trails near me Archives - Page 2 of 5

Historic Yates Mill County Park – Hike and Learn

Most recently updated January 18th, 2022

Estimated Reading Time: 18 minutes

Historic Yates Mill County Park is not on my usual round of go-to parks.

This is mainly because it’s a longer drive for me than either Umstead State Park or Bond Park, both of those parks have longer trails – and these days I’m usually looking more for a place to have a serious hike than to entertain kids.

Raven Rock State Park is another great place to take younger kids, but it’s an hours drive away….

But a couple of weeks ago, I had an hour to spend and didn’t want to get too sweaty.

So I dropped by Historic Yates Mill County Park to take an active break.

I’d visited Yates Mill once before, in the winter, but this visit I got to see what it was like in the summertime.

I wasn’t disappointed.

There’s a pond, a few shorter – mostly shady – flat hiking trails, and fishing (with a permit).

Plus, it’s got a historic working water-driven grist mill. So there’s that 🙂

Based on what I found, if you’ve got grade school or younger kids, or even Middle-schoolers who (unlike mine) DON’T refer to hikes as “forced marches”, Historic Yates Mill County Park could be a wonderful hang-out for your family!

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Fort Macon State Park – Hikes and History at the Beach

Most recently updated January 18th, 2022

Estimated Reading Time: 18 minutes

Fort Macon State Park is located on Bogue Banks near Atlantic Beach on the North Carolina coast.

Opened in 1936, at only 424 acres in size, the park is one of the smallest state parks in North Carolina.

But with 1.3 million visitors annually, despite it’s small size, Fort Macon State Park is the second most visited state park in North Carolina.

I’ve always been too busy on my Coastal visits to be one of those visitors.

But I made up for my previous neglect a couple of weeks ago on a spontaneous overnight trip to the Coast.

A visit to Fort Macon was the main thing on my “must-do” list. I was delighted with what I found!

The park surrounds the US Coast Guard Station

The park completely surrounds the United States Coast Guard Station Fort Macon, and park visitors can catch a glimpse of one of the Coast Guard Cutters that are moored there.

The infamous pirate Blackbeard’s ship, the Queen Anne’s Revenge, has been discovered in shallow water right off the Park in the Atlantic Ocean and is being recovered.

The park is also the site of the Battle of Fort Macon, which was fought there March-April 1862, during the American Civil War.

In addition to tours of the fully restored fort, the park offers both sound-side and surf fishing, hiking trails, ranger guided tours, a protected swim area, a refreshment stand, and a bathhouse.

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Hike and Bike Your Local Greenways

Most recently updated July 7th, 2023

Estimated Reading Time: 24 minutes

We have miles and miles of local greenways available near where I live in North Carolina.

Greenways are a great off-road resource for healthy outdoor family activities like bike rides, hikes and walks.

This is especially important these days, when most State Parks and National Parks have been closed or partially closed since March- and we don’t know when we’ll be allowed to fully use them again.

At the same time, schools have been closed, children have already been home for weeks, and they need someplace to play outside!

Fortunately, if you choose to leave your yard for outdoor activities, our greenways locally and across the State have remained open for use.

If you don’t live right next to one or haven’t explored the greenways yet, it can be hard to figure out where to go.

Best Local Greenways

Black Creek Greenway, White Oak Creek Greenway, and the American Tobacco Trail are some of the longest and most used greenways in the Cary/Apex area.

The greenways also connect through some of the most popular local parks!

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Hike the Tongariro Alpine Crossing – New Zealand’s Favorite Day Hike

Most recently updated February 6th, 2024

Estimated Reading Time: 19 minutes

The Tongariro Alpine Crossing, a 12 mile day hike on New Zealand’s North Island, is one of the most popular day hikes in the country.

Located inside The Tongariro National Park, the alpine crossing is part of a larger 3-4 day hike that is one of New Zealand’s Great Walks.

Tongariro National Park was made famous – like so many places in New Zealand – by it’s appearance in the Lord of the Rings movie trilogy.

The park’s alpine, volcanic scenery is the setting of Mordor, home of Mount Doom – aka Mt Ngauruhoe – the object of Frodo and Sam’s quest throughout the series.

I had the opportunity to take this trek as part of an active group trip to the North Island early this Spring.

(Fortunately, I was able to return home before travel became restricted due to the COVID-19 pandemic.)

Here’s how hiking the Tangeriro Alpine Crossing went for me, and some information that will help if you want to go try it for yourself!

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Outdoor Activity Ideas for Homeschool Kids

Most recently updated January 20th, 2022

Estimated Reading Time: 8 minutes

Home school kids need to get outdoors in the sunshine and play – for their physical and mental health and for ours, too.

If you’ve recently become a remote worker AND a home-schooler all at once, courtesy of COVID-19, you’re probably already running short on patience.

Getting outdoors, either in your own yard or in a local park or forest, can help boost the entire family’s mood and immune system.

Sitting still for long periods of time is hard for everyone, but it’s especially difficult for energetic young ones who may have shorter attention spans.

When children have the space and freedom to move around, they can work off their excess energy and be more focused on learning when playtime is over.

Through physical outdoor learning activities children can improve their speed, strength, stamina and motor skills, too.

Here are some ideas for incorporating outdoor time into your new at-home daily schedule, and some tips on places to go for outdoor fun where you can still avoid crowds, for social distancing purposes.

