Foothills Conservancy of North Carolina announced the completion and opening of an accessible walking trail through the meadow of Oak Hill Community Park & Forest, marking the latest milestone in the park’s Sensory Trail Experience Program. 

Autumn is a beautiful — but busy — time in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Visitors should plan ahead and be prepared for incredible fall colors, but also crowds, traffic congestion and limited parking throughout the park. 

The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission advises that black bears’ eating behavior changes in the late summer through fall. They significantly increase their food consumption to prepare for the colder months when natural food is less available. It’s called hyperphagia and it means “extreme appetite.” Which means they are on the search. 

The extended Cashiers Greenway Ramble is one step closer to completion thanks to a $212,000 grant from Jackson County.

The grant contributes to the $4 million in funding needed to complete the Ramble’s five-mile network of pathways, sidewalks, boardwalks and public spaces. 

Tara Pruett’s running journey emerged from a rough childhood. The art of running, the sport itself — with its life lessons and camaraderie within its vast community of athletes — became a beacon of safe harbor and personal resolve for Pruett. 

The Department of Natural and Cultural Resources has awarded more than $11 million authorized by the General Assembly in grants to communities and nonprofits in Western North Carolina from Great Trails State Program funding. 

A popular hiking destination in Jackson County will soon see expanded access and new trail construction, thanks state funding awarded to the Town of Sylva. 

At its July 10 meeting, the Sylva Board of Commissioners approved a resolution authorizing town staff to accept a $92,000 grant from the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources’ Recreational Trails Program.

In this day and age, when the world seems to be one chaotic situation after another, all while the incessant white noise and constant distraction in the digital age peels away our sanity, I find a genuine urge to head for the mountains and hit the trails. So, I do so, happily. 

Thousands of people set out to hike the Appalachian Trail every year. About a quarter of those people finish. In 1973, Mike Rayder was one of a small number to attempt the feat and likely one of the first 100 ever to finish the trail. 

On Sunday, July 6, with the cooperation of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the North Shore Cemetery Association will host decorations at Proctor and Bradshaw cemeteries.