Do doggy first aid in the backcountry

Learn what to do when your dog gets hurt on the trail with a workshop offered 10-11:30 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 3, in Clyde. 

Help maintain the Benton MacKaye Trail

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. 

Go hiking

Explore winter in the mountains with a trio of upcoming hikes led by Haywood County Recreation and Parks. 

Explore Rattlesnake Lodge

The Carolina Mountain Club has started a new hiking initiative, called Leisure Hikes, with the next event scheduled for 10 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 20, on the Mountains-to-Sea Trail in Asheville. 

Hike with CMC

Take a winter walk on the Mountains-to-Sea Trail Sunday, Jan. 7, in Asheville with the Carolina Mountain Club. 

Highlands Greenway celebrates productive 2023

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. 

Ringing out the Year of the Trail: A highlight reel of trail news in 2023

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

Hike into the 2024

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. 

The Winter Hiking Challenge

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. 

Nose for adventure: New program gets Sarge's shelter dogs hiking

Monday mornings have a bad reputation, but for dogs at Sarge’s Animal Rescue Foundation in Waynesville, they’ve become the best part of the week. Since the Adventure Tails program launched Nov. 1, these mornings have been set aside for hiking — and the dogs are all about it. 

Smokey Mountain News Logo
SUPPORT THE SMOKY MOUNTAIN NEWS AND
INDEPENDENT, AWARD-WINNING JOURNALISM
Go to top
Payment Information

/

At our inception 20 years ago, we chose to be different. Unlike other news organizations, we made the decision to provide in-depth, regional reporting free to anyone who wanted access to it. We don’t plan to change that model. Support from our readers will help us maintain and strengthen the editorial independence that is crucial to our mission to help make Western North Carolina a better place to call home. If you are able, please support The Smoky Mountain News.

The Smoky Mountain News is a wholly private corporation. Reader contributions support the journalistic mission of SMN to remain independent. Your support of SMN does not constitute a charitable donation. If you have a question about contributing to SMN, please contact us.