Meet the MULES

Man/woman does not live by hiking trips that require a long drive alone. Thank heavens for the 3.1-mile South Tar River Greenway. This dirt and gravel path currently runs from...

It’s easy to rack up some unintentional miles at Goose Creek State Park. From the Visitor Center, your initial plan is to simply hike down the Palmetto Boardwalk, which elevates...

Merchants Millpond is rightly known as one of the best spots in the state to paddle a cypress swamp, and deservedly so. The 760-acre millpond is perhaps the most enchanting...

Mayo Mountain Ridge Trail Think Mayo River and you think whitewater paddling. When the river’s up, the 18-mile-long (in North Carolina) Mayo boasts some of the Piedmont’s most challenging rapids;...

Face it, Hanging Rock, prominent knob from which this state park gets its name, is the star attraction here. But at just over a mile, making a beeline from the...

A wilderness area? Less than an hour from downtown? Well … sorta. The Birkhead Wilderness is a 4,790-acre nub on the northern tip of the Uwharrie National Forest. Though the...

Greensboro’s three watershed lakes north of town — Brandt, Townsend and Higgins — offer 42 miles of natural surface trail, trail that exposes hikers to all manner of flora and...

Crowders Mountain and Rocktop trails This is a classic western “payoff” hike: pay your dues early on and your payoff is grand views from atop a rocky summit. This 5-miler...

Crowders Mountain State Park (N.C.) to Kings Mountain State Park (S.C.) Nothing like walking into work Monday morning and being able to boast, “Yep, did an epic hike this weekend...

Sugarloaf and Morrow Mountain trails It may sound funny to speak of a hike in the Piedmont that “bags” two peaks. But your legs won’t be laughing by the time...

Ever wonder what it might have been like to take a stroll through the Piedmont before the time of Columbus? Occasionally, you’ll find a spot where you can wander through...

Uwharrie National Recreation Trail Nestled in the heart of the Piedmont is the ancient Uwharrie Mountain Range and 51,000 acres of national forest. And nestled in the heart of the...

There are precious few hiking opportunities in northern Durham and Orange Counties counties, which is unfortunate. The Piedmont hills here rise a little higher, the air temperature a wisp cooler...

There’s hiking in the Piedmont and there’s hiking along the Haw River. But wait, isn’t the Haw in the Piedmont? Technically, yes. Look at a map and there it is,...

OCCONNEECHEE MOUNTAIN LOOP TRAIL You’ll find more ecological escape packed into this 190-acre preserve on the outskirts of Hillsborough than anywhere else in the Triangle. Occoneechee Mountain has five distinct...

Difficulty: Strenuous (length) Distance: 30 minute drive from downtown Chapel Hill Time to complete: 3 to 4 hours Address: 6101 Cole Mill Road City: Durham State: N.C. Zip: 27705 Latitude:...

Johnston Mill Nature Preserve is like a “best-of” of hiking in the western Triangle. It’s got the requisite rocky creek: a 2-mile stretch of New Hope Creek penetrates this 296-acre...

Company Mill Trail (see related entry) may be Umstead State Park’s most popular trail but largely because of a lack of competition. From the park’s Harrison Avenue entrance off I-40,...