The National Park Service
www.nps.gov
The State parks Service
North Carolina State Parks

     The A.T. began as a vision of forester Benton MacKaye, and was developed by volunteers and opened as a continuous trail in 1937. It was designated as the first National Scenic Trail by the National Trails System Act of 1968. The Trail is currently protected along more than 99 percent of its course by federal or state ownership of the land or by rights-of-way. Annually, more than 4,000 volunteers contribute over 175,000 hours of effort on the Appalachian Trail.

     Stretched over 70 miles of barrier islands, Cape Hatteras National Seashore is a fascinating combination of natural and cultural resources, and provides a wide variety of recreational opportunities. Once dubbed the "Graveyard of the Atlantic" for its treacherous currents, shoals, and storms, Cape Hatteras has a wealth of history relating to shipwrecks, lighthouses, and the U.S. Lifesaving Service. These dynamic islands provide a variety of habitats and are a valuable wintering area for migrating waterfowl. The park's fishing and surfing are considered the best on the east coast. Click the "In Depth" button to the right for more detailed information.
 

     A Midwesterner most of his life, Sandburg and his family moved to North Carolina in 1945. This farm offered the peace and solitude required for his writing and offered Mrs. Sandburg over 30 acres of pasture-land that she desired to raise her champion dairy goats!

     Having already achieved literary fame before relocating from Harbert Michigan, Sandburg continued to write and lecture, publishing more than one-third of his works during his 22 years at Connemara.

     Today the site, managed by the National Park Service, 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.

     Ridge upon ridge of endless forest straddling the border between North Carolina and Tennessee, Great Smoky Mountains National Park is one of the largest protected areas in the Eastern United States. World renowned for the diversity of its plant and animal life, the beauty of its ancient mountains, the quality of its remnants of Southern Appalachian mountain culture, and the depth and integrity of its wilderness sanctuary, the park attracts over nine million visitors each year. Once a part of the Cherokee homeland, the Smokies today are a hiker's paradise with over 800 miles of trails.
 

      The battle fought here on March 15, 1781, was the largest, most hotly-contested 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.
 

     "King George and Broadswords!" shouted loyalists as they charged across partially dismantled Moores Creek bridge on February 27, 1776. Just beyond the bridge nearly a thousand North Carolina patriots waited quietly with cannons and muskets poised to fire.   

      The loyalists, mostly Scottish Highlanders wielding broadswords, expected to find only a small patriot force. As the loyalists advanced across the bridge, patriot shots rang out and dozens of loyalists fell, including their commanders.

     Stunned, outgunned and leaderless, the loyalists surrendered, retreating in confusion. Wagons, weapons and British sterling worth more than $1 million by today's value were seized by the patriots in the days following the battle.

     This dramatic victory ended British authority in the colony and greatly influenced North Carolina to be the first colony to vote for independence. The Battle of Moores Creek Bridge, coupled with the Battle of Sullivans Island near Charleston, SC a few months later, ultimately led the 13 colonies to declare independence on July 4, 1776.

THE BATTLEFIELD TODAY

     Throughout the park, remnants remain of the 1776 road traveled by patriot and loyalist forces. A 1-mile trail with wayside exhibits leads through the battlefield and across Moores Creek. The historic bridge site is located along the trail.

     The park offers a visitor center with exhibits and audio-visual program; a .3 mile colonial forest trail, and a picnic area.
 

     Recreation is plentiful in and around the waters of Lake Tillery and the Pee Dee River. Fishing, boating and swimming are popular pastimes. Nature lovers can pick from miles of trails to travel on foot or horseback. And for those who want to stay and take it all in, cabins and camping are available. There's really only one word to describe Morrow Mountain State Park: variety. Use the family car or RV, horseback or canoe, put on a pair of hiking boots or dip bare feet in the river, or bait your favorite fishing pole—a visit to Morrow Mountain lets you choose your kind of adventure.
 

     The Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail (OVNHT) follows the Revolutionary War route of Patriot militia men from Virginia, today's eastern Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia to the battle of Kings Mountain, South Carolina, site of the Kings Mountain National Military Park.

     The OVNHT is part of the National Trails System.

      While there are hiking segments, the primary public access is by car over the commemorative motor route.
 

     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 dedicated in 1932, is perched atop 90-foot tall Kill Devil Hill commemorating the achievement of these two visionaries from Dayton, Ohio.

     A visit should include touring the museum exhibits, participating in a ranger conducted program, touring the reconstructed camp buildings and first flight trail area, and a climb up Kill Devil Hill to view the memorial pylon.