Visiting North Carolina On Your Next Road Trip

North Carolina's landscape just keeps on rolling and changing – from granite domes, bubbling streams and plunging waterfalls to Piedmont's storied foothills and then out to sea on Atlantic barrier islands.

On the western edge of North Carolina and across the border into neighboring Tennessee, Great Smoky Mountains National Park has its Carolina headquarters at the Oconaluftee Visitor Center near Cherokee. The Smokies contain some of North America's tallest mountain peaks. And with spruce, fir and conifer forests, dogwoods, rhododendron, azaleas and assorted wildflowers, this national preserve is a botanic wonderland. Many hundreds of miles of guided nature trails, paved back roads and streams inspire visitors to explore the park's lands and waters, either on foot, on horseback, by RV, or simply on a leisurely floating tube. Besides Great Smoky's annual attendance of nine million human visitors, the park is inhabited by the likes of woodchucks, coyotes, red foxes, a sizeable population of black bears and more than 200 diverse species of birds. Trivia Time: 27 resident salamander species establish the Smokies as the salamander capital of the world.

The Blue Ridge Parkway extends from Virginia's Shenandoah National Park along the Appalachian Blue Ridge and Black Mountains, on through the Craggies, Pisgahs and Balsams and into North Carolina's Great Smokies. North Carolina contains 262 miles of this 469-mile-long scenic byway, including awesome views of multiple mountain peaks; spring wildflower shows of purple rhododendron and flame azalea; summer greenery; forests ablaze with vibrant autumn leaves; and a wealth of local wildlife. Parkway nature trails, designed for hikers and horses, twist through varied landscapes with natural water features like ponds, meadows, streams and tumbling cascades.

Located in the central heartland, Lake Norman State Park in Troutman is found on the shores of North Carolina's largest man-made lake or "inland sea." Besides easy access to the 32,510-acre Lake Norman, this park also offers a second, 33-acre lake that caters to swimmers, boaters, canoeists and anglers. While Lake Norman fishermen catch their fair share of striped bass, crappie and yellow perch, other sports like sailing, waterskiing and windsailing are readily available via the park's public boat launch. However, visitors don't need to dip into the water to experience the rewards of Lake Norman State Park. Those who'd rather stay on land can enjoy a leisurely picnic or take a walking tour on the Lakeshore or Alder Trails.   
Also in the center of the state, at Chapel Hill's U.N.C. campus, the North Carolina Botanical Gardens is a veritable patchwork quilt of regional plant life. Four distinct areas of the gardens showcase representative species from the Carolina plant kingdom and from all over the world. The shady Piedmont Nature Trails loop through oak and hickory woodlands, past streams and stands of evergreens, dogwoods, trilliums and redbuds. The Coastal Plain and Sandhills Habitats represent the ecology of eastern Carolina, including rolling mounds of sand with longleaf pines, myrtles and carnivorous Venus flytraps. (Don't make it angry!) A Mountain Habitat Garden features southern Appalachian wildflowers such as bluebells and mountain laurels plus ferns, hemlocks and tulip trees. Finally, the Mercer Reeves Hubbard Herb Garden presents medical and culinary applications of plants and herbs plus an ongoing research project that focuses on the National Rosemary Collection.

In North Carolina's eastern coastal region is the famed Outer Banks. This 130-mile necklace of barrier islands along North Carolina's northern coast offers untamed beaches, spectacular scenery and North Carolina hospitality. The Cape Fear Coast is an area of tremendous natural beauty, and encompasses the city of Wilmington and the island communities of Carolina Beach, Kure Beach and Wrightsville Beach. This area is home to unspoiled beaches and is a haven for beachcombers and outdoor lovers.
Cape Hatteras National Seashore consists of more than 70 beautiful miles of barrier islands. With its breathtaking vistas and fascinating history, the Cape is ideal for an RV vacation. Enjoy offshore shipwreck sites and onshore lighthouses. And for those passionate about birdwatching, these islands are the perfect spot as they serve as an important wintering migration area for waterfowl.

Located in the town of Nags Head, Jockey's Ridge State Park is the site of the Atlantic seaboard's tallest natural sand dune. At this 426-acre preserve, desert-style hikes, hang-gliding and shorebird sightings amuse one million tourists every year. Jockey's Ridge's centerpiece dune currently measures between 80 and 100 feet in height, depending on which way the wind blows. The dune formation endures because of alternating airstreams, which serve to equalize each other by blowing sand back and forth. A trek to the dune's summit affords a seabird's perspective of Nags Head and surrounding islands. Hikers should allow an hour or so to walk the round-trip loop from the parking lot to the sandy crest of the ridge. From a perch on the top of the big, golden dune it's fun to imagine how local heroes, Orville and Wilbur Wright, were inspired to fly like birds over the blustery sandscape of North Carolina's Outer Banks.

Cape Hatteras National Seashore consists of more than 70 beautiful miles of barrier islands.

Another winning natural attraction in North Carolina's coastal region is Croatan National Forest in New Bern. The most coastal federal forest in the eastern United States offers something for every ecotourist. Besides Bogue Sound, there are beaches, woodlands, rivers, salt marshes, freshwater lakes and evergreen pocosins, unique elevated bogs that were aptly described by Native Americans as swamps on hills. Croatan's wide variety of habitats provides homes for lots of species, from herons, ospreys and nuthatches to turtles, alligators, bears and deer. Croatan's guests can go boating, canoeing, fishing and hunting or they can choose from a diverse trio of wooded nature trails.

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