Enjoy!

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.

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

The post GetOut! It’s a DIY Weekend appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

Traditionally, nearly every North Carolina State Park has held a First Day Hike. This year, due to the ongoing pandemic, only 19 First Day Hikes are planned. The most notable omission, for the second year straight, is the First Day Hike at Eno River State Park. Until last year, this hike had been an annual tradition dating back to 1971. Held in partnership with the Eno River Association, there was usually a short hike and a long hike, both culminating with hot chocolate and cider at the picnic shelter. 

In years past when the weather has been nice, this hike has attracted more than 500 hikers. Even outdoors, that’s a lot of people to be hiking in close proximity. Another reason the hike is canceled is construction related to construction of a Visitor Center, which has caused a good deal of disruption near the trailhead.

In lieu of the New Year’s Day hike the park and end river association a 12-part series of self-guided challenges called the Superlative Eno Social Scavenger Hunt. Learn more about the challenge at enoriver.org/supereno

As for what first day hikes are happening in North Carolina, if we weren’t holding our own hike, we’d probably head down to the Charlotte area for the Boulders Overlook First Day Hike at Crowders Mountain State Park. That hike is about 2 miles, and is being held in conjunction with the Kings Mountain State Park First Day Hike in neighboring South Carolina. That hike is 5.6 miles and will head up to the Boulders Access. Shuttles are involved. 

If you don’t have hike plans for Saturday, here are links to the First Day Hikes being held throughout the Southeast:

• Georgia
• North Carolina
• South Carolina
• Virginia
• Tennessee
• West Virginia

Get 2022 off to the best start possible by spending some quality time on the trail. First Day Hikes couldn’t make it any easier.

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More info

You can find a rundown of First Day Hikes nationwide at the America’s State Parks website, here.

Not accustomed to cold weather hiking? The American Hiking Society offers tips for cold weather hiking here.

Explore with us!

We’re hitting the trail hard in 2022 with our GetHiking! and GetBackpacking! programs. Learn more about what we’re up to and sign up to join us by going here.

The post Start 2022 with a First Day Hike appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

Many trails — but not all.

Finding the trails less traveled was the focus of our first Lunch with GetHiking! gathering at noon today. If you missed it, you can catch it in reruns here.

While we won’t spoil the entire half-hour session, we will share one aspect: a quick look at some of the State Parks that tend to attract less attention. We highlight four of those parks with guided hikes being held this weekend. Do the hike, then do a little additional exploring on your own — we’ll share a quick thought on what else to explore.

Cedar Loop Hike/World Cleanup Day, Saturday, 10 a.m., Jones Lake State Park, Elizabethtown. A park ranger leads a hike on the mile-long Cedar Loop Trail; the ranger tells you about the bay forest and sand ridge communities you’re passing through, while you pick up any trash along the way as part of World Cleanup Day. Learn more and sign up here. 

Make it a day: Hike the 4-mile Bay Trail that circles the park’s namesake Carolina bay (which you’ll likely learn about on the ranger-led hike).

Coleman Trail Hike, Saturday, 2:30 p.m., Merchants Millpond State Park, Gatesville. A 2-mile, ranger-led hike through a coastal forest that includes encounters with the park’s 760-acre millpond, which is home to bald cypress and tupelo. A good opportunity to learn about forests at the coast. Learn more and sign up here.

Make it a day: On the north side of the millpond hike the recently expanded Lassiter Trail, a fast 6 miles that takes you deeper into the woods.

3 Mile History Hike, Sunday, 5 p.m., Carvers Creek State Park, Spring Lake. This hike has a little of everything, from the nature of a pine savannah to a millpond (pictured above), to remnants of the James Stillman Rockefeller farm that remains largely in tact. Bring water, bring a camera. Learn more and sign up here.

Make it a day: Make the short drive to the park’s Sandhills section for 10 miles of hiking through pine savannah. 

Harvest Moon Night Hike, Sunday, 7 p.m., Hammocks Beach State Park. Under the pert-near-full Harvest Moon hike the half-mile Live Oak Trail, as the natural world’s day shift gives way to the evening crew. Learn more and sign up here.

Make it a day: Arrive early and hike the other three trails at the Visitor Center (totaling 2 miles).

Good options that make for a great weekend.

GetOut! And enjoy!

The post GetOut! Explore our lesser-known State Parks appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

I’d been exploring the park for about three years before I learned the history behind the park’s two sides, my Reedy Creek side and the Crabtree Creek side off of Glenwood Avenue. Umstead, it turned out, had been two separate state parks: Crabtree Creek Recreation Area and Reedy Creek State Park, the latter formed in 1950 with 1,000 acres as a separate park for African-Americans. 

1950 was also the year that the first state park facility in Virginia opened for African-Americans. In 1948, Maceo Conrad Martin, of Danville, Va., tried to enter nearby Staunton River State Park, one of seven state parks in Virginia at the time, and was denied entry because of the color of his skin. He took the Virginia Department of Conservation and Development to court, arguing that state parks weren’t abiding by the law of the day by providing “separate but equal” facilities for African-Americans. That lead to the opening of Prince Edward State Park for Negroes in Prince Edward County. That park also had a white counterpart: Goodwin Lake Recreational Area.

