National Parks in North Carolina
While North Carolina is a decent sized state, it only holds 8 National Park Sites. It does not have a major National Park solely on its own, but does share portions of Great Smoky Mountains National Park with Tennessee. The parks I’ve visited are in red, but I only linked the parks I reviewed.
Blue Ridge Parkway (NC & VA)
Cape Hatteras NS
Cape Lookout NS
Carl Sandburg Home NHS
Fort Raleigh NHS
Guilford Courthouse NMP
Moores Creek NB
Wright Brothers N MEM
Appalachian Trail
The Appalachian Trial is nearly 2,200 miles and 95.7 of them go through North Carolina. Several states have many more miles, but there are still some very desirable parts of the AT in North Carolina. Max Patch and the Roan Highlands are some of the most trekked parts of the AT, and make for excellent weekend backpacking trips. Hot Springs, NC, an official trail town, is also a great place for hikers to relax and spend a weekend.
North Carolina State Parks
There are 41 state parks in North Carolina, and they even have their own passport system if you want to collect stamps! I’m fortunate enough to have been to a few of the parks, and in my opinion, they are far superior to Maryland and Virginia state parks.
Dismal Swamp – hiking, biking, paddling, fishing
Hanging Rock – camping, hiking, biking, paddling, fishing, swimming, rock climbing
Pilot Mountain – camping, hiking, rock climbing
Stone Mountain – camping, hiking, horseback riding, fishing, rock climbing
Weekend trip ideas in North Carolina
North Carolina has several cities and towns that are perfect for a long weekend. Some of the ones I mention are not even the most popular areas, but there is still plenty to see and do. I don’t think I could ever run out of things to do in North Carolina. There are mountains on one side and the beach on the other. There’s a plethora of great hikes, waterfalls, and state parks. It really has it all!
Outer Banks
The Outer Banks is packed full of things to do, and the best part is so many of them are free. Of course you probably want to spend some time on the beach, but there are plenty of other things you can add to your list. Of the 8 National Park sites in North Carolina, 3 of them are in the Outer Banks. Also, there are 5 light houses you can visit that span from Corolla to Ocracoke. There are plenty of dolphin and sunset cruises to choose from, as well as Jockey’s Ridge State Park, which is full of sand dunes for the kids to play on. And I didn’t even mention all the good restaurants!
Winston-Salem
Winston-Salem is probably not the first city you think of when you think of North Carolina, so why did I include it? Well, it is a perfect place to stay if you want to spend a weekend in the mountains and check out Pilot Mountain and Hanging Rock State Park. Stone Mountain is about an hour North West of Winston-Salem, which could be a place you go on your way in or out of the city. Winston-Salem has so many cute shops and places to eat, and is very small-business oriented. It’s clean and overall just a nice place to visit.
Asheville
Being the park town for the NC side of the Smokies, I had to include Asheville. I have never actually been to this city, but I love the Smokies and when I make it back, I want to either enter or exit through Asheville. Most of what I would suggest doing involves hiking or exploring the park, but you can’t forget about the famous Biltmore Estate, which draws 1.7 million visitors per year.
Other cities of interest
I’m sure you’ve heard about Charlotte, the state’s biggest city, along with Raleigh, the state capitol. Other places you could spend a long weekend would be Greensboro, Wilmington, Durham, and Chapel Hill. But like I said, you really can’t go wrong in any part of North Carolina, since there is such a wide-range of activities to get into.
Last updated: July 23, 2023
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