BEST North Carolina Places to Picnic

The first European settlement in North Carolina is the famous Lost Colony of Roanoke Island that vanished sometime after 1587.

North Carolina is the northern portion of the original 1629 land grant made by England's King Charles I, which was named in his honor (Carolus is Latin for Charles). 

North Carolina joined the Union in 1789 and is the 12th of the original 13 states. Today, North Carolina is a growing research center and banking state. 

The capital of the "Tar Heel State" is Raleigh, and the dogwood blossom is the state flower.

• National Park Sites

  • Blue Ridge Parkway

  • Cape Hatteras National Seashore

  • Cape Lookout National Seashore

  • Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site

  • Fort Raleigh National Historic Site

  • Great Smoky Mountains National Park

  • Guilford Courthouse National Military Park

  • Moores Creek National Battlefield

• State Park Sites

  • Carolina Beach State Park

  • Chimney Rock State Park

  • Weymouth Woods-Sandhills Nature Preserve

  • William B. Umstead State Park

• North Carolina City, Towns and County Parks

  • Mecklenburg County (Charotte)