Most hikes are geared toward beginners and those looking to turn over a new leaf in the year ahead. North Carolina’s Carolina Beach State Park, for example, offers a two-mile hike to the Sugarloaf Dune at 10 a.m., while Virginia’s Lake Anna State Park plans a 1.5-mile hike at 2 p.m. Both are relatively flat, both will go at leisurely pace. Don’t mind a little company? The Eno River First Day Hike, led in conjunction with the Eno River Association, has drawn close to a thousand hikers in the past.

That’s 104 First Day Hikes in our state parks alone. It doesn’t include hikes such as the Triangle Land Conservancy’s New Year’s Day Hike at White Pines, or the Piedmont Land Conservancy’s First Day Outdoors on the Stuart & Emma Thomas Memorial Trail. You’ll find people hiking everywhere on New Year’s Day.

What makes this year’s First Day Hikes a little more special is that five of the hikes in North Carolina are in state parks that were closed for a time by Hurricane Helene. 

The adjoining Stone Mountain State Park and Rendezvous Mountain, both located on the Blue Ridge escarpment, are sponsoring hikes. Stone Mountain starts the day at 9 a.m. with a moderate 2.5-mile hike on the Cedar Rock and Wolf Rock trails (with great views), while Rendezvous Mountain will hold a mile-long hike at 2 p.m. through a mixed hardwood forest. A bit more rugged is the 2.4-mile scavenger hunt hike planned at Grandfather Mountain on the Nuwati Trail (from the Boone Fork Parking area off the Blue Ridge Parkway). This self-guided event runs from 9 a.m. to noon. Meanwhile, Gorges State Park will have a 30-minute hike to Bearwallow Falls at 10 a.m., and a 60-minute hike on the Raymond Fisher Pond Trail at 2 p.m.

Lake James, Elk Knob, Mount Jefferson and New River all have reopened, and may post First Day Hikes as well.

Welcoming the new year on the trail is always a great idea. With 104 to chose from you’re sure to find one to match your interests. 

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First Day Hikes

Check out the First Day Hike offerings in North Carolina and Virginia by clicking the links below:

• North Carolina
• Virginia

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Is there an avid birder in you eager to take flight? A good introduction would be Sunday’s Spring Bird Hike at Lake James State Park in Nebo. Lake James’ expansive shoreline (it runs for 150 miles) gets lots of bird action this time of year as migrants flee their wintering grounds in the south to head north for the summer. Warblers, vireos, tanagers, grosbeaks, buntings — they’re all making the trip. The session is at 8 a.m. More info here.

Until recently, exploring Turnbull Creek Educational State Forest in the coastal plain southeast of Fayetteville was a bit of a challenge, primarily because the educational forest was closed on weekends (when most of us have a chance to be educated). That’s no longer the case, with weekend hours recently added. In addition, they’re also offering guided hikes on the first Saturday of every month, starting this Saturday through October. The First Saturday – Guided Hike with a Ranger is short, about a quarter mile, but rich in education on the ways of a coastal plain forest. It’s free. For more info, go here.

Speaking of first Saturday’s, join the Triangle Land Conservancy for its First Saturday Hike at Brumley North this Saturday from 10 a.m. to noon. Brumley North, between Chapel Hill and Hillsborough, packs a wide array of ecological experiences — from hard oak forest, to grass fields, to boggy wetlands — along just 3 miles of trail. Learn more and register here.

Got a hankerin’ to roll up your sleeves and make something? A trail, perhaps? The Tar River Land Conservancy is looking for help Saturday to help build 1.3 miles of new trail at its Robertson Creek Nature Preserve in Creedmoor. Not only is the 3-hour Trail Building at Robertson Creek Preserve a good workout, it’s also a great way to see how a trail is designed and built. Starts at 8:45 a.m., ends noonish. New to trail building? No problem — you’ll be teamed up with an experienced trail builder. Learn more here. 

Weatherwise, there’s a chance of rain this weekend, mostly Saturday, and cooler temperatures. 

That’s far from everything going on this weekend, but it’s a good start. A great weekend, all-in-all, to GetOut! and explore!

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Looking ahead to summer hiking

We have three weekly hiking series scheduled for this summer:

• 

  GetHiking! Friday Morning Summer Hike Series, 8 hikes at 8 a.m. on trails in the western Triangle. More info here.

• GetHiking! 50+ Wednesday Evening Summer Hike Series, 10 hikes at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesdays, on trails in the western Triangle (plus popsicles at the end of each hike). More info here for single hikers, here for couples and families.
• GetHiking! Summer 2022 Hike & Paddle Series, 8 hikes, on Sunday mornings and Tuesday evenings, plus two paddle trips, on the Haw River and the Three Rivers Area in Durham County.  More info here.

 We also have three weekend hiking trips, all in the mountains on the Mountains-to-Sea Trail. Each weekend includes about 20 miles of guided hiking, camping, and meals. The trips are:

• Summer on the MST Weekend Escape to Doughton Park, June 10-12, go here.
• Summer on the MST Weekend Escape to Mount Pisgah, July 22-24, go here.
• Summer on the MST Weekend Escape to Price Lake, Sept. 9-11, go here.

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Same thing the annual Profile Trail Wildflower hikes at Grandfather Mountain, which kick off this weekend. For us flatlanders it’s the spring wildflower season all over again. And while the 3-hour hike is listed as covering 3 miles, you needn’t hike that far before you start seeing some spring sensations beneath the barren canopy along the Watauga River. If you miss this Saturday’s hike, there will be more. Learn more here.

