When you think of snorkeling this summer, you probably imagine the clear blue waters of the Caribbean, but snorkeling has made its way to Western North Carolina. The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission is encouraging outdoor enthusiasts to try something new in the rivers and streams of the region through the Blue Ridge Snorkel trail.
Andrea Leslie works for the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission as the Mountain Habitat Conservation Coordinator. Snorkeling is a part of her job as an aquatic biologist.
“Well, it can be cold,” Leslie said. “I basically just use a mask and a snorkel and depending on the temperature of the water, I might put on a wetsuit or not.”
Aquatic biologists snorkel to learn about the behavior of fish and other aquatic animals.
“You can see, depending on the stream, bass and trout, shiners and darters and salamanders and crayfish,” Leslie said.
Leslie recommends looking out for her favorite fish: the darter. There are a number of types of small darters. Leslie says the fish sport bright colors during mating season in spring and early summer.
One of the bigger darters is between three and four inches long. It’s called the Tangerine Darter.
“The male darter, who is the ‘fancy’ gender gets orange with these beautiful olive-green kind of blotches on its side,” Leslie said. “And it's a super curious fish. So it's, you know, it really likes to make friends. So it might pop up right next to you as you're snorkeling looking at you like, ‘who is this odd giant creature looking at me.’”
Find fish like the darter on one of the 10 pilot sites of the Blue Ridge Snorkel trail. The sites are in partnership with local conservation organizations Mainspring Conservation Trust, MountainTrue and others. The sites are spread across the region from Graham and Swain Counties to Buncombe and Wilkes Counties.
Each site has an educational sign to help with the self-guided tour. The signs will include species of fish or other animals that you might find as well as information on how to safely snorkel.
One species not to make friends with is the hellbender. Despite its scary name, the creatures aren’t dangerous. However, the giant salamanders, which can be a few feet, long are exceedingly rare.
“It's important not to touch them, and it's important not to disturb their habitat. So lifting big rocks is a really a bad idea for hell benders, because that can really hurt their habitat and hurt them as well,” Leslie said.
Overall Leslie recommends snorkeling as a relaxing new hobby.
“Everything just slows down and you just start looking. And at first you might not see anything, but as you lay there and observe, all of a sudden you might see a crayfish moving,” she said.
Find all of the locations and more information about the snorkel trail here.
