From an astronomical standpoint, fall doesn’t begin until around 9 p.m. on September 22. That would be the autumnal equinox, that magical day when we have as many hours of daylight as dark. 

In the psychic realm, however, fall begins with the passing of Labor Day, the traditional end of summer. Goodbye pool parties and cookouts, hello fleece and football. The trouble with the psychological version is that the heat tends to overstay its welcome, lounging about into mid-September, into late September, into October. Mentally, you’re ready for changing leaves and a chill heading out the front door. In reality, you’re still in flip-flops and shorts. 

And so it goes, until that one day, usually in early to mid-October, when you head out the door one morning and — whoa! I need a coat. We may hit another day or two in the low 80s, but it’s pretty much 70s, then 60s, with the occasional “high” of 50 thrown into the mix. For the avid explorers among us, the cold air heats up our hiking genes. We want to get out and go long, to get our heart pumping, to savor the cool and quiet of fall. And there are so many great places in our part of the world to do just that.

In the Piedmont, for instance, the avid among us will ramp it up after Labor Day, the lingering 90-degree day or two be danged. By mid-October, we’re in mid-season form. Alas, that’s about when the promise of cool, colorful fall weather starts to come true, luring the the masses as well. When they’re headed through the front gate, we need to be hitting the trailheads off the roads less traveled. For instance:

• Pilot Mountain State Park, Pinnacle. In 2019, when this post first appeared, the park’s website this time of year often warned of a 30-minute wait simply to park in the main, mountain-top lot. Today, on a fall weekend you can’t even drive to the top on a fall weekend, you have to take a shuttle from the base. But if you know about the park’s secondary entrances, there’s no trouble parking and hiking straight from your car. Say, from the Pinnacle Hotel Road access, which feeds the Mountain Trail at the base of the mountain, or the Boyd Nelson Road Access, where you hike beneath stately hardwoods on the Pilot Creek Trail (which connects with the Mountain Trail, as well as the Grindstone Trail, which will take you to the top).
• Hanging Rock State Park, Danbury. More parking may not result in a 30-minute wait to park, but it does means more people. But you’ll find nary a soul at the Flinchum Road Access, where the 3.6-mile Indian Creek Trail quietly escorts you to the park’s Visitor Center (where you can sneak past the throngs heading up to Hanging Rock and instead take the 4.2-mile loop to the quieter viewscape on Moore’s Knob.
• Umstead State Park, Raleigh. Umstead is among the most visited state park in North Carolina. That’s especially true come the cool, colorful days of October. Cars park out the Harrison Avenue entrance back to the I-40 entrance ramp, and can be found helter-skelter on either side of the entrance off Glenwood Avenue. Psst! The Lake Crabtree neighborhood entrance is where the action ain’t. Hike in the bike & bridle trail to the less trod segments of the Company Mill and Sycamore trails in the middle of the park.
• Crowders Mountain State Park, Gastonia. Shuttle buses? Please. The Boulders Access has fewer visitors and you can pick up the Ridgeline Trail and hike into another state (South Caroilina). How’s that for escape?

They’re eager for fall hiking as well in Charlottesville, at the base of Shenandoah National Park.

“The cooler mountain temperatures make for great hiking days, plus there’s no bugs,” says GetHiking! Charlottesville Hike Organizer Pepper Ernst.. “Also, the changing leaves are beautiful and as they fall the trails take on a new look as views that didn’t exist in the summer open up: a ridgeline hike that was a green tunnel in the summer can evolve into 360-degree, long-range views in the fall.”

Two of our favorite mountain destinations in early fall: 

• 

  South Mountains State Park, less than an hour and a half from much of the Charlotte area, offers one of the closest mountain-like experiences to the Queen City. It also offers a good opportunity for solitude: most visitors to South Mountains, with more than 18,000 acres North Carolina’s largest State Park, don’t make it past High Shoals Falls, about a mile in; with more than 40 miles of trail, that leaves a lot of backcountry to your lonesome.

• Panthertown Valley near Cashiers may offer the most scenic variety of any spot in the state: mountaintop views, multiple waterfalls, mountain creeks and vast stands of pines, all in about 10,000 acres.

Remember, too, that you’re welcome to sign up for trips in GetHiking! Meetups outside your region. Our weekly enewsletter keeps you up on who’s hiking where. If you don’t already subscribe, you can do so by simply emailing joe@getgoingnc.com.

Fall is almost here. Get ready to hike!

* * *

GetHiking! Meetups

Here’s a rundown of our GetHiking! Meetups. Feel free to join one or all!

North Carolina

GetHiking! Charlotte

GetHiking! Triad

GetHiking! Triangle

GetBackpacking!

