Over the past three decades, North Carolina has gone from just a handful of wineries to more than eighty. And that number just gets bigger every year. For visitors to NC wine country, it means a friendly, relaxed atmosphere for tastings and tours, and wineries that have distinctive flavors and settings. Whether you’re a wine connoisseur or a newbie, whether you prefer whites or reds, merlot or muscadine, North Carolina wineries will have a bottle just right for your taste… and enjoyable experiences that will keep bringing you back.
If you’re traveling from the Charlotte area to the mountains around Asheville (or vice versa), this five-winery trail is a perfect sampler of the North Carolina Wine Country experience. From the muscadine wines produced at WoodMill Winery to the classic varietals grown at Rockhouse, from the small family-run operations at Owl’s Eye and Green Creek to America’s most visited winery at Biltmore, you will see and taste a wide range of NC wines and can explore the methods by which they’re produced. Plus, you’ll see some amazing North Carolina scenery along the way!
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Family Fun Destinations
Beach at Lake Lure: Stretching out unexpectedly in the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains just south of Asheville, the Beach at Lake Lure offers beautiful vistas in a relaxing setting. Gaze up at Chimney Rock as you float on the lake; then dry off in the sun before stopping for a bite or an ice cream cone at one of the restaurants on the shore. Lakeview Restaurant offers spectacular views. www.rutherfordtourism.com
Sliding Rock, Brevard: This 60-foot natural water slide in the Pisgah National Forest is not to be missed. Wear your old blue jean cut-offs to sit and slip down the rock into the pool below, where 60-degree water beats summer heat. Sliding Rock is a few minutes drive from Looking Glass Falls located on US 276 about five miles past the entrance to the Pisgah National Forest. The 60-foot falls were featured in Last of the Mohicans. www.visitwaterfalls.com
Linville Caverns, Marion: In the caverns, you’ll find a constant 52-degree temperature. After remaining a mysterious secret for centuries, North Carolina’s only show caverns near Boone allow visitors to glimpse nature at work "inside" the mountains. Slow moving ground water created underground labyrinths forming an incredible series of rooms and passages and spectacular formations. www.linvillecaverns.com
Boomerang Bay Water Park, Carowinds, Charlotte: Carowinds Boomerang Bay Water Park added a new, 600,000-gallon wave pool, rental cabanas with chair-side service and numerous other amenities. Bondi Beach, Carowinds second wave pool, totals 34,000 square feet with 275 feet of “beach frontage” (shallow end width), giving guests ample opportunity to sunbathe as they watch the waves roll in on the zero-depth entry. www.carowinds.com
North Carolina Zoo, Asheboro: This world-class zoo is home to more than 1,100 animals from Africa, North America and Australia. In April 2008, the zoo opened an $8.5 million expansion of its elephant and rhinoceros facilities called the Watani Grasslands Reserve. Visitors can stroll through a rainforest of tropical birds. Gaze across a prairie filled with bison. Sit face-to-face with polar bears and enjoy the Australian Walkabout hopping with kangaroos. Take a ride on the zoo's 36-foot Endangered Species Carousel featuring figures of polar bears, zebras, bears, sea lions, elephants, gorillas and other animals. www.nczoo.org
N.C. Transportation Museum, Spencer: If planes, trains and automobiles make you tick, Spencer Shops allows you to explore antique locomotives, rail cars, automobiles and more. Spencer Shops was once a national hub for steam engine repair and employed 3,000 people. Take the train ride around the historic 57-acre site, enjoy the many family-friendly special events and learn how transportation helped build North Carolina. The museum is located just minutes off I-85, about an hour's drive from Charlotte, Greensboro or Winston-Salem. The museum is featured in the new George Clooney film, Leatherheads. www.nctrans.org
Old Salem, Winston – Salem: Old Salem Museums & Gardens is one of America's most comprehensive historical attractions. Old Salem’s four museums - the Historic Town of Salem, the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts (MESDA), the Old Salem Children's Museum, and the Old Salem Toy Museum - engage visitors in an educational and memorable historical experience about those who lived and worked in the early South. www.oldsalem.org
Sliding Rock, Brevard: This 60-foot natural water slide in the Pisgah National Forest is not to be missed. Wear your old blue jean cut-offs to sit and slip down the rock into the pool below, where 60-degree water beats summer heat. Sliding Rock is a few minutes drive from Looking Glass Falls located on US 276 about five miles past the entrance to the Pisgah National Forest. The 60-foot falls were featured in Last of the Mohicans. www.visitwaterfalls.com
Linville Caverns, Marion: In the caverns, you’ll find a constant 52-degree temperature. After remaining a mysterious secret for centuries, North Carolina’s only show caverns near Boone allow visitors to glimpse nature at work "inside" the mountains. Slow moving ground water created underground labyrinths forming an incredible series of rooms and passages and spectacular formations. www.linvillecaverns.com
