Recreation & Gardening
Featured
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Fire on the Mountain
Cherokee’s new uber accessible mountain bike trail system provides recreation options for riders and hikers of all skill levels in the heart of the Smoky Mountains. Read more
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NPS Photo/Bill Fultz
The Big South Fork: A Land Of Gorges & Arches
You hike through a forest on a rolling plateau. It’s pleasantly cool in the summer with the tree canopy above. After a while, you scan the landscape and perceive an openness through the forest ahead—it can give a queasy feeling of an upcoming void. Read more
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kentuckytourism.com
The Big South Fork: Adventure awaits on Trails, Rails & Waterways
Straddling both Tennessee and Kentucky, the Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area provides visitors access to 125,000 acres with natural arches, waterfalls and a host of outdoor activities like camping, horseback riding and paddling. Read more
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Where's the Wine?
Carol and Jim Steiner say they understand that the idea of a jaunt on the Appalachian Trail can intimidate some would-be hikers. After all, the AT is about 2,181 miles long, known as the longest continuously marked footpath in the world. Read more
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John Forbes photo
Deep in the Devil’s Cellar
Western North Carolina’s Burke County is a mecca for outdoor enthusiasts, and its crown jewel, the Linville Gorge, serves as a vast hub to foster pursuit of the momentary and sometimes inexplicable wonders of nature. Read more
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Bruce Ingram photo
Spring Gobbler Hunting in Our Mountains
Every year on the first weekend in April, my wife Elaine and I drive to the Johnson City area, stop by Mahoney’s Outfitters to pick up a hunting license, and then head for a rental house on the side of an East Tennessee mountain. Read more
Garden Skills and Other Stuff You Won’t Find in the Almanac
Gardeners need a good sense of humor. It’s a prerequisite for planting and harvesting. My family’s garden shortcomings emphasize this need. No matter how well intended, “things” were always popping up to foil the best of intentions. Read more
Jun 1, 2019
Grab A Paddle and Float the Cheat
The Upper Cheat River Water Trail, which includes 38 miles of beginner-friendly, class I to II water, is perfect for canoes, recreational kayaks, and family trips. Read more
Jun 1, 2019
Hidden in Plain Sight
When I signed up to spend a day searching for a mountain camellia in the wild, I didn’t know much about what a mountain camellia was. It was a flower, it was rare, and it had some inexplicable air of mystery about it—that’s where my knowledge ended. Read more
Jun 1, 2019
The Mountain Ride Comes to Brevard
The Mountain Ride is one of three bicycle rides hosted each year by Cycle North Carolina. The events—the Coast Ride, the Mountains to Coast Ride, and the Mountain Ride—visit communities across the state each year. Read more
Jun 1, 2019
Telling the Smokies Story
Now education branch chief for the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Susan Sachs has worked in the Smokies for the past 20 years, collaborating with scientists, teachers and students to spread appreciation of the park’s vast cultural resources. Read more
Jun 1, 2019
Insects are the Pollinator Professionals
Insects and flowers go back—way back. Flowering plants, scientifically known as angiosperms, are believed to have fully emerged around 140 million years ago. Read more
Jun 1, 2019
Taylor Boyd Willoughby/Mountain Orenda Photography
Beer, Backpacking, and the Importance of Sunshine
Like many great ideas, this one was born over beer. “You know what we should do?” said my friend Taylor at the end of our weekly bar trivia night. “We should go backpacking.” Read more
Apr 1, 2019
Bruce Ingram photo
Sights, Smells, and Sounds in Our Spring Forests
In the Southern Appalachians, spring sends our senses into an ethereal otherworld as so many sights, sounds, and smells unique to the season greet us. Here are some of the sensory delights that folks in our region treasure the most. Read more
Apr 1, 2019
