North Carolina National Parks, National Monuments and More in North Carolina

National Park Service

Blue Ridge Parkway
The Blue Ridge Parkway provides both stunning scenery and close-up looks at the natural and cultural history of the southern Appalachian mountains.

Cape Hatteras National Seashore
Cape Hatteras, once dubbed the "Graveyard of the Atlantic", for its treacherous currents, shoals, and storms, has a wealth of history relating to shipwrecks and lighthouses. These dynamic islands provide a variety of habitats and are a valuable wintering area for migrating waterfowl.

Cape Lookout National Seashore
The 56 mile seashore consists of three undeveloped barrier islands - North Core Banks, South Core Banks and Shackleford Banks These islands may seem barren and isolated but offer many natural and historical features.

Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site
Today the site preserves the Sandburg legacy for future generations. The historic site consists of the circa 1838 antebellum house, a dairy goat barn complex which is home to the Connemara Farms goat herd, sheds, rolling pastures, mountainside woods, walking/hiking trails, two small lakes, ponds, flower and vegetable gardens, and an orchard.

Fort Raleigh National Historic Site
The first English attempts at colonization in the New World (1585-1587) are commemorated here. These efforts, sponsored by Sir Walter Raleigh, ended with the disappearance of 116 men, women and children (including two that were born in the New World). The fate of this "lost colony" remains a mystery to this day.

Guilford Courthouse National Military Park
The battle fought here on March 15, 1781, was the largest, action of the Revolutionary War's climactic Southern Campaign. The serious loss of British manpower suffered at Guilford Courthouse foreshadowed Lord Cornwallis's final defeat at Yorktown seven months later.

Moores Creek National Battlefield
The 88 acre park commemorates the decisive February 27, 1776 victory by 1,000 Patriots over 1,600 Loyalists at the Battle of Moores Creek Bridge.

Wright Brothers National Memorial
The first successful sustained powered flights in a heavier-than-air machine were made here by Wilbur and Orville Wright on December 17, 1903. A 60-foot granite monument, is perched atop Kill Devil Hill commemorating the achievement of these two visionaries from Dayton, Ohio.