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We are considering moving to this area from Washington State here in the Pacific Northwest.....but we need ***lots more sunshine*** and a thriving economy like the triangle area. Being that you are located somewhat in the middle of beaches and mountains...what kind of outdoor activities are readily available within 100 miles...for day and weekend getaways?? Hiking, Camping-car camping as well as packing in-hiking in several miles and setting up camp..lakes, etc.. We have visited the area and it is lovely but did not get a chance to explore outside of wake county/urban/suburban areas. Secondly, How 'outdoorsy' is the general population there?
Last edited by outdoorsychica; 10-20-2009 at 11:52 PM..
Reason: fixed a word
Where to begin?! There are so many parks and lakes and rivers here! Granted, it's not like the PAcific Northwest, where every which way you look it seems there is a forest, but if you're willing to drive a little, you will find many things - Jordan Lake, Falls Lake, Eno River, and Umstead are a few in the Triangle area. The Outer Banks is a fabulous weekend trip (or longer, since there is so much to see there). The beaches here are not like the ones on the Pacific side, but they are certainly worth visiting. The Pisgah and Nantahala National Forests are another long weekend trip for backpackers, though they are about 200+ miles from Raleigh, toward the Smoky Mountains (my personal favorite area).
For just local stuff, many people kayak and fish the local lakes. There are lots of walking and biking trails, such as the American Tobacco Trail, Duke Gardens, the Arboretum, UNC Gardens, etc. I don't know if this will be helpful, but here is a website with a little info: Outdoors In The Triangle- Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, NC
I've not lived here that long, so others will have much more info and hopefully they will chime in soon. But, if nature is your thing, I'm sure you'll love it here!
Within 100 miles? Mostly local lakes and woods. . Some good mountain biking very close, some nice kayaking and canoeing rivers when it rains, decent hiking trails with small amounts of elevation gain. Now, with in a 2-4 hour drive, you'll tons of options. The best beaches in the continental US (the outer banks), smoky mountain national park, great whitewater paddling, spectacular waterfalls and wilderness hiking, great climbing.
From our perspective, its a pretty nice area. There's alot of nice opportunities minutes away to get outdoors during the week, and a huge variety of great options for weekend or longer trips.
Currently, I would not define the Triangle economy as "thriving," at least not as far as jobs, and jobs affect everything else in the economy. It was thriving a couple of years ago. You must be reading old information. It is now in a holding pattern.
We are considering moving to this area from Washington State here in the Pacific Northwest.....but we need ***lots more sunshine*** and a thriving economy like the triangle area.
Here are a list of places to check out as you venture out from the Triangle. I've marked about where the 100 mile point is. Things get MUCH better around the 2 -2.5 hour mark and by the 3-3.5 hour drive you are really seeing some special stuff.
The local stuff:
1) Umstead State Park - trails, camping, horse/bike trails
2) Eno River State Park - camping, trails, wafting
3) American Tobacco Trail - good place for a flat, long bike ride or run
4) Various local parks and lakes and greenways - for instance, Wake Co has Lake Johnson, Shelley Lake, Lake Lynn, Bond Lake/Park. These are especially popular places to run.
5) The bigger lakes at the borders of the Triangle - Jordan Lake, Falls Lake, Harris Lake. There is camping at some of these. I like the trails at Harris, especially in winter when tick season is past.
Outside the Triangle, but inside 100 miles:
6) Raven Rock - some nice trails. I think there may be camping
7) Morrow Mountain - more like a big hill. Camping, Swimming, Hiking.
8) Uwharries - Large area with lots of hiking loops possible. Great place for a quick overnight backpack. Although within the 100 mile radius (depending on where in the Triangle), it can actually be just as quick to get to some of the places outside 100 miles).
100-200 miles West
9) Pilot Mountain - hiking, camping. Very pretty mountain right off 52 outside Winston-Salem.
10) Hanging Rock State Park - hiking, camping, rock climbing, swimming. Very nice park with all sorts of things to see and do. The hike to Hanging Rock is nothing special, but once you are up there, the views are excellent. Lots of water falls.