Boomerang Bay Water Park, Carowinds, Charlotte: Carowinds Boomerang Bay Water Park added a new, 600,000-gallon wave pool, rental cabanas with chair-side service and numerous other amenities. Bondi Beach, Carowinds second wave pool, totals 34,000 square feet with 275 feet of “beach frontage” (shallow end width), giving guests ample opportunity to sunbathe as they watch the waves roll in on the zero-depth entry. www.carowinds.com
North Carolina Zoo, Asheboro: This world-class zoo is home to more than 1,100 animals from Africa, North America and Australia. In April 2008, the zoo opened an $8.5 million expansion of its elephant and rhinoceros facilities called the Watani Grasslands Reserve. Visitors can stroll through a rainforest of tropical birds. Gaze across a prairie filled with bison. Sit face-to-face with polar bears and enjoy the Australian Walkabout hopping with kangaroos. Take a ride on the zoo's 36-foot Endangered Species Carousel featuring figures of polar bears, zebras, bears, sea lions, elephants, gorillas and other animals. www.nczoo.org
N.C. Transportation Museum, Spencer: If planes, trains and automobiles make you tick, Spencer Shops allows you to explore antique locomotives, rail cars, automobiles and more. Spencer Shops was once a national hub for steam engine repair and employed 3,000 people. Take the train ride around the historic 57-acre site, enjoy the many family-friendly special events and learn how transportation helped build North Carolina. The museum is located just minutes off I-85, about an hour's drive from Charlotte, Greensboro or Winston-Salem. The museum is featured in the new George Clooney film, Leatherheads. www.nctrans.org
Old Salem, Winston – Salem: Old Salem Museums & Gardens is one of America's most comprehensive historical attractions. Old Salem’s four museums - the Historic Town of Salem, the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts (MESDA), the Old Salem Children's Museum, and the Old Salem Toy Museum - engage visitors in an educational and memorable historical experience about those who lived and worked in the early South. www.oldsalem.org
Experience America's Favorite Drive!
The Blue Ridge Parkway, nicknamed "America's Favorite Drive," is a 469-mile scenic route connecting Shenandoah National Park in Virginia with the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina. Split-rail fences, old farmsteads and historic structures complement spectacular views of distant mountains and neighboring valleys. Meandering through two national forests the surrounding area offers campgrounds, picnic areas, lodges, restaurants and countless scenic overlooks.
http://www.blueridgeparkway.org/
http://www.blueridgeparkway.org/
Celebrate the 75th Anniversary of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Ridge upon ridge of forest straddles the border between North Carolina and Tennessee in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. World renowned for its diversity of plant and animal life, the beauty of its ancient mountains, and the quality of its remnants of Southern Appalachian mountain culture, this is America’s most visited national park.
Working closely with partners Great Smoky Mountains Association and the Friends of the Smokies, and with neighboring communities, www.GreatSmokies75th.org has been developed as the "Virtual Visitor Center" for all the exciting opportunities surrounding the 75th Anniversary.
On this site you will find a rich and evolving variety of information on the park’s history, current issues, and future visions. Throughout 2008 and 2009 you’ll find information about a wide array of activities and events in the park as well as officially recognized events in all our many neighboring communities.
Grandfather Mountain
Grandfather Mountain, one of the best-known landmarks of the Blue Ridge, is more than just a mountain. Towering 5,946 feet above northwest North Carolina, Grandfather Mountain is operated as a scenic travel attraction and is the only private park in the world designated by the United Nations as an International Biosphere Reserve. A Mile High Swinging Bridge was built to give visitors easy access to the breath-taking views from Grandfather Mountain's Linville Peak.
Marvel at 360-degree views of mountain ridge after mountain ridge retreating to the horizon and let our knowledgeable staff help you find your own perfect mountain adventure.
http://www.grandfather.com/
Marvel at 360-degree views of mountain ridge after mountain ridge retreating to the horizon and let our knowledgeable staff help you find your own perfect mountain adventure.
http://www.grandfather.com/
Springtime in the Mountains
Get acquainted with Western North Carolina's gardens this spring:
Asheville
Biltmore Estate – 800-624-1575
The Botanical Gardens of Asheville – 828-252-5190
The North Carolina Arboretum – 828-665-2492
Richmond Hill Inn – 888-742-4536
Boone
The Daniel Boone Native Gardens – 828-264-6390
Cherokee
Cherokee Botanical Garden and Nature Trail – 828-497-2315
Chimney Rock
Chimney Rock Park – 800-277-9611
Clyde
The Campus Arboretum of Haywood Community College – 828-627-2821
Wilkesboro
Wilkes Community College Gardens – 336-838-6294
Asheville
Biltmore Estate – 800-624-1575
The Botanical Gardens of Asheville – 828-252-5190
The North Carolina Arboretum – 828-665-2492
Richmond Hill Inn – 888-742-4536
Boone
The Daniel Boone Native Gardens – 828-264-6390
Cherokee
Cherokee Botanical Garden and Nature Trail – 828-497-2315
Chimney Rock
Chimney Rock Park – 800-277-9611
Clyde
The Campus Arboretum of Haywood Community College – 828-627-2821
Wilkesboro
Wilkes Community College Gardens – 336-838-6294
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