JC Raulston Arboretum in Raleigh, North Carolina, is a 10-acre nationally acclaimed botanical garden at North Carolina State University, founded in 1976 by horticulturist Dr. James Chester Raulston to test and display thousands of plants suited to southeastern U.S. landscapes, including themed areas like the White Garden, Asian Valley, Perennial Border, and extensive collections of trees, shrubs, and geophytes.
Dry Falls, a striking 65- to 80-foot plunge waterfall also called Upper Cullasaja Falls, sits in Nantahala National Forest within the dramatic Cullasaja Gorge northwest of Highlands, North Carolina, where the Cullasaja River cascades over an overhanging bluff, allowing visitors to walk right behind it on a dry rock ledge when flows are low.
Henry River in North Carolina is known primarily for the Henry River Mill Village, a historic early 20th-century textile mill community established in 1905 that included worker cottages, a company store, and its own water and fire systems.
Great Smoky Mountains Railroad in Bryson City, North Carolina, offers scenic excursion trains along 53 miles of historic track through Nantahala National Forest, river gorges, tunnels, and trestles near Great Smoky Mountains National Park, with popular routes like the 4-hour Nantahala trip featuring a layover for riverside picnics.
The Outer Banks is a string of about 200 miles of barrier islands and spits off the coast of North Carolina and southeastern Virginia, separating the inland sounds from the Atlantic Ocean.
The Museum of the Cherokee People, located at 589 Tsali Blvd in Cherokee, North Carolina on the Qualla Boundary, is one of the oldest continually operating tribal museums in the U.S., founded in 1948 to share the history, culture, and stories of the Cherokee people, including the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and all three federally recognized tribes.
Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site in Flat Rock, North Carolina, preserves Connemara, the 264-acre farm where Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Carl Sandburg lived his final 22 years from 1945 until his 1967 death, writing over a third of his works amid rolling pastures, woods, trails, lakes, gardens, and his wife Lilian's champion dairy goat farm.
Cape Lookout Beach forms part of the pristine, undeveloped 56-mile barrier island chain within Cape Lookout National Seashore on North Carolina's Crystal Coast, encompassing North Core Banks, South Core Banks, and Shackleford Banks between Ocracoke Inlet and Beaufort Inlet, accessible only by ferry or private boat from spots like Harkers Island or Beaufort.
Museum of Life and Science in Durham, North Carolina, spans 84 acres and originated in 1946 as a small nature center, evolving into a major interactive science museum and AZA-accredited zoo with over 60 species including black bears, red wolves, lemurs, and farm animals.
The International Civil Rights Center and Museum in Greensboro, North Carolina, is located in the historic Woolworth building where four African American college students from North Carolina A&T State University launched the 1960 sit-in movement by peacefully protesting segregation at a whites-only lunch counter.
Currituck Beach in Corolla on North Carolina's northern Outer Banks offers wide, uncrowded stretches of Atlantic shoreline along the Currituck Banks barrier island, known for its remote beauty, firm sand ideal for 4WD vehicle access in the northern Carova section, and frequent sightings of wild Colonial Spanish Mustang horses roaming freely.
Harrah's Cherokee Casino Resort, commonly known as Cherokee Casino, is North Carolina's premier gaming destination owned by the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and operated by Caesars Entertainment on the Qualla Boundary in Cherokee, nestled in the Great Smoky Mountains.
Fort Fisher State Historic Site in Kure Beach, North Carolina, preserves the remains of the largest Confederate earthwork fort built during the Civil War to protect Wilmington, the South's last major open seaport supplying Robert E. Lee's army.
Hanging Rock State Park in North Carolina covers over 9,000 acres in the Sauratown Mountains, known as the mountains away from the mountains because they stand apart from the Blue Ridge range.
Grandfather Mountain in North Carolina is a prominent peak in the Blue Ridge Mountains, rising to 5,946 feet and known for its rich natural history and dramatic scenery.
The Inn on Biltmore Estate in North Carolina is a luxurious hotel that offers 210 beautifully appointed rooms, including elegant suites, with panoramic views of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