11) Stone Mountain State Park - This place is still really nice, although I miss the old days when it was a pain to get to down dirt roads. But the main loop hike to a waterfall and then up to the top of the rock mountain is just fantastic. Camping, rock climbing, fishing, hiking.
12) Blue Ridge Parkway and related areas- Doughton Park, West Jefferson, Boone, Blowing Rock, Grandfather Mountain, Linville Gorge and other places are all within the 150-200 mile range from my house. This is where the options for hiking and camping just really increase and become spectacular.
13) Grayson Highlands/Mt. Rogers, Virginia - The Appalachian Trail comes through here. Close to the Virginia Creeper trail, which is a really popular family bike ride. Great place for backpacking loops.
Beyond 200 miles West the mountains just keep getting bigger and better. Asheville, Shining Rock Wilderness, Great Smoky Mountain NP, etc.
100-200 miles East
14) Wrightsville Beach is the ubiquitous Triangle Day Trip. But is very crowded and parking is a pain.
15) Ft Fisher - a bit longer drive, but I've always been able to park right away )for free) and hit the beach quickly. Aquarium, Ferry, Fort are all there, too.
16) Beaufort, Morehead City, Emerald Isle - this area is popular with people from the Triangle. Some good sea kayaking in this area. Cape Lookout, Hammocks Beach SP, etc. can be good adventure trips by kayak to camp.
17) Neuse River, Pamlico and Albemarle Sounds - popular places to sail, fish
18) Nags Head - this is a bit under 200 miles from the edge of the Triangle, but well over it from my side of town.
Beyond 200 Miles East the Outer Banks outside of Nags Head start to really get interesting. Camping can be fun, but be warned mosquitoes are awful most of the year in my experience. Kite Boarding, Wind Surfing, Sailing, Fishing, Sea Kayaking, Surf Fishing, etc. Love it, and I'm more a mountain guy.
Lots of other stuff I didn't mention, but that is a good start.
Wow!! Now that is the kind of information I was looking for. I really REALLY appreciate the time you took to write all of that. This helps me out tremendously.
Thank you Dire Wolf!
Question... Because of ticks and other biting things, do you tend to keep your outdoors activities to particular times of the year or do you just get out there and deal with it? ... Might sound like a dumb question but around here.. Puget Sound... ticks are not an issue and mosquitos are generally not a big deal either... however there are some places where I think the king and queen mosquitos of the planet thrive along with there troops..i.e.. Indian Heaven Wilderness... with a name like that, its' not what you'd expect. .. hence...our camping right smack dab in the middle of that mess...the only reprieve we got was swimming in the mountain lake and running for our lives back to our tent and fire....
I really appreciate the information everyone else provided as well. Now I can actually start looking things up, pictures, maps, topography...etc... till I can make it out there next time and check things out in person.
Here's a great little hike as well - Occoneechee Park in Hillsborough - the trail there can be steep at times, a good workout! It's not as crowded as the rest of the Eno.
In a little over an hour, you can be in Washington, NC and a bit farther east, there is the whole "Inner Banks" with some great kayaking, paddling, birding, fishing, etc. Here are some links to start you out: PTRF Paddle Club (http://www.ptrf.org/PaddleClub.html - broken link); http://www.ncsu.edu/paddletrails/regionsmap.html; (broken link) http://www.roanokeriverpartners.org/...RiverBasin.htm
Question... Because of ticks and other biting things, do you tend to keep your outdoors activities to particular times of the year or do you just get out there and deal with it? ... Might sound like a dumb question but around here.. Puget Sound... ticks are not an issue and mosquitos are generally not a big deal either... however there are some places where I think the king and queen mosquitos of the planet thrive along with there troops..i.e.. Indian Heaven Wilderness... with a name like that, its' not what you'd expect. .. hence...our camping right smack dab in the middle of that mess...the only reprieve we got was swimming in the mountain lake and running for our lives back to our tent and fire....
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I don't worry about it in general, but there are some spots where I've had problems in the past and like to be prepared. For whatever reason Harris Lake seems especially bad with the small deer ticks.
