How many organized events?

That’s tough to pin down.

Officially, the American Hiking Society acts as the clearing house for NTD events. Fill out a form on their website and your event can appear in a searchable format on their NTD page. And while the site does include a lot of events, it’s far from a complete listing. In Virginia, for instance, AHS lists a total of 19 Trails Day events. On the Virginia State Parks website, however, you’ll find 49 events scheduled for National Trails Day. 

In North Carolina, AHS lists 26 NTD events. Yet missing is the grandaddy of North Carolina celebrations: NC Trail Days in Elkin/Jonesville. This events runs four days (June 4-7), includes 3 State Trails (Mountains-to-Sea, Overmountain Victory, and Yadkin River Paddle), 2 state parks (Stone Mountain and Pilot Mountain), and hiking, paddling and mountain biking, along with other outdoor events, live music and more. 

Virginia State Parks observes National Trails Day much like it does every other day, which is so say with a boatload of activities. Start the day with a 5K at High Bridge Trail State Park at 8 a.m. Or sleep in until 9 a.m. and do the challenging 4-mile Molly’s Knob Hike at Hungry Mother State Park. There’s a Wild Cave Tour at Natural Tunnel State Park, and lots of opportunities statewide to help maintain and build trail. The day ends with an Owl Prowl Night Hike from 8-9:30 p.m. at Smith Mountain Lake State Park.

But again, these are far from all the opportunities out their to celebrate trails on Saturday. Check your local municipal and county parks, check with your local land conservancy, or just check with your buddies and throw your own National Trails Day event. On National Trails Day only one thing matters.

That you spend time on a trail.

Resources

• Find events throughout the country at the American Hiking Society’s National Trails Day event page.
• Find North Carolina events here.
• Find Virginia events here.
• NC Trail Days.
• Go here for NTD events in Virginia State Parks.
• Go here for NTD events in North Carolina State Parks.

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We have the American Hiking Society to make sure we remember to pay homage to our trails, whether it’s by grabbing a mattock and pickaxe to build new trail, grabbing a rake and trash bag to tidy up existing trail, or by simply taking a hike, a ride, a paddle on the first Saturday in June. 

Fortunately, we have lots of opportunities to celebrate.

For instance, NC Trail Days in Elkin and Jonesville. This four-day event starts today and runs through Sunday. The event celebrates two trail communities, three NC State Trails (Mountains-to-Sea, Yadkin River, Overmountain Victory), two State Parks (Stone Mountain and Pilot Mountain), and miles and miles of great trail. Trail for hiking, trail for mountain biking, trail for paddling. There’s also rock climbing, trail maintenance, speakers, films, music, food — everything you need to successfully celebrate trails. Learn more here.

And there are more. Throughout North Carolina and Virginia you’ll find hundreds of National Trails Day events. Below are links you can tap on to find the NTD event nearest you, or the event that’s most appealing. If you can’t find one here, check your local parks department and land conservancy, most of which have events scheduled.

Start planning your Saturday trail celebration now!

• American Hiking Society (NTD events nationwide)
• AHS NTD events in Virginia
• AHS NTD events in North Carolina
• Virginia State Parks
• North Carolina State Parks
• Great Trails State Coalition

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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. 

* * *

First Day Hikes

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

• North Carolina
• Virginia

The post 104 New Year’s Day Hikes (and that’s just in state parks)  appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

This year, the American Hiking Society, the official clearinghouse for National Trails Day events, lists  508 NTD events. Thirteen events are scheduled in North Carolina, 14 in Virginia. Keep in mind this is not a complete listing: Virginia State Parks alone is holding more than 100 events Saturday, North Carolina State Parks has 10. North Carolina’s Great Trails State Coalition events page lists a dozen.

Instead of highlighting a handful, we are providing links where you can find the events closest to you and best suited to your interests. The important thing is to simply get out and enjoy your trails this Saturday, June 1, National Trails Day.

• American Hiking Society (NTD events nationwide)
• AHS NTD events in Virginia
• AHS NTD events in North Carolina
• Virginia State Parks
• North Carolina State Parks
• Great Trails State Coalition

The post Saturday is National Trails Day; Here’s where to Celebrate appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

Taking a brisk hike to welcome the new year is a long-standing tradition. It became formalized a few years back when American State Parks challenged state parks across the country to hold First Day events. Today, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a state park in the U.S. that doesn’t hold a First Day Hike. That’s especially true in North Carolina and Virginia, where 113 First Day events are planned in state parks; some parks are even celebrating with two or three events.

We won’t provide a complete rundown of options; you can find a list of First Day Hikes here for North Carolina, here for Virginia. We will, however, give you a quick sense of the types of events planned.

North Carolina

While most of the state’s 53 hikes are straightforward, ranger-led nature hikes, some have a twist.

First Day Bingo. At Pilot Mountain State Park north of Winston-Salem you can swing by the the Visitor Center, pick up a bingo card, then take a self-guided hike to record what you find. Details here.

First Day Scavenger Hike. There’s a similar theme at William B. Umstead State Park in Raleigh, where you can tale a self-guided hike on the trail of your choice, tick off items from a list provided, get a sticker. Details here.

Go long or short. At Fort Macon State Park you have the option of two ranger-led hikes: at 9 a.m. you can take either a 0.75-mile stroll on the Yarrow’s Loop Trail and the beach inlet, or check out the 3.2-mile Elliot Coues Trail. Details here.

Go high. Mount Mitchell State Park, the highest state park in the East, is banking on Mother Nature to keep the roads open for three hikes it has planned: a 6-mile hike around the park at 9 a.m. (details here), a family-friendly hike on the 1-mile Balsam Nature Trail at 10 a.m. (details here), and a challenging 2.6-mile hike to Mount Craig and back at 11 a.m. (details here).

Two states, three parks. Looking for a bit of novelty in your hike? Crowders Mountain State Park and its neighbor across the state line, South Carolina’s Kings Mountain State Park, host a 5.6-mile hike on the Ridgeline Trail joining the parks (and Kings Mountain National Military Park to boot). Details here.

Hike an island. Hammocks Beach State Park offers a rare opportunity to hike Bear Island in winter, rare because the ferry, which doesn’t normally run in winter, will be fired up to shuttle hikers across the Intercostal Waterway. Details here.

Find all North Carolina First Day events here.

Virginia

Virginia has 60 First Day events planned at its 42 state parks, and they aren’t planning to wait around for the new year to get underway. At Natural Tunnel State Park hikers can hike in the New Year with a 1-mile hike beginning at 11 p.m. on Dec. 31. The 1-mile hike is on birding and wildlife trails. Details here.

At Sky Meadows State Park they’ll wait until sunup for their First Day Hike, reflecting the practice of certain cultures by welcoming the new year at dawn. Gates open at 5:30 a.m., hikes are scheduled past 1 p.m. Details here.

One of the coolest parks in the state, False Cape State Park in Virginia Beach, is holding a Bay to Beach hike, taking in Back Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. Two miles, but some of it is in soft sand. Details here.

The First Day of hiking in Virginia State Parks ends where it began, at Natural Tunnel with a hike to Lovers’ Leap. That hike begins at 3 p.m. Details here.

Find all Virginia First Day hikes here.

As for us …

We plan to attend the First Day hike at Mayo River State Park, where the long-awaited Fox Trail will finally open. Details here.

Exploring a new trail. Hard to imagine a better way to welcome the new year!

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