It is National Park Week!
National Park Week is an annual celebration of America’s national parks – from iconic vistas to significant historical sites. This year, NPF invites you to celebrate our parks while learning more about the ways we all can help preserve these wonderful places.
Here are some spots in North Carolina
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NATIONAL SCENIC TRAIL
Appalachian
Maine to Georgia, CT,GA,MA,MD,ME,NC,NH,NJ,NY,PA,TN,VA,VT,WV
The Appalachian Trail is a 2,190+ mile long public footpath that traverses the scenic, wooded, pastoral, wild, and culturally resonant lands of the Appalachian Mountains. Conceived in 1921, built by private citizens, and completed in 1937, today the trail is managed by the National Park Service, US Forest Service, Appalachian Trail Conservancy, numerous state agencies and thousands of volunteers.
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PARKWAY
Blue Ridge
Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia and North Carolina, NC,VA
A Blue Ridge Parkway experience is unlike any other: a slow-paced and relaxing drive revealing stunning long-range vistas and close-up views of the rugged mountains and pastoral landscapes of the Appalachian Highlands. The Parkway meanders for 469 miles, protecting a diversity of plants and animals, and providing opportunities for enjoying all that makes this region of the country so special.
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NATIONAL SEASHORE
Cape Hatteras
Nags Head, Buxton, Ocracoke, NC
The sound of ocean waves, the starry night sky, or the calm of the salt marshes, you can experience it all. Shaped by the forces of water, wind, and storms these islands are ever changing. The plants, wildlife, and people who live here adapt continually. Whether you are enjoying the beach, kayaking the sound, or climbing the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse there is something for everyone to explore!
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NATIONAL SEASHORE
Cape Lookout
Harkers Island, NC
A boat ride three miles off-shore brings you to the barrier islands of Cape Lookout National Seashore. Horse watching, shelling, fishing, birding, camping, lighthouse climbing, and touring historic villages–there’s something for everyone at Cape Lookout. Be sure to bring all the food, water, and supplies you need (and carry your trash out of the park) when visiting these remote beaches.
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NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE
Carl Sandburg Home
Flat Rock, NC
“I make it clear why I write as I do and why other poets write as they do. After hundreds of experiments I decided to go my own way in style and see what would happen.” Carl Sandburg’s free verse style of poetry, journalism, biography, children’s stories, prose writing, and social activism provided a popular voice for the American people of the twentieth century.
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NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE
Fort Raleigh
Manteo, NC
Fort Raleigh National Historic Site protects and preserves known portions of England’s first New World settlements from 1584 to 1590. This site also preserves the cultural heritage of the Native Americans, European Americans and African Americans who have lived on Roanoke Island.
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NATIONAL PARK
Great Smoky Mountains
the states of NC,TN
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. Plan your visit today!
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NATIONAL MILITARY PARK
Guilford Courthouse
Greensboro, NC
“I never saw such fighting since God made me. The Americans fought like demons.” – Lt. General Charles, Earl Cornwallis On March 15, 1781, six years into the American Revolution, General Greene and Lord Cornwallis’ troops faced off at a small courthouse community. The battle would change the course of the Southern Campaign of the American Revolution.
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NATIONAL BATTLEFIELD
Moores Creek
Currie, NC
In the early morning hours of February 27, 1776, Loyalist forces charged across a partially dismantled Moores Creek Bridge. Beyond the bridge, nearly 1,000 North Carolina Patriots waited quietly with cannons and muskets poised to fire. This battle marked the last broadsword charge by Scottish Highlanders and the first significant victory for the Patriots in the American Revolution.
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NATIONAL HISTORIC TRAIL
Overmountain Victory
NC,SC,TN,VA
Stretching 330-miles through four states (Virginia, Tennessee, North and South Carolina) the Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail traces the route used by Patriot militia during the pivotal Kings Mountain campaign of 1780. Follow the campaign by utilizing a Commemorative Motor Route which uses existing state highways marked with the distinctive trail logo, or 87 miles of walkable trails.
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NATIONAL HISTORIC TRAIL
Trail Of Tears
AL,AR,GA,IL,KY,MO,NC,OK,TN
Remember and commemorate the survival of the Cherokee people, forcefully removed from their homelands in Georgia, Alabama, and Tennessee to live in Indian Territory, now Oklahoma. They traveled by foot, horse, wagon, or steamboat in 1838-1839.
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NATIONAL MEMORIAL
Wright Brothers
Kill Devil Hills, NC
Wind, sand, and a dream of flight brought Wilbur and Orville Wright to Kitty Hawk, North Carolina where, after four years of scientific experimentation, they achieved the first successful airplane flights on December 17, 1903. With courage and perseverance, these self-taught engineers relied on teamwork and application of the scientific process. What they achieved changed our world forever.