The tangle of trees and vines beyond the playground fence at North Canton Elementary School used to be a no-go zone for students, years of accumulated balls a testament to a long-time school rule against jumping the fence.  

The Benton MacKaye Trail Association will remove blown-down trees along the Tennessee/North Carolina line during a maintenance trip starting at 9 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 27, from the Coker Creek Welcome Center in Tennessee. 

During 2023, volunteers with the Highlands Plateau Greenway contributed 640 hours to create new trails and maintain the existing ones that connect the Highlands community, participating in more than 23 workdays over the past year. 

Declared to be the Year of the Trail more than a year before it even began, 2023 had a lot to live up to.

The standing tradition of starting the New Year off on the trail will continue at N.C. State Parks Monday, Jan. 1, with more than 50 staff-led hikes showcasing the wonders of the Great Trails State. 

Registration is open for the Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy’s fourth annual Winter Hiking Challenge, asking participants to complete 60 miles of trail in the 60 days between Jan. 1 and March 1. 

In a sunny clearing 350 feet above U.S. 23, the choose-your-own-adventure portion of Canton’s Chestnut Mountain Nature Park  begins. 

The recently adopted 2023-2025 state budget includes $2.5 million for trail construction in the Pisgah National Forest surrounding Old Fort. The allocation represents a portion of the $24.9 million total set aside for specific trail and greenway projects statewide.

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. 

With 54 volunteers turning out for the Carolina Mountain Club’s Quarterly Crew Day at Sam Knob last month, the group was able to check a lot of items off its to do list.