I turned 40 years old today.

This morning, I awoke in the guest bedroom of my parents’ farmhouse in my native North Country of Upstate New York. It was 12 degrees outside with a frigid breeze, the sun shining brightly. I rolled over and looked out the second-story window onto a backyard blanketed in snow, each flake sparkling. 

As part of the Great Backyard Bird Count initiative, a global community science project that helps researchers understand how birds are doing before they undertake their great spring migration, Mainspring Conservation Trust is hosting its own event. 

The U.S. Forest Service has reopened more trails and roads throughout areas of the Pisgah National Forest’s Appalachian Ranger District in Haywood, Madison, Buncombe, Yancey, Mitchell and Avery counties following the damage caused by Hurricane Helene. 

The Jackson County Parks and Recreation Department announced a Jan. 17 hike on the Panthertown Loop trail.

Trail is about 4.5 miles, features a 1,000-foot elevation gain and is appropriate for beginners and moderate hikers alike. 

For the first time in nearly three years, the trail to Great Smoky Mountains National Park’s tallest waterfall is fully open — and following an intensive rehabilitation of its entire four-mile length, Ramsey Cascades Trail is in better shape than it’s been in decades.  

Christmas Eve. With the sun fading behind the Blue Ridge Mountains, the sky transitioning into bright pink, purple and orange, I found myself quietly jogging the four-mile path around Lake Junaluska. Nobody around me, the air quickly gets cold during sunset. Dozens of Canada geese roaming the walking trails and shoreline, with many more either swimming or in-flight nearby. 

More than 90 free educational sessions, five days of outdoor excursions and key note speakers await attendees of Pigeon Forge’s 33rd Wilderness Wildlife Week Jan. 28 through Feb. 1. 

The National Park Service (NPS) will begin a major rehabilitation on Laurel Falls Trail, one of the most popular trails in Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

The trail will close for 18 months starting Jan. 6, 2025, as crews make improvements to the trail and parking areas. 

Haywood County Recreation is offering a wilderness navigation course that will equip hikers with the basics of modern navigation required to not become lost in the wilderness. 

The U.S. Forest Service reopened the Joyce Kilmer Memorial Trail and all other facilities in Graham County will reopen on Oct. 11