{"id":269239,"date":"2025-11-03T17:44:07","date_gmt":"2025-11-03T17:44:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/269239\/"},"modified":"2025-11-03T17:44:07","modified_gmt":"2025-11-03T17:44:07","slug":"conserving-carolinas-white-squirrel-challenge-returns-with-8-scenic-hiking-trails","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/269239\/","title":{"rendered":"Conserving Carolina&#8217;s White Squirrel Challenge returns with 8 scenic hiking trails"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>ASHEVILLE, N.C. (WLOS) \u2014 Conserving Carolina has brought back the popular White Squirrel Challenge, according to a news release.<\/p>\n<p>The challenge consists of eight hiking trails that Conserving Carolina has helped protect or expand.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/wlos.com\/news\/local\/nearly-500-acres-purchased-for-vast-nature-preserve-near-chimney-rock-lake-lure-conserving-carolina-joel-ridge-rebekah-robinson-greyrock-hickory-nut-gorge-state-park-rutherford-county-western-north-carolina-preservation\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">NEARLY 500 ACRES PURCHASED FOR VAST NATURE PRESERVE NEAR CHIMNEY ROCK, LAKE LURE<\/a><\/p>\n<p>The eight trails include:<\/p>\n<p>Bearwallow Mountain TrailBell ParkLittle White Oak Mountain TrailEcusta TrailRumbling BaldCat Gap in Pisgah National ForestMine Mountain and Laurel Ridge in DuPont State ForestWhite Oak Trail in Headwaters State Forest<\/p>\n<p>Conserving Carolina says hikers who participate in the challenge will discover hidden gems away from the crowds, experience lovely waterfalls and mountain views, and connect to nature on a deeper level while also earning their White Squirrel Hiking Challenge 8 patch as a badge of honor.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/wlos.com\/news\/local\/conserving-carolina-protects-49-acres-near-lake-lure-for-future-trails\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CONSERVING CAROLINA PURCHASES 49 ACRES NEAR LAKE LURE FOR PRESERVATION, FUTURE TRAILS<\/a><\/p>\n<p>The hiking challenge is free and open to all; however, to earn the White Squirrel patch, hikers must also be a Conserving Carolina member.<\/p>\n<p>According to the release, individuals who donate $35 or more, or households that donate $60 or more annually, are Conserving Carolina members.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ASHEVILLE, N.C. (WLOS) \u2014 Conserving Carolina has brought back the popular White Squirrel Challenge, according to a news&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":269240,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[51],"tags":[79,201],"class_list":{"0":"post-269239","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wildlife","8":"tag-science","9":"tag-wildlife"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/269239","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=269239"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/269239\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/269240"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=269239"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=269239"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=269239"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}