North Carolina Adventure Weekends: A Traveler's Guide to the Best Outdoor Getaways

by Jessie Johnson, Matt Schneider

Overview

North Carolina Adventure Weekends makes it easy for campers, hikers, cyclists, paddlers, and climbers to plan weekend after weekend of memorable outdoor trips. It’s written for both novice and experienced adventurers who enjoy―or aspire to enjoy―a variety of outdoor pursuits but don’t have time to spend hours researching the best destinations or can’t get away for a long trip. Most outdoors enthusiasts enjoy a variety of activities, and this is the ideal resource for hikers who love to climb, paddlers who also pedal, and everyone who wants to get the most adventure out of a weekend. It’s also ideal for couples, families, or groups who love sharing a weekend getaway but want to do different things. Many guidebooks focus on one specific activity, such as hiking, paddling, or camping, and North Carolina Adventure Weekends eliminates the need for weekend warriors to spend hours thumbing through multiple guidebooks and websites, trying to find the best options for their multisport weekend trips. Furthermore, regional guidebooks might offer suggestions on different outdoor activities but not pinpoint the best options for adventurers who only have a weekend to explore. With North Carolina Adventure Weekends, readers have numerous action-packed weekend itineraries at their fingertips. They’ll know not only where to stay to be closest to the action, but also which adventures―hike routes, bike rides, paddle trips, climbing areas, etc.―are weekend-worthy. Each chapter highlights a focused geographic area and includes detailed directions, so readers can spend more time playing and less time driving from place to place. Adventurers will also learn where to stock up on supplies, what to do on a rainy day, and where to go to rehash the weekend’s adventures over an epic-worthy meal and a beer.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781634040938
Publisher:	Menasha Ridge Press
Publication date:	11/07/2017
Series:	Adventure Weekends
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	192
File size:	19 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Jessie Johnson started her life of adventure by tromping through the woods behind her childhood home in North Carolina. Camping, hiking, backpacking, paddling, climbing, biking, surfing—if you can do it outside, she’s in! With years of practice, she and Matt perfected the ultimate weekend adventure. Matt would pick her up at work every Friday, bikes and burritos ready to go. She’s been a children’s librarian, outdoor educator, Girl Scout troop leader, and sea turtle patrol volunteer. Most recently, Jessie has been lucky enough to turn her weekend adventures into everyday adventures as a Subaru/Leave No Trace traveling trainer and is traveling the western US with Matt, teaching people how to play outside in sustainable ways. She now gets to camp 250 nights a year!

Matt Schneider began adventuring at a young age: first while being carried in a backpack, and then while trying to catch up to his parents across trails, down rivers, and up mountains. After earning his Eagle Scout, Matt became a camp counselor, outdoor trip leader, philosophy professor, and challenge course manager (in that order). He has paddled, pedaled, hiked, climbed, surfed, and caved on three continents and in 11 countries and 32 states over the years. When not competing in off-road triathlons or researching his next book, he can be found living on the road with Jessie, teaching outdoor ethics as a Subaru/Leave No Trace traveling trainer.

Read an Excerpt

Croatan National Forest

The Croatan National Forest is an ecosystem smorgasbord. Coast, swamp, salt marsh, longleaf pine savannah, maritime forest: it’s all here. For your coastal paddling fix, make like a sea turtle and paddle to the wild and pristine Bear Island. Or, for something completely different, head into the swamp and paddle through the blackwater of the mysterious White Oak River. Ready to hike? The 21-mile Neusiock Trail offers some of the best and most diverse coastal hiking we’ve done. Spoiler alert: There are (gentle) hills. And before your mountain bike gets all huffy, you can hit the trails on two wheels at Flanners Beach Campground. The nearby town of New Bern has a very healthy road bike scene, so skinny tires are welcome too.

Areas included: Bear Island, Croatan National Forest, Hammocks Beach State Park, New Bern, White Oak River

Adventures: Camping, mountain and road biking, hiking, paddling

Lodging: Top Pick:

Flanners Beach Campground (US Forest Service) 300 Flanners Beach Road, New Bern; 252-638-5628; www.fs.usda.gov. $12/night, open March–November (call for exact dates), 40 sites, reservations accepted, picnic table, fire ring, lantern pole, flush toilets, hot showers, central water, 24 sites with electric available for an additional $5/night.

We’re die-hard tent campers. However, we think that the sites with electric hookups at Flanners Beach Campground (also called Neuse River Campground) are better than the nonelectric tent sites. This isn’t because we have a lot of equipment that requires electricity—although, the next time we camp in August, we’re bringing a fan and a long extension cord—but because the electric sites are bigger, more private, and have ample tree canopy. If shade and solitude are high on your list of campsite essentials, the extra $5 a night is worth it.

That said, the nonelectric sites have all the basics, and the ones toward the back of the loop get first-class Neuse River views with a nightly sunset show. Grab site 28 or 29, if you can. If you get creative with the lantern poles and the handful of trees, you can hang a hammock or tarp in these sites. They also stay pretty dry, even after a hard rain, and the paved path that circumnavigates the campground runs right behind them. Just beyond the path, you can scramble down to the broad Neuse River and enjoy a small, quiet stretch of beach. There’s also a bigger beach area a short walk away, down the stairs from the picnic area.

There’s no dedicated boat launch at Flanners Beach, but you can carry a small craft down to the river, and there’s a myriad of paddling opportunities within a half-hour drive.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Overview Map
• Preface
• North Carolina Adventure Accolades
• Introduction
• Asheville
• Brevard
• Bryson City–Nantahala Gorge
• Charlotte
• Croatan National Forest
• Linville Gorge
• Outer Banks
• Raleigh–Research Triangle
• Saluda
• Sauratown Mountains
• Uwharrie National Forest
• Wilmington–Carolina Beach
• Additional Resources
• Acknowledgments
• About the Authors