GRISWOLDDAD
Parenting, Entertainment, and Travel Tips
Things to Do in North Carolina
*For North Carolina's top yearly events, click here.
Appalachian Trail
The Appalachian Trail is a 2,185 scenic hiking trail that runs from Maine to Georgia. The North Carolina parts of the trail are known as some of the prettiest. Many outdoors people have this hike on their bucket list. Granted, the true bucket list is to hike the entire 2,185 miles which involves hiking, camping, knowing the "how to's" of outdoors including packing light yet packing the essentials and how to deal with wildlife, like bears. If you'd like a good book describing the trail, read AWOL on the Appalachian Trail.
Appalachian Trail by Daveynin
Asheville
Asheville is a beautiful mountain town with lots to see and do beyond just seeing the natural beauty of the North Carolina mountains and flowers in the spring and leaves in the fall. Most notably is the Biltmore Estate. This mansion, open to tourists, was built by the Vanderbilts from 1889 to 1895. It was ranked eighth in America's favorite architecture by the American Institute of Architects and is one of the best remaining examples of houses built during the gilded age.
They also have fun and extravagant events such as their Christmas Decorations, Easter Egg Hunts, and flower gardens. Thomas wolfe, the author of famous novels like "Look Homeward, Angel" lived here. The Thomas Wolfe House/Memorial , his boyhood home, is tourable today. The Omni Grove Park Inn is an over 100 year old historic resort hotel on the western-facing slope of Sunset Mountain within the Blue Ridge Mountains, it's as beautiful as it is amazing and is complete with a spa!
Biltmore Estate
Grove Park Inn
Banner Elk
Banner Elk is a fun mountain town filled with unique festivals and skiing. The Wooly Worm Festival is an autumn event in which thousands of contestants race woolly worms, fuzzy caterpillars. The winning worm is said to forecast the weather for the coming season.
The Autumn at Oz Festival celebrates the "Wizard of Oz" every year at the defunct Wizard of Oz theme park called Land of Oz. You get to see all the characters of the book and film come to life as they are superbly acted out, you can go through Dorothy's farm house before AND after the tornado, and then you follow the yellow brick road to Oz to see the wizard, finding everyone else along the way.
Blue Ridge Parkway
America's longest linear park, 469 miles, runs through the Blue Ridge part of the Appalachian Mountains. People visit this beautiful parkway known for its scenic views of mountains year round, but they FLOCK to it in the fall. Amazing views of autumn leaves abound during October, specifically "Peak Week", when the leaves are in their full glory. Old forts and trading posts can be found along the parkway, but be sure to venture out into the towns that border the Parkway as they have fall produce, yard art, flea markets, and roadside stands to see.
Charlotte
The "Queen City" is the largest city in North Carolina will plenty of activities to do. Adventures to be had at the US National Whitewater Center (home to the 2012 Olympic trials) include whitewater rafting, zip lining, canoeing, biking, a climbing center, kayaking, and running trails.
Charlotte is also home to the Nascar Hall of Fame, which is described as a shrine to the history and heritage of Nascar racing. Charlotte also has its own theme park, Carowinds, a 398 acre park filled with roller coasters, a water park, and many many other rides, and called the "thrill capital of the Southeast." Other Charlotte highlights include The Billy Graham Library, which is a public museum about the life of Billy Graham and his ministry, Latta Plantation, a cotton plantation from the 1800s that is today a living history museum. and the James K. Polk Memorial, which commemorates significant events in the Polk administration on land once owned by the 11th president's parents.
In nearby Concord, you can see Reed Gold Mine, the first documented gold find in the US, or go shopping at Concord Mills, one of the largest malls in the Southeast, complete with The North Carolina Aquarium, Nascar Speedpark, miniature golf, a carousel, and SO many shopping stores which is also 1 mile from Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Nascar Hall of Fame
US National Whitewater Center by Jason Earliwine
Concord Mills Mall (Aquarium)
Charlotte Motor Speedway
Carowinds
Billy Graham Library
Kitty Hawk
Ever heard of a couple of guys named Orville and Wilbur Wright? This is where they made that first flight, in the Kill Devil Hills area. There's a memorial to the Wright Brothers and their "first flight". There's also plenty of fun to be had at the beach and in the ocean while visiting this historical site.
Lake Lure
Lake Lure is a town/lake in the North Carolina mountains. The lake itself is serenely beautiful and surrounded by mountain peaks. You can swim, canoe, kayak, hike, take guided boat tours, or just spend the day at the lakeside beach. The town was made popular by the movie, "Dirty Dancing." Yes, this is that pretty mountain town, beach, and lake where the movie was filmed. The Lake Lure Inn & Spa even has a yearly event called the Dirty Dancing Festival in which they have dancing contests, lake "lifts", and outdoor screenings of the movie at the hotel and cabins featured in the film.
The town is also near one of North Carolina's most popular mountainous attractions. Chimney Rock has hiking trails, 75 mile views, a 404 foot waterfall, and the Chimney Rock itself.
Lake Lure
Chimney Rock
Linville
Linville Caverns are North Carolina's show caves and open year round for guided tours. Grandfather Mountain offers wildlife habitats to visit, like black bears, otters, cougars, bald eagles, and white-tailed deer...along with a chance to cross the mile-high swinging bridge!
Linville Caverns
Grandfather Mountain
Mount Airy
Mount Airy is famous by a different name, "Mayberry." Yes, this is the town that the iconic town from the "Andy Griffith Show" was based on. Down the road from "Mount Pilot" aka Pilot Mountain, you'll find spots from the show still today, like Snappy Lunch, Floyd's Barbershop, and the Andy and Opie statues. Yearly, they have a Mayberry Days Festival which is full of fun and Andy Griffith Show themed events.
Mayberry Days Festival
Andy and Opie Statues
Outer Banks
The Outer Banks is a 200-mile long string of narrow barrier islands off the coast of North Carolina starting, briefly, in Virginia. The islands are filled with beautiful beaches, lighthouses, scuba diving, kayaking, swimming, the Kitty Hawk monument mentioned above, piers, and fishing. In Manteo, America's longest running outdoor drama, "The Lost Colony," tells the story of the colony at Roanoke Island that disappeared without a trace back in the late 1500's. As mentioned, there are plenty of lighthouses to see, but the most well-known and popular is at Cape Hatteras. Wild horses can be seen in the Carolla area and on Carova Island.
Wild Horses of Corolla
Cape Lookout Lighthouse
Cape Hatteras Lighthouse
Wilson
Wilson is the home to Whirligig Park. A local eccentric artist built a over 30 giant whirligigs near his house in the swamps. After he passed away, the city moved them to its downtown area to create a really cool, unique city park. Free and open daily, anyone can now come see the giant wind-powered sculptures. Mostly made out of metal, the night lights reflect off the sculptures in the evening creating an extra element of beauty not seen in the daytime.
Winston-Salem
Old Salem is a living history museum that lets visitors experience an early American Moravian settlement. Winston-Salem was also the home of RJ Reynolds in its heyday, and the Reynolds mansion, aka The Reynolda House, has become more than just a tourable mansion. Built in 1917, the house became an art museum in 1967. It currently houses on of the country's largest collections of American paintings.
An interesting thing about Winston? In 1929, the RJR company built Reynolds Building, which served as the prototype for the Empire State Building, built two years later. Every year, the staff of the Empire State Building send father's day cards to the staff of the Reynolds Building.
Old Salem
