The richness of its history and diversity of its geography make North Carolina a variety vacationland for its own citizens as well as visitors. The coast offers swimming, water sports, wind surfing, saltwater fishing, and duck hunting. The Sandhills feature golf and equestrian sports at famous resorts. Artificial lakes and state parks are popular in the Piedmont. And the mountains offer scenic drives and trails, trout streams, and ski slopes. From the site of the first English settlement in America on Roanoke Island to a satellite-tracking station near Brevard, the ancient and recent past are reflected.
National and State Parks.
Two national seashores - Cape Hatteras, incorporating Bodie, Hatteras, and Ocracoke islands, and Cape Lookout, extending 60 miles (90 km) further southward - protect much of the Outer Banks, rich in history and wildlife. In the west the Great Smoky Mountains National Park along the North Carolina-Tennessee border guards scenic beauty and wildlife, including the black bear. The Blue Ridge Parkway skims along the summits, providing spectacular views on both sides and connecting the park with points northward. Numerous state parks, all wildlife sanctuaries, dot the state. Most of them allow camping, including Mt. Mitchell and Pettigrew, which boasts 16,000-acre (6,500 hectare) Lake Phelps. Other popular state parks include Fort Macon on Bogue Banks and Pilot Mountian in the northwest Piedmont. The state operates recreational areas at lakes such as Falls, Jordan, Kerr, and Norman. Croatan, Uwharrie, Nantahala, and Pisgah national forests and several state forests supplement the park system. North Carolina has a state zoo, located near Asheboro.
Historic Sites and Monuments.
A diverse range of historic events in North Carolina is illustrated by two national sites separated by only a few miles, on opposite sides of Roanoke Sound: Fort Raleigh, location of the first English colonies four centuries ago, and the Wright Brothers National Memorial, commemorating the first powered flight in 1903. National military parks preserve Revolutionary War battlegrounds at Moores Creek near Wilmington and Guilford Courthouse near Greensboro. Carl Sandburg's home at Flat Rock is preserved as a federal site.
The North Carolina Division of Archives and History administers a number of historic sites, including the 16th century ceremonial village at Town Creek Indian Mound and a replica of a 16th century sailing ship (Elizabeth II) that commemorated the Roanoke colonies. Military history is presented at Fort Dobbs near Stateville (French and Indian War); Almanace near Burlington (Regulator Movement); House of the Horseshoe near Sanford (Revolution); and Fort Fisher near Wilmington, Bentonville near Smithfield, C.S.S. Neuse at Kinston, and Bennett Place near Durham (Civil War). The World War II battleship North Carolina is open to visitors at Wilmington. The first documented discovery of gold in the present United States is remembered at Reed Gold Mine near Concord; and at the Duke Homestead in Durham, the modern tobacco industry was born. In Asheville the Thomas Wolf Memorial preserves the childhood home of the state's most famous author, and the Charlotte Hawkins Brown Memorial near Greensboro honors a distinguished black educator.
Other Points of Interest.
Historic preservation and restoration are practiced privately as well. Among coastal attractions are the state's oldest church building (St. Thomas) at Bath and an antebellum plantation house (Hope) near Windsor; in the Piedmont, the Moravian planned community of Old Salem and its satellite villages of Bethabara and Bethania; and in the mountains, the enormous Vanderbilt chateau (Biltmore) and the Cradle of Forestry, which commemorates the nation's first school of forestry. Traditional potter, particularly in the Seagrove area, mold and kiln clay products according to a 200-year-old tradition. Coppersmiths, silversmiths, and weavers work in Old World settings in the Asheville area. Cherokee women are noted for their baskets, intricately woven from honeysuckle and other natural fibers. Mountain crafts are taught at the John C. Campbell and Penland schools.
Hand-gliding is practiced both at Jockey Ridge on the Outer Banks and on towering Grandfather Mountain. Snow skiing has become a major tourist attraction in several mountain counties; thousands hike the Appalachian Trail and raft through river rapids. Golf and tennis, once pastimes of the elite, are now enjoyed in nearly every community. North Carolina is a hotbed of intercollegiate athletics, especially basketball at the "Big Four" universities (Duke, Wake Forest, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and North Carolina State).
The Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Association have attracted a large and vocal following, and minor league baseball provides entertainment in several cities, including Charlotte and Durham.
