BIKE
• Climb up the Buffalo Mountain ATV Trail for views of Erwin and its surrounding Cherokee National Forest.
• Pick up the 35-mile Virginia Creeper Rail-Trail near Whitetop, Virginia for beautiful ride through mountain and farm country. www.vacreepertrail.com. Find camping spots and arrange a shuttle with Creeper Trail Outfitters. 888-BIKEN4U; www.vacreepertrailbikeshop.com.
• Brave some steep sections on the 4-mile Green Mountain Trail for rewarding high country views. Find more biking trails at www.unicoicounty.org.
• For a quick ride, pedal the Erwin Greenway around town or tour the area’s low-traffic country roads.
• Ride through the countryside from barn to barn on the Quilt Trail in Northeast Tennessee. www.unicoicounty.org.


RUN
• Hop on the paved Erwin Greenway along North Indian Creek and Nolichucky waterways.
• Get started at Tenth Street and pick up the Appalachian Trail to the beauty spot on top of Unaka Mountain Wilderness.
• Find Indian Grave Gap and connect with the 8.5-mile Shinbone Trail overlooking the Nolichucky Gorge.
• From just outside of town at Rock Creek Recreation Area, run a narrow trail to Rock Creek Falls or pick up trails to the Unaka Mountain Wilderness.


HIKE/CAMP
• For good day hikes, descend five miles along Rattlesnake Ridge from Unaka Mountain overlook to Rock Creek Recreation area or climb 2.8 miles on the Limestone Cove Trail to Stomping Ground Ridge.
• Plan an overnight or multi-day backpacking trip on the Appalachian Trail in the Cherokee National Forest. Head to the Laurel Fork area (a.k.a. Frog Level) near Hampton. Get ready at Mahoney’s Outfitters in Johnson City. 800-835-5152; www.mahoneysports.com.
• Explore and camp hardwood forests along the creeks and ridges in Roan Mountain State Park. 800-250-8620; www.state.tn.us.
• Visit the guys at Mountain Sports Ltd. in Bristol, Virginia for great tips. 800-276-1278; www.mountainsportsltd.com. While there, pick up National Geographic’s Cherokee/Pisgah National Forest: South Holston and Watauga Lakes Map #783 –– the best map of the area.


PADDLE
• Get serious about paddling with a canoe or kayak instruction at North Carolina’s Nantahala Outdoor Center. 800-232-7238; www.noc.com.
• Closer to home, check out kayak touring and outdoor skills class at Eastern Tennessee State University. 423-439-1000; www.etsu.edu.
• Test your feel for kayaking with a trip down the Lower Nolichucky in an inflatable one-person ducky. 866-686-7238; www.beechmountainsports.com.
• Find a perfect introduction to whitewater canoeing on a self-guided tour of the French Broad River in North Carolina’s lush Pisgah National Forest. 828-877-3106; www.headwatersoutfitters.com.
• Raft Class III-IV whitewater through the 2,000- foot gorge on the Upper Nolichucky. 800-445-7238; www.cherokeeadventures.com.
• Find a good kayaking surf hole at Jaws rapid on the upper Nolichucky. For boats and accessories, go to Watauga Kayak in Elizabethtown. 423-542-6777; www.trouttown.com.