Relax. You’re here. But here are some trails if you wish to go exploring locally.

XOXO

My Local Trail Recommendations

🌾 Soundside Nature Trail

A peaceful walk with marsh grasses, birds, and beautiful water views. Bring binoculars, a journal, and take your time.

🌲 Nags Head Woods Preserve

Shady maritime forest, winding trails, and a completely different side of the Outer Banks. Perfect for a warm August afternoon.

🌊 Jockey's Ridge

Go early in the morning or at sunset. Climb the dunes, fly a kite, or simply watch the light change over the sound.

🚲 Explore by Bike

Choose a neighborhood you've driven through a hundred times—but this time, ride it instead. Stop when something catches your eye. You'll notice things at ten miles an hour that you'll never see at fifty.

🌼 Your Own Trail

Sometimes the best trail isn't on a map. Wander your local park, neighborhood, marina, or shoreline with no destination in mind. Let curiosity decide where you go.

I've always loved our National Parks for this very reason. They invite us to slow down instead of hurry through.

As for city biking... I'll happily leave that adventure to someone braver than me!

Give me a quiet greenway, a coastal path, or a bike trail that ends at a little café, and I'm perfectly content. I think that's one of the nicest ways to discover wherever you happen to be.

Small towns of the Carolinas have my endorsement. I feel privilege to call one home nestled so close to a National Park.

Staycation Tip

Leave your headphones behind once in a while.

Listen to the wind in the pines.

The birds overhead.

Passing boats.

Your own footsteps.

Sometimes the soundtrack of home is all the music you need.