Unique Places in North Carolina

Travelers flock to the most famous of North Carolina’s monumental attractions. Biltmore House(link is external), the 250-room mansion on George W. Vanderbilt’s 8,000-acre Asheville estate, ranks as America’s largest home. In Charlotte, thrill seekers find the world’s best steel roller coaster(link is external) at Carowinds(link is external) theme park and the world’s largest manmade whitewater river at the U.S. National Whitewater Center(link is external). The N.C. Museum of Art(link is external) in Raleigh connects with greenway trails on its 164-acre art park, the largest of its kind in the world. On the Outer Banks, spirits soar at the site of the first powered flight(link is external) and at Jockey’s Ridge(link is external), where they can learn from the world’s largest hang-gliding school and take off from the Atlantic Coast’s tallest dune(link is external).

All those popular sites except Carowinds are open with safety protocols in place, but travelers can visit dozens more places with one-of-a-kind appeal. In addition to the sites above and the sampling below, seekers of the unique can mine the collection at Project543.com.

Gem collectors can mark North Carolina on their maps as the only place in the country with significant emerald deposits. Emerald Hollow Mine(link is external) in Hiddenite is the world’s only emerald mine that allows the public to dig. Creeking and sluicing also afford a chance to pocket some of the 68 native gems and minerals, including clumps of rare hiddenite. In Franklin(link is external), red and blue corundum — better known as rubies and sapphire — rewards lucky miners and sluicers at Mason’s(link is external), Rose Creek(link is external) and Sheffield(link is external), which are among the mines currently open. While waiting to reopen for digging, sluicing and mineral hunting, Emerald Village(link is external) in Little Switzerland will ship gem-laced ore for mining at home.

Those who love gold can tap the rich legacy at Reed Gold Mine(link is external), site of the country’s first documented gold find. With the partial reopening of this state historic site in Midland, three miles of trails lead to mining areas and a view of Little Meadow Creek, where 12-year-old Conrad Reed found a 17-pound nugget in 1799. If the site’s panning activity remains closed when you visit, follow the N.C. Gold Trail(link is external) to the Catawba, Uwharrie or Little River, where treasure hunters can shovel and pan for nuggets.

Other unique and superlative experiences can be found along nature trails. Carolina Beach State Park’s wheelchair-accessible Flytrap Trail(link is external) is edged with Venus flytraps, whose natural habitat lies within 75 miles of Wilmington. At the Green Swamp Preserve(link is external), flytraps and other carnivorous plants flourish along with wild orchids. Flytraps can also be found near New Bern in Croatan National Forest, the only coastal national forest in the East. In an area best known for golf, nature stakes a claim at Weymouth Woods Sandhills Nature Preserve(link is external) in Southern Pines, where the world’s oldest longleaf pine reaches skyward in a rare stand of old-growth trees. Dating to 1548, it’s a babe in the woods compared with the 2,625-year-old bald cypress on the wild and scenic Lumber River(link is external). Its discovery in 2017 established the species as the oldest on the East Coast.

Find more ideas, safety information and COVID-19 updates at VisitNC.com(link is external).

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