Watershed Lakes Archives - GetGoing NC! https://getgoingnc.com/tag/watershed-lakes/ Explore the outdoors, discover yourself. Thu, 25 Sep 2025 16:01:17 +0000 en hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.8.5 6 Hikes for Early Fall Color https://getgoingnc.com/2025/09/6-hikes-for-early-fall-color-2/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=6-hikes-for-early-fall-color-2 https://getgoingnc.com/2025/09/6-hikes-for-early-fall-color-2/#respond Thu, 25 Sep 2025 16:01:17 +0000 https://getgoingnc.com/?p=14498 Perhaps you’ve noticed we seem to have gotten a jump on fall this year. Especially along lakes and streams and where woods meet meadow, the colors of fall are starting … Continue reading 6 Hikes for Early Fall Color →

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]]> Perhaps you’ve noticed we seem to have gotten a jump on fall this year. Especially along lakes and streams and where woods meet meadow, the colors of fall are starting to percolate. So why wait until October to indulge some fall color?

True, the color change is yet to be pervasive. But there are a handful of places where you can get a feel for fall hiking right now. Today, we share some of our favorites. Most make the list because they’re along water, where fall color tends to first become evident. Some make the list because they have plenty of edge forest, where color also tends to pop early. All but one is in the piedmont — and the one that isn’t is pretty darn close. 

We use a bulleted, quick-hit format to share our findings. The less time you spend sifting through words, the more time that’s left for hiking. 

Falls Lake State Recreation Area

Durham, Wake counties

  • Mountains-to-Sea Trail
  • 60 miles of trail tracing the coves ducking in and out of this man-made lake.
  • 14 access points, which stretches ranging from just under a mile to not quite 7 miles. Shuttles are easy to set up.
  • Recommended stretch: Red Mill Road to Red Mill Road, 4.9 miles. Spends a little time on the north end along Falls Lake, spends a lot of time throughout clinging to edge forest. Very few hikers, making it and ideal hiking spot during the popular fall hiking season.

Details here

Greensboro Watershed Lakes

Along Greensboro’s watershed lakes

Greensboro

  • Mountains-to-Sea Trail
  • 42 miles of trail
    • Some multi-use, mostly the trail along the south shores of the lakes
  • 14 access points
  • Recommended: Piedmont Trail, 3 miles (one way), from near Strawberry Road, along north shore of Lake Brandt. Another generally quiet stretch of trail in fall, with constant exposure to Lake Bryant.

Details here

Lake James State Park

Nebo (Morganton)

Fonta Flora State Trail

  • 30+ miles of trail
    • Some multi-use
  • 3 access points
  • Recommended: Fonta Flora State Trail leading east toward Morganton (it’s eventual destination to the east; to the west, it will extend to Asheville). Highlight: Right outside the park, the trail passes through the Fonta Flora Brewery!

Details here

Smith Mountain Lake State Park

Huddleston, Va

  • 15 miles of trail
    • Some multi-use
  • 8 access points
  • 500 miles of shoreline (much of it, however, is private)
  • Recommended: Striper Cove Trail, 3.1 miles, nearly all along the lake.

Details here

Lake Norman State Park

Troutman (Charlotte area)

  • 38 miles of trail
    • Some multi-use
  • 3 access points
  • Cove hiking
  • Recommended: Lake Shore Trail, 5 miles, most along coves

Details here

Moses Cone Memorial Park

Blue Ridge Parkway, Milepost 294 (near Blowing Rock)

  • 25 miles of trail
  • Access from the Manor House up top and Bass Lake at the base, in Blowing Rock
  • Wide, smooth carriage trail paths
  • Recommended: Bass Lake (bottom), Flat Top (top)

Details here

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]]> https://getgoingnc.com/2025/09/6-hikes-for-early-fall-color-2/feed/ 0 90 Second Escape: More Spring https://getgoingnc.com/2016/04/90-second-escape-more-spring/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=90-second-escape-more-spring https://getgoingnc.com/2016/04/90-second-escape-more-spring/#respond Mon, 18 Apr 2016 13:03:15 +0000 http://getgoingnc.com/?p=8179 Monday — never an easy time for the outdoors enthusiast. After a weekend of adventure, returning to the humdrum work-a-day world can make one melancholy. To help ease the transition, … Continue reading 90 Second Escape: More Spring →

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]]> Monday — never an easy time for the outdoors enthusiast. After a weekend of adventure, returning to the humdrum work-a-day world can make one melancholy. To help ease the transition, every Monday we feature a 90 Second Escape — essentially, a 90-second video or slide show of a place you’d probably rather be: a trail, a park, a greenway, a lake … anywhere as long as it’s not under a fluorescent bulb.

Today’s 90-Second Escape: More Spring

How many more ideal spring weekends can we have in a row? Here’s how Sunday looked on an unnamed trail on the north side of Lake Brandt in Greensboro.

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]]> https://getgoingnc.com/2016/04/90-second-escape-more-spring/feed/ 0 90 Second Escape: The day the color peaked https://getgoingnc.com/2013/11/90-second-escape-the-day-the-color-peaked/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=90-second-escape-the-day-the-color-peaked https://getgoingnc.com/2013/11/90-second-escape-the-day-the-color-peaked/#comments Mon, 04 Nov 2013 11:00:54 +0000 http://getgoingnc.com/?p=6136 Monday — never an easy time for the outdoors enthusiast. After a weekend of adventure, returning to the humdrum work-a-day world can make one melancholy. To help ease the transition, … Continue reading 90 Second Escape: The day the color peaked →

The post 90 Second Escape: The day the color peaked appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

]]> Monday — never an easy time for the outdoors enthusiast. After a weekend of adventure, returning to the humdrum work-a-day world can make one melancholy. To help ease the transition, every Monday we feature a 90 Second Escape — essentially, a 90-second video or slide show of a place you’d probably rather be: a trail, a park, a greenway, a lake … anywhere as long as it’s not under a fluorescent bulb.
Today’s 90-Second Escape: The day the color peaked.

Fall color peaked in Greensboro on Saturday and we were there. If you weren’t, here’s what it was like.

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]]> https://getgoingnc.com/2013/11/90-second-escape-the-day-the-color-peaked/feed/ 1