Skip to content

Area guide · North Carolina, USA

Things to do in Western North Carolina

  • Museums
  • Sports & Outdoors
  • Sightseeing
  • Attractions
Western North Carolina
Western North Carolina
Western North Carolina
Western North Carolina

Start here

Three to see first in Western North Carolina

Museums
History Buff

Billy Graham Library

No admission fee

Follow the Journey of Faith tour through the evangelist's life in a barn-shaped building, then visit the prayer garden.

Charlotte, NC

Sports & Outdoors
Iconic

Blue Ridge Parkway

No admission fee

Drive a 469-mile mountain road along the Blue Ridge, stopping at overlooks, trails and visitor centers.

Asheville, NC

Sports & Outdoors
Outdoor Adventure

Caesars Head State Park

Under $25

Take in the Blue Ridge Escarpment from a rock overlook at 3,208 feet, then hike to the 420-foot Raven Cliff Falls.

Cleveland, SC

Top picks

In Western North Carolina

Filter by the kind of day you want. Tap a card to open the place, or a dot on the map to find it in the list.

Museums
History Buff

Billy Graham Library

No admission fee

Follow the Journey of Faith tour through the evangelist's life in a barn-shaped building, then visit the prayer garden.

Charlotte, NC

Sports & Outdoors
Iconic

Blue Ridge Parkway

No admission fee

Drive a 469-mile mountain road along the Blue Ridge, stopping at overlooks, trails and visitor centers.

Asheville, NC

Sports & Outdoors
Outdoor Adventure

Caesars Head State Park

Under $25

Take in the Blue Ridge Escarpment from a rock overlook at 3,208 feet, then hike to the 420-foot Raven Cliff Falls.

Cleveland, SC

Sightseeing
History Buff

Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site

No admission fee

Walk the farm where poet Carl Sandburg spent his last 22 years, tour his house and meet the dairy goat herd in the barn.

Flat Rock, NC

Attractions
Family Favorite

Carowinds

$25–$50

Ride more than 60 attractions, including the 325-foot Fury 325 coaster, at a park that straddles the Carolinas state line.

Charlotte, NCTransit: reachable by public transit

Attractions
Iconic

Charlotte Motor Speedway

Under $25

Watch NASCAR races on a 1.5-mile quad-oval, or take a guided van tour of the banking, garage and pit road.

Concord, NCTransit: reachable by public transit

Sports & Outdoors
Outdoor Adventure

Chimney Rock at Chimney Rock State Park

Under $25

Ride an elevator up a 315-foot rock monolith for gorge views, then hike to the base of 404-foot Hickory Nut Falls.

Chimney Rock, NC

Museums
Family Favorite

Discovery Place Science

$25–$50

Try hands-on physics demos, meet live animals and watch a film in the IMAX Dome at this Uptown Charlotte science museum.

Charlotte, NCTransit: reachable by public transit

Sports & Outdoors
Outdoor Adventure

DuPont State Recreational Forest

No admission fee

Hike or bike forest trails to a string of waterfalls, including Triple Falls, High Falls and Hooker Falls.

Cedar Mountain, NC

Sports & Outdoors
Family Favorite

Falls Park on the Reedy

No admission fee

Cross the pedestrian Liberty Bridge above the Reedy River falls and wander 32 acres of gardens in downtown Greenville.

Greenville, SCTransit: reachable by public transit

Sports & Outdoors
Outdoor Adventure

Grandfather Mountain

$25–$50

Cross the Mile High Swinging Bridge between two rocky peaks, see bears, otters and elk, and hike high mountain trails.

Linville, NC

Sightseeing
History Buff

Kings Mountain National Military Park

No admission fee

Walk the paved battlefield trail past monuments where Patriots defeated Loyalists in a 1780 Revolutionary War battle.

Blacksburg, SC

Loading map…

Attractions in Western North Carolina

Museums in Western North Carolina

Sightseeing in Western North Carolina

Sports & Outdoors in Western North Carolina

Shopping in Western North Carolina

More guides in North Carolina

Maps

Maps

Visitor maps for Western North Carolina

About

About Western North Carolina

Western North Carolina is the state's mountain region, where the Blue Ridge Parkway runs through the Blue Ridge Mountains. Grandfather Mountain near Linville rises above 5,280 feet and has the Mile High Swinging Bridge, America's highest suspension footbridge. Tweetsie Railroad in Blowing Rock is a family theme park with a 3-mile ride behind a narrow-gauge steam locomotive, and Chimney Rock is a 315-foot granite outcropping with views that reach 75 miles to Lake Lure.

Visitor info

Nearest help

  • Hospital with an emergency room · 9.9 mi from the center

    Atrium Health Cleveland

    201 E Grover St, Shelby, NC 28150

  • Police · 9.1 mi from the center

    Forest City Police Department

    187 S Church St, Forest City, NC 28043

  • Fire station · 2.9 mi from the center

    Ellenboro Fire Department

    175 Depot St, Ellenboro, NC 28040

Hospitals, police and fire stations in Forest City

In an emergency, call 911.

Plan the day

Three ways to turn this list into a day