It’s the transition season in North Carolina: standup paddleboarding at the coast, skiing in the mountains and hiking in between.
Coast
The Surf to Sound Challenge at Wrightsville Beach typically marks the end of the standup paddleboard season at the coast — a late and chilly end, in most folks’ books. The two-day challenge features the 6.5-mile Surf to Sound Challenge and the 4-mile Harbor Island Outer Loop challenge on Saturday, and a new competition, the Surf SUP Competition on Sunday. If you’ve got the will and a wet suit, head on down to Wrightsville Beach.read more
Conditions should be good on the slopes this weekend.
Race at a new nature park near Wilmington in honor of the groundhog, Bushwhack it on a mountain bike in the Piedmont, celebrate the cold in the high country in the most appropriate way possible. Another diverse weekend is on tap in North Carolina.
If you’re looking for something closer to home, check out the new weekly calendar listings at the Great Outdoor Provision Co. Three events every week near Great Outdoor Provision’s seven North Carolina markets: Charlotte, Chapel Hill, Greensboro, Greenville, Raleigh, Winston-Salem and Wilmington.read more
You’ll need a wet suit to participate in Saturday’s second annual North Carolina Surf to Sound Challenge, you won’t need a firearm to go on Saturday’s gunless deer hunt at Lake Crabtree, and you will need skis or a board but not a lot of money to go skiing in the mountains.read more
Gone for the winter (good news for your hike around Lake Waccamaw).
This weekend, avoid alligators, avoid trails, but don’t avoid the first big weekend of the Southeast ski season.
Coast
Remember the old Peter, Paul & Mary hit, “Where Have All the Reptiles Gone?” No, wait. That wasn’t PP&M in the 1960s. That’s Lake Waccamaw State Park this Sunday at 2 p.m., when a ranger explains why the park’s alligators are no longer on the prowl, why the turtles aren’t out catching some rays … basically why the entire reptile population is laying low. A great opportunity to learn a little something, then take a long (Lakeshore Trail, 5 miles) or short (Sand Ridge Trail, 0.75 mile) hike to look for the reptiles that aren’t supposed to be there.read more
