Long Hikes for Cold Winter Days, Year of the Trail
The best thing about hiking on a cold winter’s day? You can hike forever.
This is why winter is made for the long hike. In summer, after an hour on the trail, you’re done. You’re soaked in sweat, your eyes sting of salt, you’re coated in spider webs. In winter after an hour you’re just getting warmed up.
The cold itself is good incentive to keep moving. And the more you move down the trail the more you realize what a magical time of year this is in the woods. Winter’s sunlight knifes bright through a leafless canopy, illuminating a forest floor littered with coppery leaves. Somehow, those gray tree trunks manage to betray the drab and muster a twinkle. Winter’s dry air cranks up the volume of the season’s quiet. It’s an experience you don’t want ended prematurely after an hour.
Today we share 10 of our favorite long winter hikes and why they’re especially well-suited for the cold. You can find additional details on each of the hikes, starting with how and where to find the trailhead, here.
Year of the Trail
Find more information on the Martin Luther King Jr. Day Bailey Mountain Hike in Mars Hill here.
Find more Year of the Trail events at Great Trails NC here.
Learn more about North Carolina's Year of the Trail here.
Find news of Year of the Trail at GetGoingNC.com, here.