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Hike the Route of the Hermitages de Tella in Spain

Most recently updated June 9th, 2022

The trip began in Barcelona and ended in Madrid

Estimated Reading Time: 12 minutes

Last summer, I took a whirlwind tour across Northern Spain.

We started in Barcelona and made our way across the country to end the tour in Madrid – all in 8 days!

For me, the highlight of the tour was a short day hike in the Aragonese Pyrenees.

Don’t get me wrong – the rest of the tour was great, too.

But I’m not usually a fan of big cities, even cities as beautiful as Madrid and Barcelona.

I usually like to spend my holiday time away from cities, sweating in a desert canyon, searching for ruins in a rainforest, or hiking up a steep slope to a mountain view.

To be honest, the hike in the Pyrenees was the main reason I signed up 🙂

I’d been planning another trip that cancelled at the last minute, so I decided to take a chance on a different sort of trip for me. I’m very glad I did!

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First Landing State Park – Hike the Cape Henry Trail

Most recently updated January 16th, 2022

Spring can be the best time to try out some coastal trails, before it gets too hot or or crowded with Summer visitors. One great place to visit is First Landing State Park.

Situated at the juncture of the Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean, First Landing is the most visited State Park in Virginia and includes one of the most endangered habitat types in the world – the maritime forest.

I first visited First Landing State Park several years ago, on a long Spring weekend with That Man and the puppy.

We hiked several of the park’s trails on that visit, including the Cape Henry Trail – which is the longest trail in the park.

Spanish moss hangs from the trees on the Cape Henry Trail — Spanish moss on the Cape Henry Trail

The 6.1-mile (one way) Cape Henry Trail winds through many diverse habitats, including the rarely-found maritime forest.

This past October, I had some free time and took a day trip to the park from where I was staying in nearby historic Williamsburg, specifically to hike the Cape Henry Trail again.

I wasn’t disappointed – both the park and the trail were just as beautiful as I remembered!

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Bryce Canyon National Park Hikes and Hoodoos

Most recently updated January 16th, 2022

If you’ve never seen the stunning views at Bryce Canyon National Park, get ready for a breathtaking experience!

I’d seen the rock formations called “hoodoos” at other parks in the American Southwest, but never so many clustered so close together.

And never with such spectacular views of the vivid red, orange, and white rock towers within such easy access to park visitors.

You don’t have to hike for miles to see the hoodoos – which is great news for families with smaller kids or people short on time.

The most spectacular views into the canyon are literally just steps away when you pull into the Visitor’s Center parking lot.

View of the descent via the Queens Garden Trail

Bryce Canyon National Park was a good stopping place on our springtime tour of southern Utah, and a place we were excited to visit!

Bryce is just a short, hour-and-a-half drive northeast of Zion National Park, so it would be an easy drive to get to our lodgings there at the end of the day.

In a perfect world we would have had a longer stop, but Bryce is on the smaller side for National Parks, so we were able to hit the highlights.

I literally couldn’t stop taking photos, because it was so beautiful – and I’ve included probably way too many of them here 🙂

Our half-day in Bryce Canyon was enough time for a 3-mile hike and stops at the most popular view points.

Here’s what we did, and info about some other trails and park attractions we’ll see on our next visit – maybe you’ll get some ideas for your visit, too.

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Shenandoah National Park – Visit Guide and 5 Days of Hikes

Most recently updated June 5th, 2022

Shenandoah National Park first opened to the public in December of 1936. It’s located in Virginia’s Blue Ridge mountains, less than a half days’ drive from home for me.

Though I’ve lived in the area for more than 20 years, I’ve never had the chance to spend much time in Shenandoah – until this past summer.

Bridge over the trout stream at Rapidan Camp

With 200,000 acres of protected land, Shenandoah National Park has some of the best hiking in Virginia – and the entire mid-Atlantic region of the US – so you can imagine how excited I was to visit!

I had a great time exploring on my own, but the park hosts a variety of trails and attractions for everyone from expert hikers to families with small children.

Where is Shenandoah National Park?

Shenandoah National Park is only 115 miles from Washington, D.C., 95 miles from Richmond VA, and 250 miles from Raleigh NC.

That’s close enough for a great long weekend or longer family vacation, without getting on an airplane!

I allowed a week for my trip – 2 days for travel, and 5 whole days to explore 🙂

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Hike, Bike or Just Relax at the North Carolina Museum of Art Park

Most recently updated October 7th, 2022

Signpost on the Green trail at the edge of the NCMA park.

The North Carolina Museum of Art Park has been a tremendous gift to the whole Raleigh community.

The park’s trails and open lawns, ponds and pools, larger than life outdoor art, plus the amphitheater and outdoor movie screen provide a beautiful open air gathering place for everyone.

Don’t Miss the Grand Re-Opening Celebration!

Several new collections are opening this October, along will all of the re-imagined NCMA galleries.

This October, the NCMA galleries will re-open after an amazing update with a weekend full of family-friendly (and free!) activities.

READ HERE ABOUT THE UPDATED GALLERIES!

Visit ncartmuseum.org/peoplescollection for a full schedule of opening weekend celebrations.

I’ve gotten a lot of good use from the safe – and inexpensive – outdoor activities for kids the Museum Park has made available over the years.

From the time my daughter was in kindergarten through her college years – and even now as a young adult in the community – the North Carolina Museum of Art (NCMA) and the Museum Park events and grounds have been a big part of both of our lives.

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