Pittsboro-Chapel Hill outdoors: Series launch

Friends, let's try something new. It turns out when you move to a small town, finding information on family-friendly outdoor activities can be difficult. We know there are tons of trails, playgrounds and nature adventures surrounding us in and around Pittsboro and southern Chapel Hill, NC, but the online resources we're finding are lacking in detail or completely out of date for this quickly growing area. It's frustrating. And it's easy to lose motivation to explore when you can't figure out what is around you or whether activities are logistically feasible for your family.

So today I'm launching a new series: Pittsboro-Chapel Hill Outdoors. The goal is to identify, evaluate and document local, family-friendly outdoor activities. It will be a slow process, since we just had another baby. But eventually I hope this series will become a valuable resource for local families and visitors, so you can all benefit from our adventures and not waste time trying to figure which activities are within reach.

I'll try to break the posts down into bite-size, manageable activities. For example, I won't write a blanket post on Jordan Lake. Instead I'll focus on one specific trail or beach per post and will be honest about how much we enjoyed it. Or didn't. Here are some aspects I'll try to cover in each installment:

Locations and activities
Post locations will be within about 20-25 minutes of Pittsboro and will include a specific address for your GPS, if possible. The idea is to capture things you could easily do in a few hours before everyone gets crabby.

Parking logistics
Parking can be nightmarish when you're loading and unloading kids. It can also suck away everyone's good moods or the small window of time you have before the baby is hungry again. I'll indicate whether parking is abundant and accessible or if extra time and patience is required to find a spot.

Trails
Are trails stroller friendly? Shady? Crowded or isolated? Too intense for kids? Are bikes or dogs allowed?

Playgrounds
Parks are not the same as playgrounds around here. There's nothing worse than the look of disappointment on your kids' faces when you pull up to somewhere listed as a playground, and it turns out to be a bare field. It's happened to us several times in Pittsboro. I'll let you know what's actually there.

Bathrooms
A porta potty is not the same as a bathroom in my book! I'll let you know what facilities exist.

I have a list of local adventures we hope to explore this summer and fall and will be posting them as I can. Please feel free to send suggestions for outdoor activities we can try out and review. Is there somewhere you've heard about but can't quite motivate to check it out and see if it's worth a trip with your family? Let me know.

Stay tuned for the first installments of Pittsboro-Chapel Hill Outdoors coming soon! These posts will include Fearrington Village and Honeysuckle Tea House.