Ride the trails with an experienced mountain bike instructor at 10 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 10, at Chestnut Mountain Nature Park in Canton. 

Get started with mountain biking

Take a ride with experienced rider Alex Kirby 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, Aug. 5 at Chestnut Mountain Bike Park in Canton .

Youth and adults who are new to mountain biking will be able to pick up skills and confidence on the trails during this free program. Loaner bikes and helmets will be available. Registration required with Haywood County Recreation and Parks at bit.ly/haywoodrec.

Race Lake Logan

The annual Lake Logan Multisport Festival is just a month away, with three tri-sport events coming up in Haywood County Aug. 5-6.

As Earth Day bloomed under one of spring’s sunniest skies yet, more than 150 people gathered on a concrete bridge spanning Hominy Creek just outside Canton to celebrate what Mayor Zeb Smathers termed a “gift of genesis” — the long-awaited opening of Chestnut Mountain Nature Park .

Hazy ownership of a de facto three-acre park in Waynesville has been resolved, allowing the town to remove a group of partiers who had more or less occupied a corner of the property as squatters.