OK, it’s been hotter than a cup of lawsuit coffee the past week; no surprise that of the 24 North Carolina State Park events scheduled for Saturday, seven are water related. We’ll get to those. But first in this week’s 5 weekend activities:
Whack Attack! Invasive Species Removal Workday, Saturday, 8:30 a.m. to noon, Lower Haw River State Natural Area, Pittsboro. Periodically, the Friends of the Lower Haw River State Natural Area (pictured) hold workdays to remove the profusion of invasive plants that grow along this linear Natural Area lining the Haw River between Bynum and U.S. 64. It’s a great opportunity to learn about invasive species and to work out some aggression by yanking ‘em out of the ground. BYO — loppers or hand pruners, work gloves, insect repellent and water, that is. Preregistration is required, by emailing ncmlynch@gmail.com with “Invasives” in the subject line. Learn more here.read more
On our weekly Tuesday Night Hike this past week we lingered at hike’s end to take in the three-quarternmoon that lit the tree-lined parking area. While our 3-mile night hike on the Mountains-to-Sea Trail was pretty great, we might have been just as content to hang out in the lot and bask in the moonlight. Imagine, I thought, being under a full moon and in an area with even more exposure.read more
Three hikes this Saturday at the coast catch my eye for several reasons. Mainly, though, because they celebrate the coast in a season when it most deserves to be celebrated.
True, most of us think of the coast mostly in summer, when it comes time for the annual week-long beach vacation, a time for heat, sun, surf and crowds.read more
A quick reminder that if you’ve got a house full of visitors, you’re probably wondering what to do with them. Well, take ‘em on a hike, of course.
Tuesday, we gave you 10 options across the state for hikes suitable for an outing with visiting friends and family that may not be regular hikers. Or regular anythings when it comes to exercise. Hikes that are generally short, are flat (or flatish), and that have some sort of esthetic payoff (a critical lure when trying to pry a recalcitrant participant off the couch). You can find that post — “10 Hikes for Holiday Visitors” — here. You can find additional hike options in our Hiking Guide library, here. And check out one visitor-friendly hike in the video above.read more
We love a good weather forecast. We especially love it when we have a big hike planned, which is the case this Saturday.
Saturday at 9 a.m. we kick off our GetHiking! Winter Wild series of hikes designed to take advantage of a woefully under-appreciated season for being in the woods. Winter offers access, vulnerability, brilliant sunlight and best of all, few fellow hikers. That’s especially true on our Winter Wild hikes, which are largely off-trail. We take advantage of old roadbeds, of game trails, of the lack of undergrowth, to explore places inaccessible the rest of the year. Our first hike: the Eno Wilderness.read more
