When it comes to the New Year, you won't find the Triangle's outdoors community celebrating on a couch watching football. Not all day, at least.

Opportunities abound to get the year off to an active start, then kick back and watch a bowl game or, in the case of you exuberant revelers, recover for the 364 days ahead.

Here's to a great 2006!

Take a hike

1. ENO RIVER NEW YEAR'S DAY HIKE

Where: Few's Ford Access area of Eno River State Park, northwest of Durham. (From I-85 exit at Cole Mill Road, drive 5.7 miles north until Cole Mill ends. Look for the unusual collection of Toyota Priuses and you'll know you're there.)

When: 2 p.m.

Contact: Eno River Association at www.enoriver.org or Emily Herbert at emily@enoriver.org, 620-9099.

What's shakin'? This is the granddaddy of local New Year's outdoors events. For more years than anyone seems able to remember, folks have been gathering along the banks of the Eno River to hike in the new year. In fact, as many as 600 have shown up on days with good weather, adding a touch of irony to the hike's back-to-nature theme. Two led hikes are offered: one of up to four miles, the other about two. Congregate afterward at the picnic shelter for beverages (usually hot chocolate and Russian tea) and popcorn.

2. UMSTEAD STATE PARK HIKE

Where: Departs from the park entrance off Harrison Avenue at I-40 in Morrisville.

When: 10 a.m.

Contact: Ian Potter, BPotter777@aol.com.

What's shakin'? This informal hike sponsored by the Thursday Trekkers began last year as a low-key alternative to the Eno event: Last year's inaugural event attracted 50 or 60 people, says the Thursday Trekkers' Ian Potter. This hike is a bit more aggressive than the Eno affair, taking on the Company Mill Trail, a distance of about 6.5 miles; shorter options are available. FYI, the Trekkers tackle a different trail every Thursday, and their more aggressive approach is reflected in this note from Potter: "Due to the relative shortness of this walk, we won't be scheduling any lunch break, but feel free to bring along your snacks to enjoy along the way." A good group to hike with.

3. NEW YEAR'S DAY WILDLIFE WALK AT HORSE SHOE FARM PARK

Where: Horse Shoe Farm Park, Raleigh. (Heading north on U.S. 1 from Capital Boulevard, turn left after crossing the Neuse River at Ligon Mill/Mitchell Mill Road. Turn left onto Horse Shoe Farm Road; the park is at end of road.

When: 3 p.m.

Contact: Friends of Horse Shoe Farm, www.horseshoefarm.org.

What's shakin'? For a glimpse into the future, join the Friends of Horse Shoe Farm for a tour of this emerging 146-acre park located on an oxbow of the Neuse River off U.S. 401. There will be a one- to two-mile hike of the land led by John Connors, coordinator of the Naturalist Center at the N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences. Connors has a broad knowledge of the natural world -- and he's pretty entertaining, too. (Ask him about squirrels.)

Go for a ride

1. SPIN CYCLE'S 13TH ANNUAL NEW YEAR'S DAY RIDE

Where: Ride starts at the Spin Cycle in Saltbox Village shopping center on Kildaire Farm Road north of Cary Parkway in Cary.

When: 10 a.m.

Contact: The Spin Cycle, 460-9373, www.thespincycle.com.

What's shakin'? The Spin Cycle's 37-mile New Year's Day Ride is popular with avid cyclists who haven't been avid for a month or two. The ride is just long enough to be fulfilling, yet flat enough to accommodate legs gone soft. Enough riders of varying speeds show up that you're almost assured of finding a group to ride with. No rest stops, but there are cue sheets, and a SAG van makes sure everyone makes it back to their cars. Ride leader and Spin Cycle poobah Kevin Coggins leads from the rear, at a "hangover pace."

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