More than 600 people from across the nation converged in Cherokee last week for the fifth annual Outdoor Economy Conference, the nation’s leading economic development conference focused on outdoor recreation. 

Haywood County Recreation is hosting a series of events throughout September. Here’s a look at what lies ahead

The General Assembly declared 2023 the “Year of The Trail,” in hopes of getting more people to appreciate the state’s outdoor gems. But will it get beyond a marketing effort to a real investment in building and maintaining routes?

Less than a year after owner Kent Cranford sold his three Motion Makers Bicycles stores to Specialized Bicycles, the company announced a sudden decision to pull out of the Cherokee location it had shared with Bryson City Outdoors since 2020. 

Cherokee’s Fire Mountain family of outdoor experiences is set to add a new member after the tribe announced its intention to build a pump track and bike skills park, along with 8-10 miles of trail. 

As Earth Day bloomed under one of spring’s sunniest skies yet, more than 150 people gathered on a concrete bridge spanning Hominy Creek just outside Canton to celebrate what Mayor Zeb Smathers termed a “gift of genesis” — the long-awaited opening of Chestnut Mountain Nature Park .

Seth Alvo makes defying gravity look easy. Pushing off on his mountain bike, he gathers speed on a rolling portion of Berm Park’s double black diamond trail, careening around a curved berm until it joins a vertical wall. The bike lifts off the berm and, for just a moment, rolls perpendicular to the wooden boards before a solid landing again submits it to gravity’s rule. 

The first trails at Canton’s Chestnut Mountain Park will be ready to ride before the leaves drop this fall thanks to an overwhelmingly successful fundraising effort from Asheville YouTuber Seth Alvo. 

Austin San Souci was just 2 years old the first time he rode a bike. 

“He never had training wheels. He just took off,” said his father, Tyler San Souci. “We sort of supported that all along.”

A group of Western North Carolina mountain biking enthusiasts has unveiled plans to bring the highest-elevation mountain bike trail on the East Coast to Jackson County, and after receiving a thumbs up from leaders in Cherokee and Sylva last month they’ll start seeking grants to make it a reality.