graded and maintained single track through mature forest with an especially scenic run along (and above) New Hope Creek. Check out the guide here.  

Cane Creek Mountains Natural Area, Snow Camp (Alamance County). 3 miles. This new preserve opened in May by Alamance Parks offers the first opportunity to explore the isolated Cane Creek Mountains in the central Piedmont. They may top out below 1,000 feet, but that doesn’t mean these mountains can’t give you a mountain-like experience. Reservations required (to minimize crowds) through Aug. 14; you can just show up starting Aug. 15. Check out the guide here.

Knight Brown Nature Preserve, Stokesdale. 3.3 miles. The Triad has some nice, quick getaways, but most are along the Watershed Lakes on the north side of town and tend to attract crowds. Not Knight Brown. This compact 189-acre preserve is rimmed by forested walls that protect Belews Creek and the valley it runs through. A true gem, courtesy the Piedmont Land Conservancy. Check out the guide here.

Mountains-to-Sea Trail at Falls Lake, Durham. 4 miles. Part of the statewide Mountains-to-Sea Trail’s 60-mile run along Falls Lake, this stretch between Red Mill Road and Old Oxford Road is actually 4.2 miles. We recommend starting at Red Mill Road and hiking west for 2 miles, to where the trail, having spent most of its time in bottomland forest, rises to a bluff overlooking the Eno River. Makes for a nice turnaround point. Check out the guide here.

Raven Rock State Park, Avents Creek Access, Lillington. 4 miles (with an additional 4-mile option). Avents Creek sits on the north bank of the Cape Fear River, across from the park’s main hub. As such, it gets a lot less traffic, and most of that is of the four-footed variety. Take the 4-mile West Loop and enjoy the best waterfall in the region, Jumping Fish Falls, which includes a 5-foot drop, a pool, a 3-foot drop. A rarity for the Piedmont. Check out the guide here.

Today’s video

Today’s video highlights another of our favorite short hikes, the 2.2-mile stretch of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail between Six Forks Road and NC 98 in Raleigh. Learn more about that stretch here.

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