From the Mountains to the Sea: North Carolina Weekend Escapes, May 28, 2015
Every Thursday, we team with our friends at GetGoingNC.com to offer suggestions on how you can have an active weekend. We offer ideas for the coast, the Piedmont and the mountains that cover a range of activities: from running and hiking to paddling, biking and more.
For more information on the events listed, as well as for additional options for the weekend, visit GetGoingNC.com.
This week: At the coast, take a bike tour that is indeed a tour, not a race; in the Piedmont there’s a race that offers something for the whole family; and in the mountains, you can lose yourself floating the French Broad River, from Rosman to Asheville.
Coast
A lot of us shy away from bike “tours” because they tend to be less tour, more grueling endurance event.
Not so Saturday’s Historical Southport Bicycle Tour, which spends two hours cycling through the live oak-shaded streets of Southport taking in such sites as Fort Johnson, the Brunswick Inn, the Old Brunswick Jail, the Smithville Burying Grounds and the Indian Trail Tree, all while learning about Southport’s colorful history of river pilots, blockade runners, and pirates.
Piedmont
Families face a dilemma for most 5K-type events: they just don’t appeal to everyone. Not the case with Saturday’s annual Run the Ridge in Oak Ridge, in Guilford County.
Dad wants to relieve his glory days from high school track? Sign him up for the 5K. Sis loves to compete but is a little young for the 5K? The one-mile fun run should do the trick.
And it’s always best when the family can do something together, right? Then sign up for the Rugged Ridge Obstacle Race, which includes three miles of jumping over stuff, throwing water balloons, carrying stuff, climbing over stuff, crawling through stuff — sounds like a great way to spend quality time your family won’t soon forget.
Mountains
Been longing to spend a day on the river? How about several days? The annual French Broad Float is five days of rafting on the French Broad River, starting at the headwaters near Rosman and ending in Asheville.
Don’t have five days? There’s a two-day option as well. Most meals are provided along the way. The guided paddle trip is sponsored by MountainTrue, a nonprofit that “champions resilient forests, clean waters and healthy communities in Western North Carolina.” Five days in a raft? It’s the stuff of a modern-day Huck Finn.
Remember, for more great weekend ideas, head over to GetGoingNC.