GetExploring! Greenville

Virginia

GetHiking! Charlottesville

GetHiking! Virginia Beach  

Plan a plan for fall hiking

If you missed last week’s post, “Fall hiking: a month-by-month approach,” check it out. We offer advice on how get the most from the fall hiking season. Check it out here.

The post Fall is nigh! Time to ramp up your hiking appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

It’s days like today that I pat myself on the back for a decision made 13 years ago.

I’d just finished a gorgeous day on the groomed trails at the White Grass ski touring center in West Virginia and was returning my rental equipment.
“How was it?” asked the ski rental guy.
“Incredible!” I oozed. “I can’t wait to go again.”
“You know,” he said, “Our rental skis are for sale.” At a price, it turned out, that was more than I could afford but too good to refuse. I’ve used them a dozen times since; I’m hoping to make it a baker’s dozen tomorrow.
As Winter Storm Leon (sheesh) makes its way up the coast, the prospects are good for cross-country conditions, from the Triangle into the coastal plain. As of this morning, parts of the Triangle were expected to get up to six inches of snow — with points east forecast to get 10 inches or more.
On the right kind of trail, six inches is all it takes to make or decent cross-country conditions. Where might one find the right kind of trail?
Glad you asked.

Natural surface trails

Because of the rocks and roots found on most trails in the Triangle, you need a substantial amount of snow — 10 inches minimum — to ski. There are some exceptions, however:

Umstead State Park
Raleigh
The 13 miles of bike and bridle trail here offer the perfect base for six-inch conditions. A finely crushed gravel, the surface is devoid of the rocks and roots common on most trails hereabouts, thus, fewer imperfections to cover up. If you’re not comfortable with downhills, pick up the trail via the neighborhood entrance off Old Reedy Creek Road from Lake Crabtree. There, you’ll find more than two miles of flat trail before the rollers begin.
More info here.

Duke Forest
Durham, Orange and Alamance counties.
The fire roads here aren’t quite as surface-friendly as at Umstead, but they’re close. And there are lots of ‘em: the seven individual tracts making up the forest contain 7,020 acres and are accessed via 45 entrances. Learn more about the forest and where you can find helpful maps, by going here.

Al Buehler Cross Country Trail
Durham.
The 3.1-mile Al Buehler Trail has a foot-friendly natural surface similar to that at Umstead. It’s also got some rollers, making for some nice downhill action and some heart-pumping climbs.
More info here.

American Tobacco Trail
Wake, Chatham and Durham counties
At 22 miles, the ATT offers the prospect of long, contemplative escapes. It’s surface is finely crushed stone and because it follows an abandoned rail line, the trail is great for beginners or folks who haven’t been on skis in a while.
More info here.

Greenways

They’re relatively flat, their surface is smooth and because they snake throughout the region, they are generally accessible without a lot of time spent on icy roads. Here are some of the larger greenway networks in the area, which a quick snapshot and where you can go for more information, including how to find the greenway nearest you. You can also find maps, directions and detailed information about local greenways on GetGoingNC’s Greenway Guide.

Cary. The Cary greenway system has more than 70 miles down, anchored by the Black Creek Greenway running from Bond Park to Lake Crabtree and the White Oak Greenway, running from Bond Park nearly to the American Tobacco Trail. More info here.

Chapel Hill. Seven greenways are sprinkled throughout town, perhaps the most popular is the 1.5-mile Bolin Creek Trail, which runs from the Chapel Hill Community Center west to Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.
More info here.

Durham. In addition to the northern end of the American Tobacco Trail, Durham has several other greenways suitable for skiing, including the Third Fork Greenway.
More info here.

Raleigh. The capital city’s Capital Area Greenway System now has more than 100 miles of greenway, the spine of which is the 28-mile Neuse River Greenway. Lots of good opportunity for Raleigh residents.
More info here.

Farther east

Howell Woods Environmental Learning Center, Four Oaks. Located just east of I-95, Howell Woods is in Leon’s sweetspot, with snowfall totals in the double digits possible. With 15 interconnected trails (the longest of which is just under a mile) navigating a variety of ecosystems, Howell Woods could be the nordic center of North Carolina in a few hours.
More info here.

Jones Lake State Park, Elizabethtown. Also in the storm’s sweetspot is Jones Lake State Park, which features a foot-and-ski-friendly 5-mile loop trail around its namesake lake. Gorgeous by foot, the trail should be especially fetching on skis.
More info here.

Smithfield. The 3.3-mile Buffalo Creek Greenway runs from downtown to the Smithfield Recreation & Aquatics Center. A good bet, with snowfall totals in Smithfield expected to eclipse the six-inch mark.
More info here.

