North Carolina Places to Visit
North Carolina boasts nearly 100 state parks, museums, historic sites, aquariums and other attractions. Use the tool below to find places to visit by activity, theme, region or cost. As you check boxes on the right side of the screen, the places listed on the right will narrow to fit your criteria. Click on place's title to learn more.
Visit our things to do page for more information on all the wonderful things to do you'll find in the Tar Heel state.
- Museum
A regional museum that encourages the preservation and understanding of the culture of the state’s mountain region.
- Museum
A regional museum capturing the history of northeastern North Carolina and showcasing American Indians, watermen, farmers, craftsmen and other communities. Rental Option
- Historic Site
- Museum
A museum that interprets the history of southeastern North Carolina; the 1897 Poe House, which illuminates turn-of-the-century upper middle class life; and Arsenal Park, where the Civil War-era Fayetteville Arsenal once stood.
- Archives/Library
A special public library that circulates books and magazines especially made for persons who cannot use regular printed material because of a visual or physical disability.
- Park/Natural Area
A base camp for exploration of the New River, a National Wild and Scenic River that winds through some of the best North Carolina mountain scenery.
- Aquarium
An aquarium that takes a broader look at the state's natural environment while focusing on the lower Cape Fear. Feel the smooth skin of a gliding stingray and marvel at free-flying butterflies and roar with the dinosaurs. Rental Options
- Aquarium
An aquarium offering visitors the opportunity to meet the thousands of aquatic animals that call all regions of North Carolina home. Rental Options
- Aquarium
An aquarium exploring the waters of Outer Banks. Marvel at the largest collection of sharks in the state, touch stingrays and see sea turtle conservation work in progress. Rental Options
- Archives/Library
A library focused on facilitating public access to state government information and advancing the study, understanding, and appreciation of North Carolina's cultural heritage.
- Museum
The official repository of artifacts recovered from Blackbeard’s flagship, Queen Anne’s Revenge and home to exhibits highlighting North Carolina's coastal culture.
- Museum
A regional history museum that tells the story of the Cape Fear region's people and their relationship to the water, including a special focus on pirates of the Lower Cape Fear and blockade runners.
- Museum
One of the South's premier art museums with major holdings in European paintings, Egyptian funerary art, sculpture and vase painting from ancient Greece and Rome, American art, Judaic art and international contemporary art. Rental Options
- Museum
North Carolina's flagship history museum with exhibits covering 14,000 years of history under one roof with a focus on the state’s military history, decorative arts and culture. Rental Options
- Museum
North Carolina's most-visited museum and the largest natural sciences museum in South, exploring our natural world through interactive exhibits, educational films, and hands-on learning areas. Rental Options
- Museum
The southeast regional branch of North Carolina's most-visited museum featuring an investigative lab, PlaySpace and discovery forest.
- Historic Site
- Museum
A museum focusing on history that moves you, located on the site of the Southern Railway’s former steam locomotive repair facility. Rental Option
- Zoo
The world's largest natural habitat zoo with exhibits focused on the animals of North America and Africa. Rental Options
- Park/Natural Area
A quick escape into nature with its three miles of trail exploring riverside forests, bluffs reaching to the highest point in the area and mountain laurel and rhododendron thickets.
- Archives/Library
A regional archives and research library focused on materials that document the history and culture of the North Carolina coast and adjacent areas.
- Park/Natural Area
Pettigrew State Park is a jumping off point for exploring 16,000-acre Lake Phelps and its surrounding landscape by land or water.
- Park/Natural Area
Named after the mountain a navigational landmark for centuries, Pilot Mountain State Park also features miles of trails, places for rock climbing and spectacular scenery.
- Museum
- Park/Natural Area
Forty-five acres of Piedmont prairie, forest, ponds, a stream and sustainable building features integrated with a wildlife-friendly landscape right in the hear of the Triangle.
- Historic Site
North Carolina’s only presidential site, focused on our nation's 11 president and the issues that dominated his term. Rental Option
- Park/Natural Area
Some of the best hiking along the Cape Fear River can be found at Raven Rock State Park, where visitors can also Lanier Falls, the Fish Traps rapids or the massive Raven Rock, an ageless landmark for river travelers.
- Historic Site
The site of the first documented discovery of gold in North America that launched the country's first gold rush. Rental Options