Mosquitos are more common around here, but I can usually just put up with them. I've been to a few campgrounds where they seemed worse than normal, and the beach seems to have much more, so I plan accordingly. The mosquitos here are different than the ones I've dealt with out west. I remember in the Rockies and Alaska really feeling them when they'd stick me. Here, I usually don't and then I'll get itchy and maybe a bump/welt afterwards.
Here are a list of places to check out as you venture out from the Triangle. I've marked about where the 100 mile point is. Things get MUCH better around the 2 -2.5 hour mark and by the 3-3.5 hour drive you are really seeing some special stuff.
The local stuff:
1) Umstead State Park - trails, camping, horse/bike trails
2) Eno River State Park - camping, trails, wafting
3) American Tobacco Trail - good place for a flat, long bike ride or run
4) Various local parks and lakes and greenways - for instance, Wake Co has Lake Johnson, Shelley Lake, Lake Lynn, Bond Lake/Park. These are especially popular places to run.
5) The bigger lakes at the borders of the Triangle - Jordan Lake, Falls Lake, Harris Lake. There is camping at some of these. I like the trails at Harris, especially in winter when tick season is past.
Outside the Triangle, but inside 100 miles:
6) Raven Rock - some nice trails. I think there may be camping
7) Morrow Mountain - more like a big hill. Camping, Swimming, Hiking.
8) Uwharries - Large area with lots of hiking loops possible. Great place for a quick overnight backpack. Although within the 100 mile radius (depending on where in the Triangle), it can actually be just as quick to get to some of the places outside 100 miles).
100-200 miles West
9) Pilot Mountain - hiking, camping. Very pretty mountain right off 52 outside Winston-Salem.
10) Hanging Rock State Park - hiking, camping, rock climbing, swimming. Very nice park with all sorts of things to see and do. The hike to Hanging Rock is nothing special, but once you are up there, the views are excellent. Lots of water falls.
11) Stone Mountain State Park - This place is still really nice, although I miss the old days when it was a pain to get to down dirt roads. But the main loop hike to a waterfall and then up to the top of the rock mountain is just fantastic. Camping, rock climbing, fishing, hiking.
12) Blue Ridge Parkway and related areas- Doughton Park, West Jefferson, Boone, Blowing Rock, Grandfather Mountain, Linville Gorge and other places are all within the 150-200 mile range from my house. This is where the options for hiking and camping just really increase and become spectacular.
13) Grayson Highlands/Mt. Rogers, Virginia - The Appalachian Trail comes through here. Close to the Virginia Creeper trail, which is a really popular family bike ride. Great place for backpacking loops.
Beyond 200 miles West the mountains just keep getting bigger and better. Asheville, Shining Rock Wilderness, Great Smoky Mountain NP, etc.
100-200 miles East
14) Wrightsville Beach is the ubiquitous Triangle Day Trip. But is very crowded and parking is a pain.
15) Ft Fisher - a bit longer drive, but I've always been able to park right away )for free) and hit the beach quickly. Aquarium, Ferry, Fort are all there, too.
16) Beaufort, Morehead City, Emerald Isle - this area is popular with people from the Triangle. Some good sea kayaking in this area. Cape Lookout, Hammocks Beach SP, etc. can be good adventure trips by kayak to camp.
17) Neuse River, Pamlico and Albemarle Sounds - popular places to sail, fish
18) Nags Head - this is a bit under 200 miles from the edge of the Triangle, but well over it from my side of town.
Beyond 200 Miles East the Outer Banks outside of Nags Head start to really get interesting. Camping can be fun, but be warned mosquitoes are awful most of the year in my experience. Kite Boarding, Wind Surfing, Sailing, Fishing, Sea Kayaking, Surf Fishing, etc. Love it, and I'm more a mountain guy.
Lots of other stuff I didn't mention, but that is a good start.
You can't get any better than a list like this, and it's all on target. Please make sure you give this poster rep points.This is a very comprehensive list!
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This helps me out tremendously. 
.. hence...our camping right smack dab in the middle of that mess...the only reprieve we got was swimming in the mountain lake and running for our lives back to our tent and fire.... 
