This Land, Your Land

An "excellent" fall color show should begin to roll down the mountainsides of western North Carolina in the next couple of weeks and continue through October.

Kathy Matthews, associate professor of biology specializing in plant systematics at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, said in her annual prediction that “2011 should prove to be an excellent year for fall color.”

Depending upon the timing of the first frost, fall colors should peak during the second week of October in the higher elevations, and during the third week of October in the mid-elevations, Matthews told WCU's The Reporter.

Howie Neufeld, Ph.D., professor of Plant Physiology at Appalachian State University in Boone, predicted this week on his The Fall Color Guy blog that the color would peak in the Boone/Grandfather Mountain area the weekend of October 7-9 and "maybe the next weekend farther south around Asheville."

Neufeld said colors in the Highlands/Cashiers area of the Nantahala National Forest peak about the same time as in Boone or just slightly afterward. In the Great Smoky Mountains, he said, "colors will peak in early October at the higher elevations, and then work their way downslope, with a delay of about five days for every 1,000-foot drop in elevation."

In his weekly report for this week, Neufeld said he drove to Linville Falls and Grandfather Mountain State Park over the weekend and found a significant increase in color on the hills compared to last week, though they are still about 80 percent green.

"On Grandfather Mountain, color is very pronounced on the heath balds and rock outcrops," Neufeld writes. "Above 4,500 feet, color is quite advanced, and on the eastern and lower flanks of Grandfather (the side facing the Blue Ridge Parkway) there are one or two ridges with excellent color already. You can get a great view of this from the Beacon Heights parking lot, and also on the rock outcrops at Beacon Heights (take the short trail to the top for spectacular views)."

Beacon Heights, at MP 305.3 on the Parkway, is a trailhead for Section 13 the Mountains-to-Sea Trail and the Tanawha Trail, which goes under the Linn Cove Viaduct.

Goose Creek State Park has reopened on its regular fall schedule of 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., the state Division of Parks and Recreation said on the park's website this morning. Campgrounds and some trails remain closed due to unsafe conditions caused by Hurricane Irene.

Farther south, the Friends of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail reports that extensive storm damage in the Croatan National Forest will likely mean the Neusiok Trail remains closed until next spring.

We've previously reported the National Forest alert that says only three recreation sites in the Croatan have reopened since the late-August hurricane, and about numerous downed trees in the campground at Goose Creek.

The FMST says in an email sent yesterday that "boardwalk, bridges and hundreds of trees were uprooted" along the 20-mile Neusiok, which is Section 36 of the MST.

"The damage is extensive enough that FMST volunteers are estimating that the trail may not reopen until next spring," the group says on its website.

The storm also caused breaches in five places in Section 38 of the MST, the Outer Banks from Ocracoke to Jockey's Ridge State Park. Temporary bridges over the breaches are expected to be in place by early October.

A free festival Sunday afternoon offers a look at what is to eventually become the open park area at Haw River State Park in Browns Summit near Greensboro.

The festival is set for 1 to 4 p.m. on a 692-acre tract just west of the state park’s Summit Environmental Education Center. The land is to be developed into traditional park amenities, such as hiking trails and picnic grounds, beginning in 2013.

Sunday afternoon's activities will include hayrides and hikes across the property to Haw River wetlands, a turtle scavenger hunt, a campfire, storytelling and crafts.

Get to the festival though a temporary park entrance at the end of Oak Arbor Road, off N.C. 150, just west of Northern Elementary School.

Haw River State Park encompasses 1,374 acres in Guilford and Rockingham counties. In addition to an environmental education center, the park has an entrance road and parking area, a network of hiking trails, restroom facilities and picnic grounds. Work has begun on an extensive loop trail and design of the park’s entrance road.

So far the facilities are only open to organized groups that make reservations for use of the environmental education center. The rest of the park will only open to the general public after interim facilities have been completed, a news release said.

If you don't have plans for Saturday, there are at least 20 opportunities in North Carolina to participate in cleanup and rehabilitation work as part of National Public Lands Day. There are also guided hikes on the Appalachian Trail and free admission to National Parks as part of the annual celebration.

National Public Lands Day, September 24 this year, is the nation's largest, single-day volunteer event for public lands in the United States. Last year, 170,000 volunteers worked at over 2,080 sites in every state, the District of Columbia and in many U.S. territories.

