NC Road Trip!

[ss20ts]

Originally Posted by arbyunc

Agree with prior comments--NC has a lot to offer and it would be difficult to do it justice in only 4 days. But just for fun I started thinking about it a bit--what would one recommend if you only had 4 days? So here's what I came up with:

Day 1--Fly into Charlotte, rent a car, maybe drive into downtown (or is it uptown) Charlotte for lunch and to walk around a bit. Then drive to Asheville via the US 64/ old US-74 route through Lake Lure and Chimney Rock (maybe a quick stop here if there's time). Dinner in Asheville, with maybe an evening walk around town or late night cocktails.

You wouldn't have much time to walk around uptown Charlotte honestly. Traffic can be a real time killer. It's a couple of hours up to Asheville and many people aren't comfortable driving around mountains on unfamiliar roads at night. Some of them can be downright treacherous. Depending on the time of year, some may also be closed. And seeing Chimney Rock and Lake Lure in the dark isn't the greatest. You would rally need to boogie to do all of this in one day.




Day 2--Take the Blue Ridge Parkway to Blowing Rock. Reserve at least a half day for stops at the Folk Art Center, Mt. Mitchell, Craggy Gardens, etc. Spend the afternoon/evening walking around downtown Blowing Rock, then make the quick drive over to Boone for dinner at the Hob Nob Farm Cafe. You can spend the night in either Blowing Rock or Boone.

Again, depending on the time of year, roads could be closed so make sure things are open. I spent a good 6 hours driving on the BRP last October and maybe went 100 miles. I kept stopping to see the view and take a million photos. Just driving this whole gorgeous stretch stinks! You gotta get out the car and take it in. It's beyond stunning!


Day 3--Take US 421 south to I-40 in Winston-Salem. Stop at Old Salem and have lunch at the Salem Tavern. Be sure to visit Winkler's Bakery in Old Salem for Moravian sugar cookies, cheese straws, sugar cakes, etc. Continue on I-40 to Wilmington, with brief stops or drive-through's of Chapel Hill and Raleigh. Arrive in Wilmington for a late seafood dinner and maybe a stroll along the waterfront.

Last time I went to Old Salem, I was there from opening to closing and still missed 2 or 3 buildings. We ate lunch there. Read all of the signs. Spoke with the interruptors. Shopped in the shops. It was a fabulous day! But it was literally a whole day. I can't imagine driving all the way to Wilmington after spending a good portion of the day in WS. That is quite a LONG drive!




Day 4--Drive down to Wrightsville Beach, spend the morning on the beach if you want. Or if you're more into history, visit Ft. Fisher and the USS North Carolina battleship memorial. Or visit the NC Aquarium, the Wilmington waterfront shops, Airlie Gardens, etc. From Wilmington it's about 3 1/2 hours back to Charlotte via US 74.

Wilmington has soooooo much to see! There's a ton of historic homes and plantations open to the public. The river is a wonderful place to take a walk and have an ice cream. Gettign back to Charlotte for a flight could be tricky.





Hardly does the state justice, but that's what I came up with. I'm leaving so many things out, though!

And by the way, it's only about 5 hours from Asheville to Wilmington via I-40.

According to Google, it's 5 hours and 45 minutes. That's without any stops for fuel, meals, stretching the legs, site seeing, road construction, or traffic. Honestly, you canNOT see NC from the Interstate. That's true of pretty much everywhere.

I'm not from NC, but vacation there every year. Some years, I'm there for a few weeks at a time. I still have yet to see everything in the Triad and I've been going there for 5 years now. Granted, I go all over the state, but there's sooooooooooo much to see and do! If you can't find something to do or see in NC, you've got to be the dullest person on Earth!

With only 4 days, seriously, I would pick out an area and visit that area. I spent a week in Maggie Valley last fall and didn't see squat! I went out every day going to different towns. It was amazing and beautiful. You can't even really see much of Western NC in 4 days.

Depending on what you're looking to see and do, you could probably cover one of the large cities pretty well if you spent all 4 days there. I don't mean doing Charlotte and all of Mecklenburg County though. Same with Raleigh and the surrounding area.

You could spend 4 days and not cover all of the Outer Banks also. There's just sooooo much to see and do! You really need to pick out what you'd like to see.

NC is a GORGEOUS state! It offers so much. Not many places have a stunning mountain range and a HUGE fantastic coastline with islands and numerous lighthouses. Even in between the mountains coast, there's a ton to see and do. NC also has all 4 seasons....some areas have more of a winter than others, but there's definitely 4 distinct seasons.

I saw a post where the OP said they were the just drive through kind of person. Why take a trip to a place you've never been if you're just driving through? I'm not being snarky. I am very curious.

Are you or someone you know a member of AAA? They have an AMAZING travel book. I believe it covers NC and SC. I could be wrong and that it's NC and VA. I can't remember off the top of my head. The book doesn't cover everything in the state, but it will show just how MUCH there is.

If you're a NASCAR fan, you could spend a good 2 weeks visiting the race shops and Hall of Fame! If you're a mountain lover, seriously a week doesn't do the Smokies justice. The museums in Raleigh could take a few days to visit. Then there's the State Capitol. It's GORGEOUS inside! The history is pretty amazing. Even the small city of High Point has a great museum! And people think it's just a place for furniture. Thomasville has the giant chair and a train depot. I can't remember off the top of my head where the giant chest of drawers is. But there's a lot of pretty cool quirky little things you could also see in your travels.