Affordable Adventure
You don't need a ton of money or expertise to explore the outdoors—especially in Chattanooga Growing up, Bailey O’Sullivan’s family moved about every ...
Paddling
Find paddling gear, river guides, and stories from the water here. Kayaking, canoeing, rafting, and stand-up paddleboarding all have a home in the Blue Ridge, in both whitewater and flatwater settings. We’ve got your best river destinations and plans ready, from the Youghiogheny in Pennsylvania and West Virginia’s New River Gorge to the Green in North Carolina and the Chattooga of Georgia – plus everything in between.
Lanier Lap: 100-Hour Paddle
Josh Forester is attempting a record-setting 400-mile, 100-hour paddle around Georgia’s largest lakeHave there ever been similar lake circumnavigations?...
Happy Birthday West Virginia!
Every year on June 20th, the Mountain State celebrates a very special day – its birthday! This year West Virginia is turning 156 years old. How much do you kno...
Bad Boys of Whitewater
Meet the Long Creek GangstersA thick mist hung over the Chattooga River as the sun rose, bringing the home known as Thugz Mansion to life. A familiar quest...
Outdoor Updates: Three men to cross Lake Erie on paddle boards
Three men to cross Lake Erie on paddle boardsYesterday morning three men set out to paddleboard across Lake Erie to raise money for the Cooperative Institu...
Summer Camp for kids who are blind
Zip, hike, raft, wadeSummer vacation—it’s something almost every school-age kid eagerly anticipates. But that wasn’t the case for Sam Chandler at age 11. S...
White Water Healing: Paddling with Purpose
Whitewater Healing helps kids with autism brave new watersPut a bunch of kids with autism and their families in rubber rafts and shoot them through the Nan...
Hometown Heroes
Locals reveal their favorite spots for in-town adventureIt’s five o’clock on a Wednesday afternoon. You want to get outside after a long day of work or cla...
Urban Paddling
When you think about paddling in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast, rivers like the Gauley, James, Nantahala, and Chattooga get a lot of the love.While these...
June 2019: Urban Adventures
2019 Paddling GuideFeaturesUrban PaddlingYou don’t have to travel far to squeeze in a day on the water. These nine rivers offer closer-to-home padd...
Outdoor Updates: Kayaker killed on Cheat River
Kayakers killed and injured on West Virginia’s Cheat RiverA Maryland man was killed on West Virginia’s Cheat River after a tree fell on him during a kayaki...
Trail Mix: Groundhog Gravy & The Gauley River
Groundhog Gravy swings by the Trail Mix blog to chat up music and whitewater rafting....
Festival Guide 2019: Do Your Fest
100+ Essential Blue Ridge FestivalsCall your friends, grab tickets, and get ready to go. Within our yearly guide of more than 100 Blue Ridge festivals we’v...
Outdoor Updates: World’s best paddlers battle for the Carolina Cup this weekend
World’s best paddlers battle for the Carolina Cup this weekendSome of the best standup paddleboarders, prone, kayak, surfski and OC endurance racers from a...
Bambi Meets Godzilla, Bubba Meets Jesus
How did iconic rapids and climbing routes get their names?Visitors to the Blue Ridge often remark that the names of our mountains are imaginative, if n...