Projects planned in North Carolina (link above) range from spreading wood chips along nearly a half mile of the Lake Trail at the Carl Sandburg National Historic Site in Flat Rock to removing aquatic debris and collecting water quality data at the Rachel Carson Coastal Reserve near Beaufort, and from trail work in the Nantahala National Forest's Panthertown Valley Backcountry Area near Cashiers and in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, to removing litter and debris at hurricane-damaged Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge near Rondanthe on the Outer Banks.

Opportunities to help also exist at local sites, like Hemlock Bluffs Nature Preserve in Cary and Fairview Park in Hillsborough.

Up the coast from Pea Island, entrance fees are waived for the day at the Wright Brothers National Memorial at Kitty Hawk the only National Park in the state to charge for entry.

Construction of additional parking and easier trail access at William B. Umstead State Park has begun with work near the Raleigh park's U.S. 70 entrance.

The initial phase of the project will add space for 50 vehicles near the visitor center, a news release says.

"At the Sycamore Bike and Bridle Trailhead, 18 equestrian parking spaces will be separated from a 46-space parking area for other users, and a one-way loop will be eliminated by widening the entrance road," the release says. "The trailhead will be linked to the multiuse trail system by a new, 1,000-foot trail section, and the mile-long gravel road leading to the trailhead will be upgraded with a smoother surface."

The work is to result in better access to the park’s multi-use trail system in the Graylyn Drive/Ebenezer Church Road area, where planners rejected proposals for a third park vehicle entrance.

Construction is expected to be completed in late December. The estimated price tag is $370,000.

In an update two weeks after Hurricane Irene's strike, officials at Cape Lookout National Seashore say workers continue to make repairs but have opened most areas of the park.

The Long Point Cabins on North Core Banks suffered the most extensive damage, a news release says. After Irene, high seas washed over North Core Banks as Hurricane Katia passed offshore. Damage to the septic system and the ferry basin, which filled with sand, will require coordination with regulatory agencies to repair. Work to replace roofs continues, the news release says.

The camp at Long Point consists of 20 furnished cabins of about 500 square feet each that sleep six in bunk beds.

Elsewhere, Shackleford Banks is open, visitor services in the Lighthouse area have been restored, and the visitor center on Harkers Island is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

In Portsmouth Village, the two developed areas remain closed, but the beaches have reopened for day use and foot traffic.

For National Public Lands Day on September 24, the Appalachian Trail Conservancy has declared its first Family Hiking Day.

To get "kids, youth, parents and grandparents out on the Appalachian Trail - many for the first time," the ATC has complied a list of family-friendly hikes, including these in North Carolina, and has local volunteers leading hikes on the 24th at Max Patch Bald and Lovers Leap Loop, both near Hot Springs and both on the family-friendly hikes list.

The family-friendly hikes also include Wayah Bald near Franklin (see below), Round Bald and Jane Bald near Bakersville, and Little Rock Knob near Buladean.

An 0.3-mile paved trail takes you to a CCC-era tower at Wayah Bald and views of the Smoky and Unicoi mountains of the Nantahala and Little Tennessee valleys. Click on the photo for more information.

Dimsal Swamp State Park has apparenlty re-opened for the first time since Hurricane Irene hit, but Goose Creek State Park remains closed.

The state parks website has removed its post-Irene alert about closed parks, and there is no word of closing or re-opening on the Dismal Swamp park page. The Goose Creek page says "closed due to unsafe conditions in the aftermath of Hurricane Irene; but, Dinah's Landing is open."

Scroll down (or click here) for a YouTube video that shows fallen trees at Goose Creek's campground.

Dismal Swamp State Park is off of U.S. 17 north of South Mills in Camden County.

The U.S. Forest Service said today it was re-opening three campgrounds in the hurricane-stricken Croatan National Forest.

The Cedar Point Recreation Area near Swansboro, which includes a family campground, the Tideland National Recreation Trail, a picnic area and a fishing pier, has reopened, as has Oyster Point Campground near Newport. The Dixon's Landing canoe launch south of Maysville, which allows primitive camping, has reopened as well.

Other Croatan Day Use Areas remain closed, including the Neuse River Recreation Area.

The Forest Service said shortly after Hurricane Irene struck August 27 that 60 percent of roads in the 160,000-acre forest were blocked by fallen trees.

The Tideland Trail at Cedar Point Recreation Area opened Wednesday. Click on the photo for more information.

The video below shows trees downed by Hurricane Irene in the campground at Goose Creek State Park, which is near Washington, N.C.

The park's Dinah's Landing boat launch across the river reopened last week. The video was apparently shot last Sunday afternoon by kayakers familiar with the 12-site campground.

Goose Creek and Dismal Swamp State Park both remain closed.