North Carolina Historic Bath
No admission feeColonial-era town site in Bath, NC, known as the state's first town, with a historic district and house tours.

Photo: bobistraveling, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and resized.
Walk the Palmetto Boardwalk into a cypress swamp, swim at a Pamlico River beach and paddle quiet tidal creeks on North Carolina's coastal plain.
2190 Camp Leach Road, Washington, NC 27889 · Washington, NC
Goose Creek State Park covers 1,672 acres of marsh, creeks and forest on the Pamlico River east of Washington, in Beaufort County. A long boardwalk leads into a cypress swamp, and 8.5 miles of trails pass old boat piers, a railroad bed and burnt tar kilns left from the lumber era. You can swim at a river beach, paddle the Pamlico, or camp in camper cabins, RV sites or a primitive area. Blackbeard and Stede Bonnet are said to have sheltered in these waters. Day use is free, and fees apply only for camping and reservations.
The closest stops to Goose Creek State Park, ordered by straight-line distance. A few more like it, plus some different kinds of fun so you can build a full day.
Colonial-era town site in Bath, NC, known as the state's first town, with a historic district and house tours.
5.7 mi awaySwitch it up: Sightseeing
A nonprofit fossil museum in rural Beaufort County, North Carolina, with a fossil park where visitors can dig for their own fossils.
14 mi awaySwitch it up: Museums
A national cemetery in New Bern, Craven County, North Carolina, established in 1867 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1997.
Transit: reachable by public transit
25 mi awaySwitch it up: Sightseeing
Reconstructed colonial governor's residence and historic site in New Bern, North Carolina.
Transit: reachable by public transit
26 mi awaySwitch it up: Sightseeing
Shopping center in Greenville, North Carolina, with a mix of retailers and dining.
27 mi awaySwitch it up: Shopping
Ride the passenger ferry or paddle out to Bear Island, a four-mile undeveloped barrier island with dunes, a wide beach and oceanside camping.
57 mi awayMore like this