Pardon me for jumping the gun a little bit, but we are in the waning days of the summer and that means my favorite season is on its way. Autumn has a little something for everybody. Beautiful colors in the trees, crisp air inviting you to sit around a campfire, pumpkin flavored everything. Just thinking about it gets me excited. I like summer a lot, but the fall is just something extra special.
The mountains usually beckon around the fall time. North Carolina boasts some of the prettiest mountain scenery in the world, and the bright, vibrant colors of the changing leaves are breathtaking. But the beauty and vibrancy of nature is actually much closer by. The Dan River is as much a part of the magnificence of North Carolina as the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Nestled near some of the state’s beautiful mountain ranges, the Dan is a great way to experience that pure feeling of nature in fall. Riding down the river, hiking the trails along side it, and just following the path as it flows will allow you to see sights you may never have even seen before. The wildlife is diverse, including a very large variety of birds that attract bird watchers from areas near and far.
Of course, there’s lots to do on the river during the summer, of which we have already featured on this blog- tubing, kayaking, fishing, etc. But when that crisp breeze of fall hits you when you’re on the water and the trees are alive with bright changes, it makes these things much more colorful (pun intended.)
I’m all for sweating it out in the summer, getting a tan while splashing in the refreshing waters of the river, and there’s plenty time left to do that. But now is about the time each year I get anxious for the fall. The first signs of its arrival are beginning to show, and there’s no better way to welcome it than out on the Dan.
Need ideas for what to do on the Dan? Check out the Dan River Basin Association.
Which do you like better- summer, fall, or one of the other seasons?