13 Underrated North Carolina Towns Worth the Drive This Summer

Summer in North Carolina begs for a road trip.

You could fight the traffic to the usual spots. Or you could take the scenic route to a town you’ve never heard of.

So, gas up, roll your windows down, and let’s go find a few.

Beaufort: Pirates and Wild Horses

Tucked on the Crystal Coast, Beaufort is one of the oldest towns in the state, founded in 1709.

Its claim to fame? Blackbeard.

The pirate’s flagship, the Queen Anne’s Revenge, ran aground just offshore in 1718, and divers pulled up the wreck in 1996.

You can see the cannons and gold dust at the North Carolina Maritime Museum, admission-free.

Then look across Taylor Creek.

Wild horses graze on the Rachel Carson Reserve, visible right from the boardwalk.

Walk Front Street, order some shrimp, and let the salt air do the rest.

Brevard: Land of Waterfalls

Up in the mountains, Transylvania County hides around 250 waterfalls. Brevard sits right in the middle of them.

They don’t call it the Land of Waterfalls for nothing.

Looking Glass Falls tumbles 60 feet right beside the road, and nearby DuPont State Recreational Forest stood in for the woods in The Hunger Games.

Keep your eyes on the trees, too.

Brevard is home to a population of white squirrels, descendants of a pair that escaped decades ago.

Downtown is all galleries and breweries. The forest handles everything else.

Ocracoke: Worth the Ferry

You can only reach Ocracoke by boat, and that’s the whole point.

Hop the ferry across Pamlico Sound, and you land on a sliver of the Outer Banks with no chain anything in sight.

Just a tidy village around Silver Lake, the state’s oldest working lighthouse, and miles of open beach.

The island even keeps its own herd of wild ponies, Banker horses penned since 1959 and tended by the Park Service.

Blackbeard met his end in these waters, too. The man got around.

Bath: The Oldest Town

Blink on the highway, and you’ll miss Bath.

But that would be a mistake.

Bath earned its title as North Carolina’s oldest town back in 1705, and it looks much the way it did then. There isn’t a single stoplight in the whole place.

What it has is history.

Blackbeard kept a house here. St. Thomas Episcopal Church has held services since 1734. The Historic Bath State Historic Site walks you through colonial life.

It’s a still square mile by the Pamlico River.

Bring your curiosity and slow way down.

Hot Springs: On the Trail

Most towns have a Main Street. Hot Springs has the Appalachian Trail.

The famous footpath runs straight down the center of this little mountain town, white blazes painted right on the sidewalk.

You can “hike” it without ever leaving the curb.

True to the name, Hot Springs also sits on the only natural hot mineral springs in the state.

Soak your feet by the French Broad after a long drive.

Thru-hikers, kayakers, and rocking-chair sitters all share the same few blocks. Somehow it works.

New Bern: Pepsi’s Hometown

Here’s a trivia answer worth the drive: New Bern gave the world Pepsi.

A pharmacist named Caleb Bradham mixed up the first batch behind his counter in 1898, and you can visit the very spot where it started.

While you’re in town, tour Tryon Palace, the grand colonial governor’s mansion and gardens.

New Bern was the state’s first capital, founded by Swiss settlers in 1710.

Their nod to Bern, Switzerland?

Bears. You’ll find painted bear statues posted all over downtown.

Cobblestones, two rivers, and an ice-cold Pepsi. Not bad at all.

Seagrove: Built on Clay

In the middle of the state sits a town of about 200 people and more than 100 potters.

Seagrove is the pottery capital of North Carolina, with a clay tradition stretching back over 250 years.

The state legislature made the title official in 2005.

Drive the Pottery Highway, and you’ll pass studio after studio, many of them family-run for generations.

Stop in. The potter at the wheel is often the same one who rings you up.

Start at the North Carolina Pottery Center to get your bearings.

Edenton: The Pretty Harbor

Some folks call Edenton the prettiest small town in the South, and they have a point.

This colonial harbor town on Albemarle Sound was once the capital of North Carolina.

Tree-lined streets lead down to the water, past stately old homes and the 1767 courthouse, among the oldest still in use anywhere in the country.

The waterfront is made for an evening stroll. Bring a camera and comfortable shoes.

It’s the kind of place that makes you wonder why you ever rushed anywhere.

Bryson City: Smoky Gateway

On the western edge of the state, Bryson City opens the door to the Great Smoky Mountains.

The big draw is the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad.

Climb aboard a vintage train and roll through river gorges and tunnels the highway never reaches.

Outside town, the Nantahala River churns with rafters and kayakers all summer long.

The Tuckasegee runs gentler, right through the middle of downtown.

Small main street, enormous mountains. Bryson City fits a lot into a little footprint.

Mount Airy: The Real Mayberry

If the streets of Mount Airy feel familiar, there’s a good reason.

This is Andy Griffith’s hometown, and the model for the fictional Mayberry.

Fans roll in from everywhere to ride in a squad car, get a trim at Floyd’s, and split a pork chop sandwich at the Snappy Lunch.

The whole town leans into it, never more than in September, when Mayberry Days takes over downtown.

For anyone who grew up on that whistled theme song, it’s a sweet little trip back in time.

Southport: On the Cape Fear

Where the Cape Fear River meets the Atlantic, Southport sits with its feet in the water.

Live oaks drip Spanish moss over streets of white clapboard houses, and shrimp boats bob in the harbor.

The town is so postcard-pretty that Hollywood keeps showing up to film here.

Catch the ferry out to Bald Head Island, where golf carts replace cars and the old lighthouse known as Old Baldy still stands watch.

This is the slow, salty South at its finest. Linger as long as you can.

Saxapahaw: A Mill Reborn

Here’s one even plenty of North Carolinians haven’t found yet.

Saxapahaw is a tiny former mill village on the Haw River, sitting halfway between Greensboro and the Triangle.

The old cotton mill now holds loft apartments, and the community went farm-to-table long before the rest of us caught on.

Grab a great meal at the general store, better than a spot that size has any right to serve.

Then catch live music at the Haw River Ballroom, an old dye house reborn as a concert venue.

Proof that the best discoveries come in small packages.

Saluda: Small but Steep

End your summer of driving in Saluda, a mountain town that time forgot in the best possible way.

Main Street is a tidy row of antique shops, a soda fountain, and folks who wave as you pass.

Just outside town, Pearson’s Falls spills through a green glen carpeted in wildflowers.

Railroad buffs know Saluda for its grade, long ranked among the steepest mainline stretches in the country.