Back by popular demand, the Pinecone Pathways Program will return this fall for one day to commemorate Great Trails Day in North Carolina on Saturday, Oct. 21. 

The Pinecone Pathways Program was created by the Pinehurst, Southern Pines, Aberdeen Area Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) to support the statewide Year of the Trail campaign. This spring, the CVB partnered with glassmakers at Starworks, located in Star, to produce 200 colorful glass pinecones which were hidden along trails throughout Moore County. The organizations are partnering again for the one-day event in October to hide 10 glass pinecones on 10 different trails in the county.

“We were blown away by the success of the spring Pinecone Pathways event, so we felt bringing it back for one day for Great Trail Day in North Carolina made sense,” said Phil Werz, president and CEO of the CVB, in a press release. “Last time, we saw people from Ohio, Georgia, Virginia, South Carolina and other states visiting our area to find a pinecone, but we know folks from Moore County will be out there looking as well. We hope people plan ahead to spend a weekend in the Sandhills and search for a pinecone on Great Trails Day.”

Because there will only be a limited number of pinecones to be found on Great Trails Day, the CVB asks that finders only keep one and any additional ones found remain hidden on the trail. Finders get to keep the pinecone and they can also stop by the CVB to claim an additional prize. Additional prizes include two tickets to a practice round for the 2024 U.S. Open, two U.S. Open coffee mugs, two adult tickets for the Aberdeen, Carolina and Western Railroad Christmas Train, a complimentary experience at Double Eagle Golf and other fun prizes and experiences. A number on each pinecone will correspond to a specific prize. The CVB is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. and located at 155 W. New York Ave., Suite 300 in Southern Pines.

Each of the 10 pinecones will be hidden no more than three to four feet off the ground and no more than three feet off any marked trail, but not out in the open, so as not to make them too easy to find.

Exact trail locations will be announced via the CVB social media channels the afternoon before Great Trail Day. Generally, trails that will be announced are located in Aberdeen, Pinehurst, Southern Pines, Pinebluff, Vass, Cameron, Robbins, Carthage and Foxfire.

The Year of the Trail celebrates North Carolina’s vast network of trails, greenways and blueways that showcase diverse landscapes. North Carolina is the Great Trails State, where each of North Carolina’s 100 counties should be able to enjoy the proven benefits of trails, including health, safety, economic development, tourism, transportation and environment. Trails are the backbone of the state’s growing $28 billion outdoor recreation economy.

The NC General Assembly designated 2023 as the Year of the Trail, an effort led by the Great Trails State Coalition, a broad-based group of diverse organizations, agencies and supporters advocating for increased state investment in all types of trails statewide: hiking, paddle, mountain biking, equestrian and paved.

For more information about this one-day Pinecone Pathways event, go to: https://www.homeofgolf.com/special-edition/. To learn more about Year of the Trail programs in Moore County, visit https://www.homeofgolf.com/moore-trails/.