(South Carolina was a bit ahead of its time. According to the South Carolina State Parks website, “As early as 1938, African American leaders worked to secure access to state parks. Their efforts resulted in the establishment of separate recreation areas for black citizens. These included portions of Lake Greenwood, Hunting Island and Huntington Beach state parks. The system also included segregated African American parks at Pleasant Ridge, Campbell’s Pond and Mill Creek.)

Efforts continued through the 1950s to create more facilities open to all. A second suit was brought in Virginia in 1951 by a group of African Americans denied entry to what was then Seashore State Park (now First Landing) in Virginia Beach. Those plaintiffs sought a continuance, however, based on the potential implications of a lawsuit rising through the courts, Brown vs. Board of Education. When the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on May 17, 1954, that segregation of pubic schools was unconstitutional, the implications were clear: segregation of any public facilities was unconstitutional. Including state parks.

Despite the ruling, public institutions continued to fight integration. Rather than integrate, the Prince Edward County Schools simply shut their doors for several years. The Virginia Department of Conservation and Development considered doing likewise, or to lease their parks to private contractors who might be exempt from the ruling. The situation didn’t begin to change significantly until passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin (and eventually, sexual orientation and gender identity). In Virginia, Prince Edward State Park for Negroes and Goodwin Lake Recreational Area were merged, and in 1976 became Twin Lakes State Park. In Raleigh, in 1966, Reedy Creek and Crabtree Creek were merged and became William B. Umstead State Park (named for a conservation-minded former governor).

This bit of history has a particular resonance today. Our state parks have played a particularly vital role in helping us stay safe and healthy: in North Carolina, a record 19.8 million people visited the state’s 41 state parks and recreation areas in pandemic-plagued 2020, and other public land managers report record attendance as well. In a year when the outdoors has been a safe refuge for so many, it’s hard to imagine being denied that escape based on the color of your skin. 

At least, it should be hard to imagine.

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Learn more on the GetHiking! Southeast Podcast

This week on the GetHiking! Southeast Podcast we talk about the desegregation of Virginia State Parks with both Melissa Baker, Director of Virginia State Parks, and Veronica Flick, a Virginia State Parks manager who until recently was at Twin Lakes State Park. Give a listen here.

The post Before State Parks were open to all appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

That rain that moved through the region yesterday ushered in a cool front that will drop temperatures into the low 80s throughout much of GetGoingNC’s adventure land, ideal weather for some weekend adventure. There may be a rogue thunderstorm or two Sunday afternoon, but by-and-large, pretty delightful weather. 

That said, we must leave you now for a long delayed backpack trip to South Mountains State Park.

But before we go, some resources to help you plan your weekend:

If you’re staying close to home — where it’s safer — we have two suggestions:

Hike local

Duke Forest. More than 7,000 acres spread over three counties with miles of trail open to the public. Today’s video explores one of our favorite places to explore, in the forest’s Korstian Division, in Durham. You can find additional information on exploring Duke Forest at the Duke Forest website.

Mountains-to-Sea Trail. The MST, North Carolina’s statewide trail, runs 120 miles through the Triangle and links Pilot Mountain with Hanging Rock north of the Triad — lots of good exploring to be had here. Learn about where to pick up the trail here.

Carolina Thread Trail. In the Charlotte area (including South Carolina), the Carolina Thread Trail now includes 300 miles of dirt trail and 170 miles of blueway in a 15-county area (eventually, the plan is a 1,600-mile trail network linking the region). Learn where you can explore the CTT here.

Land trusts

Local land trusts also provide great opportunities for exploring, including:

Triangle Land Conservancy. The TLC has been protecting land in the Triangle since the 1980s, and has seven preserves currently open for exploring, including a GetHiking! favorite, Horton Grove Nature Preserve in northern Durham County. Learn more and support them here.

Catawba Lands Conservancy. Among their efforts, the CLC is the driving force behind the Carolina Thread Trail, an ongoing effort to link 16 counties in the Charlotte area (including in South Carolina) with trail. Learn more and support them here.

Piedmont Land Conservancy. The PLC has protected more than 24,000 acres in a nine-county region, mostly in the Triad, including one of our favorite spots to hike, the Knight Brown Nature Preserve near Greensboro. Learn more and support them here.

Piedmont Environmental Council. Has worked with landowners to protect more than 420,000 acres of rural and natural land in the piedmont area around Charlottesville. Learn more and support them here.

Conservation Trust for North Carolina. Based in Raleigh, this nonprofit has saved most of its land along the Blue Ridge Parkway, but is active elsewhere. We’re particularly intrigued by their Princeville Collaborative project, where they’re working to help instill land conservation principals in a coastal plain community recovering from two 100-year floods in a 17-year span. Learn more and support them here. 

Farther afield

More than a thousand miles of trail can be found in the following:

• Blue Ridge Parkway
• Great Smoky Mountains National Park
• North Carolina State Parks
• North Carolina National Forests (Croatan, Pisgah, Nantahala, Uwharrie)
• Shenandoah National Park
• Virginia National Forests (George Washington and Jefferson)
• Virginia State Parks 

GetOut! this weekend. And enjoy!

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