A 5K/10K kicks off the Azalea Festival in Wilmington, there’s a ride with lunch in the Triangle and at the Nantahala Outdoor Center they’ll be celebrating hiking and long trails. A good cross-section of sweaty fun this weekend in North Carolina.
Coast
Driving to Wrightsville Beach Friday I glanced to my right and saw an older fellow pedaling a beach cruiser. He was on a greenway paralleling Eastwood Road, which you may not think you know, but if you’ve ever driven to Wrightsville Beach, its the road that takes you across the drawbridge into the heart of WB. The man was riding in front of what looked like an upscale retirement community, the kind favored by folks who like the idea of retiring to the beach, but not on the beach. I assumed it was an amenity of the community.
New trail opens along the Eno River, there’s a hike on some of the state’s highest trail and there’s a run on battleships at the coast.
Piedmont
We don’t normally recommend ribbon cuttings, but when that ribbon cutting is part of a chance to hike 1.5 miles of virgin Mountains-to-Sea Trail, which connects with another 8 miles of what might be the sweetest hiking on the Eno River — coupled with what’s forecast to be a lovely fall weekend — well, we’ll make an exception.
There’s a nice cross-section of events going on this Labor Day weekend, from a 5K in Wilmington to a paddle in Charlotte to hiking in the high country.
Coast
September kicks off the fall running season in North Carolina, and they’ll be kicking it off in Wilmington with the March of Dimes 5K Run for Healthier Babies. GGNC is particularly fond of this race because in addition to the 5K ($30 race day) and Family 1-Mile Run/Walk ($10), they also have the Sleep Walk/Sleep In category — don’t show at all, contribute $25 to a good cause and you still get a nifty race T-shirt. Zs rule!
Explore Wilmington — quickly — by foot; explore the Triad at 18 mph by bike; or take a mountain hike frequently interrupted by plunges into a cool mountain pools. Those are but three of your options for getting out and exploring North Carolina this weekend.