Alas, if you’re intrigued but don’t have skis and wonder where you can rent them, the closest place — and only place in North Carolina — is the Pineloa Inn and Ski Shop in the mountains.

The post Don’t curse the snow, ski it appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

I’d just finished a gorgeous day on the groomed trails at the White Grass ski touring center in West Virginia and was returning my rental equipment.
“How was it?” asked the ski rental guy.
“Incredible!” I oozed. “I can’t wait to go again.”
“You know,” he said, “Our rental skis are for sale.” At a price, it turned out, that was more than I could afford but too good to refuse. I’ve used them a dozen times since; I’m hoping to make it a baker’s dozen tomorrow.
As Winter Storm Leon (sheesh) makes its way up the coast, the prospects are good for cross-country conditions, from the Triangle into the coastal plain. As of this morning, parts of the Triangle were expected to get up to six inches of snow — with points east forecast to get 10 inches or more.
On the right kind of trail, six inches is all it takes to make or decent cross-country conditions. Where might one find the right kind of trail?
Glad you asked.

Natural surface trails

Because of the rocks and roots found on most trails in the Triangle, you need a substantial amount of snow — 10 inches minimum — to ski. There are some exceptions, however:

Umstead State Park
Raleigh
The 13 miles of bike and bridle trail here offer the perfect base for six-inch conditions. A finely crushed gravel, the surface is devoid of the rocks and roots common on most trails hereabouts, thus, fewer imperfections to cover up. If you’re not comfortable with downhills, pick up the trail via the neighborhood entrance off Old Reedy Creek Road from Lake Crabtree. There, you’ll find more than two miles of flat trail before the rollers begin.
More info here.

Duke Forest
Durham, Orange and Alamance counties.
The fire roads here aren’t quite as surface-friendly as at Umstead, but they’re close. And there are lots of ‘em: the seven individual tracts making up the forest contain 7,020 acres and are accessed via 45 entrances. Learn more about the forest and where you can find helpful maps, by going here.

Al Buehler Cross Country Trail
Durham.
The 3.1-mile Al Buehler Trail has a foot-friendly natural surface similar to that at Umstead. It’s also got some rollers, making for some nice downhill action and some heart-pumping climbs.
More info here.

American Tobacco Trail
Wake, Chatham and Durham counties
At 22 miles, the ATT offers the prospect of long, contemplative escapes. It’s surface is finely crushed stone and because it follows an abandoned rail line, the trail is great for beginners or folks who haven’t been on skis in a while.
More info here.

Greenways

They’re relatively flat, their surface is smooth and because they snake throughout the region, they are generally accessible without a lot of time spent on icy roads. Here are some of the larger greenway networks in the area, which a quick snapshot and where you can go for more information, including how to find the greenway nearest you. You can also find maps, directions and detailed information about local greenways on GetGoingNC’s Greenway Guide.

Cary. The Cary greenway system has more than 70 miles down, anchored by the Black Creek Greenway running from Bond Park to Lake Crabtree and the White Oak Greenway, running from Bond Park nearly to the American Tobacco Trail. More info here.

Chapel Hill. Seven greenways are sprinkled throughout town, perhaps the most popular is the 1.5-mile Bolin Creek Trail, which runs from the Chapel Hill Community Center west to Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.
More info here.

Durham. In addition to the northern end of the American Tobacco Trail, Durham has several other greenways suitable for skiing, including the Third Fork Greenway.
More info here.

Raleigh. The capital city’s Capital Area Greenway System now has more than 100 miles of greenway, the spine of which is the 28-mile Neuse River Greenway. Lots of good opportunity for Raleigh residents.
More info here.

Farther east

Howell Woods Environmental Learning Center, Four Oaks. Located just east of I-95, Howell Woods is in Leon’s sweetspot, with snowfall totals in the double digits possible. With 15 interconnected trails (the longest of which is just under a mile) navigating a variety of ecosystems, Howell Woods could be the nordic center of North Carolina in a few hours.
More info here.

Jones Lake State Park, Elizabethtown. Also in the storm’s sweetspot is Jones Lake State Park, which features a foot-and-ski-friendly 5-mile loop trail around its namesake lake. Gorgeous by foot, the trail should be especially fetching on skis.
More info here.

Smithfield. The 3.3-mile Buffalo Creek Greenway runs from downtown to the Smithfield Recreation & Aquatics Center. A good bet, with snowfall totals in Smithfield expected to eclipse the six-inch mark.
More info here.

Alas, if you’re intrigued but don’t have skis and wonder where you can rent them, the closest place — and only place in North Carolina — is the Pineloa Inn and Ski Shop in the mountains.

The post Leon willing, here’s where you can cross-country ski appeared first on GetGoing NC!.