To celebrate Great Trails State Day in North Carolina on Saturday, Oct. 18, the Pinehurst, Southern Pines, Aberdeen Area Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) has once again partnered with renowned Seagrove Potter Crystal King to produce 30 pottery pinecones to be hidden along selected trails in Moore County that day. This year, the 30 “Crystal Cones” will feature a blue glaze known as Moonlit Carolina, unlike last year’s which were a faint orange in color with a pine green leafing. Each pinecone will be individually stamped, numbered and authenticated by King.

“We are so happy that Crystal (King) wanted to participate again in this special one-day program to highlight Great Trails State Day in North Carolina,” said CVB President and CEO Phil Werz in a press release. “The idea for a new color allows for those that found one of them last year to add to their rare collection of limited edition pottery pinecones. With the excitement generated each spring with our Pinecone Pathways Program, this allows the ‘coneheads’ to get their fix for one day in the fall.”

“I’m thrilled to be part of the Pottery Pinecone program and it was fun creating the 30 pottery pinecones that will be hidden along trails in Moore County on Oct. 18th,” said King, Seagrove Potter and owner of Crystal King Pottery in a press release. “With these new pottery pinecones and our separate pottery pumpkins we produce each year, it will be a very busy fall.”

The CVB will announce what trails in Moore County where the pottery pinecones will be hidden at 9am on Saturday, Oct. 18. If found, finder are asked to register their pinecone at the event website and be automatically entered to win a $250 gift card to Crystal King Pottery. All ages are welcome to join the hunt, but only registered finders 21 years of age and older are eligible to win the gift card.
Crystal King represents 10 generations of pottery tradition in the Seagrove area. Her parents apprenticed with the late Dot and Walter Auman at the original Seagrove Pottery which influenced her love and direction into the items she produces today. Her most popular works include sculptural and animal figurines, folk like and face jug themes.

Great Trails State Day is a law in North Carolina. The North Carolina legislature unanimously approved the measure in 2023 and became law under Governor Roy Cooper. The day is now observed across the state on the third Saturday in October. Trails provide free access to healthy recreation, safe transportation alternatives, and contribute to the quality of life in communities of all sizes, making places desirable for residents, visitors and businesses. Trails are an important economic driver, serving as the backbone of North Carolina’s outdoor recreation economy, which reached $16.2 billion in 2024. As the fifth-ranked tourism state in the country, North Carolina attracts visitors in large part due to our diversified natural landscapes, from the mountains to the coast.

The one-day Great Trails State Day N.C. pottery pinecone hunt is an offshoot of the very popular Pinecone Pathways program which started in the spring of 2023 to celebrate the Year of the Trail in North Carolina. Due to the overwhelming popularity of the program, the CVB decided to make the spring scavenger hunt an annual event. For the spring program the CVB has partnered with glassmakers at Starworks, located in Star, to annually produce 100 colorful glass pinecones which are hidden along trails throughout Moore County for a five-week period between the first day of spring and Earth Day.

Because there will only be a limited number of pinecones to be found in the program, the CVB asks that finders only keep one of them and any additional ones found remain hidden on the trail.

The hidden pinecones will never be more than three to four feet off the ground and no more than three feet off any marked trail, but they may not be easy to find.
For more information about the Pottery Pinecones Program, go to: www.HomeofGolf.com/pottery-pinecones