If you’ve been keeping up with spring and wonder what’s next, then check out Sunday afternoon’s weekly Spring Wildflower Hike along the Eno, with the Eno River Association. This week’s hike is at Eno River State Park’s Fews Ford Access, starting from the Piper Cox House and heading out the Buckquarter Creek Trail. This hike will cover about a mile and will check out the wildflowers displays in a variety of habitats, including field, forest and river floodplain. Learn more and sign up here.

Most of the hikes offered through N.C. State Parks have an educational focus, cover short distances, and go at a snail’s pace. But sometimes you just feel like pulling out the stops and giving those Vasques some vroom. If you’re of such a mind this Saturday, check out The Triangle Land Conservancy’s weekly Speed Hike, at Johnston Mill Nature Preserve. A 3-mile hike at a 20-minute-per-mile pace — allow 1 hour for this hike. Learn more and sign up here.

Weatherwise, we’re looking at a cool Saturday (highs in the 60s) and a warmer Sunday, with a high topping 80 and a chance of thunderstorms, mostly in the afternoon.

Spring won’t be here forever. Take that as added incentive this weekend to GetOut!

And enjoy!

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• First Saturday Hike at Horton Grove, Horton Grove Nature Preserve, Bahama. Saturday, 10 a.m. to noon. 
• First Saturday Hike at White Pines, White Pines Nature Preserve, Pittsboro, Saturday, 10 a.m. to noon.

Both hikes are billed as “social” hikes and both are lead by TLC guides. That means you can expect to learn a good deal about both properties — Horton Grove with its prairie (pictured above) and beech woods, White Pines with its replication of a montane environment in the heart of the Piedmont — while getting a chance to chat with fellow hikers. The best of both worlds.

Learn more about both hikes and their pandemic-related requirements, and register here. 

The forecast is good news, too, for the Eno River Association and its weekly Sunday Winter Hike Series hike. This Sunday: the Pump Station Access to Eno River State Park. This 1.5-mile hike is one of the best mixes of natural and human history you’ll find on a hike. The main attraction is the remains of Durham’s first public drinking water source; those remains include the brick foundation of the treatment plant and an impressive stone dam. A bit of off-trail on this hike as well. Learn more and register here.

Speaking of learning a thing or two, Saturday you can do just that at Pilot Mountain State Park when a ranger leads a Winter Tree ID hike to help you identify the local arboreal population. Anyone can ID trees in spring, summer or fall — the leaves are usually a dead giveaway. But in winter, when all you have to go by is bark, branch and twig configuration and tree shape? Check it out, at 3 p.m., by heading here for meeting location and additional info.

It’s shaping up to be a classic winter weekend, southern style! GetOut! And enjoy.

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More options

You can find additional options for the weekend by tapping the following links:

• Triangle Land Conservancy here
• Eno River Association here
• NC Parks here
• N.C. Office of Environmental Education here

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First, a couple of off-trail adventures, both intended to keep you off pandemic-popular trails.

Phil Finding Adventure, a month-long event at Umstead State Park in Raleigh. Phil is a Pheasant who has been hidden by Ranger Billy somewhere in the 5,600-acre park, “some interesting part of the park,” Ranger Billy assures, somewhere “off trail with roots, gullies, rocks and hills.” The goal here is to find Phil, take Phil’s picture, leave Phil where he lies, get back to your car. Thus, you will need a GPS device of some sort. Learn more about what Ranger Billy calls a “Philabulous Adventure” here. 

GetHiking! Winter Wild Adventure to the Three Sisters of Hanging Rock, Saturday, 8:30 a.m. to around 2 p.m. We still have space available on this 10-person-tops hike that’s 100 percent off trail and takes in the far eastern extent of Hanging Rock State Park, where there are no trails. No GPS needed; we have one and know the way. Learn more and register to join us here.

Land Trust Adventures

Two dozen land trusts operate in North Carolina, sparing some of the state’s most special land from development. Some of this saved land is turned into preserves that are open to the public. 

Today, we tout five areas that we wouldn’t be able to explore were it not for the work of three land trusts: the Eno River Association, Piedmont Land Conservancy and the Triangle Land Conservancy. The hikes:

• Horton Grove Nature Preserve, Triangle Land Conservancy, Bahama. With 8 miles of trail divvied up on 7 trails it’s possible to hike both short (a half mile) and long (around 10, with some necessary overlap) here.
• Knight Brown Nature Preserve, Piedmont Land Conservancy, Stokesdale. Dropping into the valley carved by Belews Creek that makes up much of this 189-acre preserve is like entering a different world, of giant beech, steep valley walls, mature forest.
• Confluence Natural Area, Eno River Association, Hillsborough. Confluence is new enough (2017) and remote enough that it’s yet to be discovered. Exposed meadows and intimate walks along the east and west branches of the Eno dominate this 2.25-mile network.

• 

  Brumley Family Nature Preserve (North), Triangle Land Conservancy, Chapel Hill. Varied landscapes and surprisingly flat terrain make this an especially good first hike for a beginner. 3.5 miles of trail combined on 5 trails.

• Eno River State Park, Fews Ford 7-Miler, Eno River Association, Durham. Eno River State Park might not exist were it not for the Eno River Association; this long hike is one of the few opportunities to escape gorgeous spring and fall weekend crowds along the Eno.

How to explore

To explore these preserves, either click on the link for additional information, or you can purchase our GetHiking! Guide to 5 of Our Favorite Land Trust Trails. In this package, you’ll find guides to each area, each including a map, detailed route description, pertinent logistical details (how to get there, for instance), a video tour and an essay describing the hiking experience. Plus, the $2.49 fee for guide will be given to the three land trusts so that they can continue their work of saving great places to explore. 

Check out the GetHiking! Guide to 5 of Our Favorite Land Trust Trails and download a copy here.

We couldn’t make it much easier for you to explore this weekend! 

Now, GetOut!

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