Category: Travel

Visitors to Canada are equally as wowed by the wildlife and wilderness, as they are by the cultural and culinary offerings found in the cities that speckle the sprawling nation. Peruse for polar bears on the open arctic tundra of Churchill or cruise Vancouver’s curvy coastline in a canoe while gawking at the city skyline. Feast on five-star fusion cuisine in Toronto, or take in a street-side jazz jam session in Montreal. 

Whether you’re a first-time visitor or returning to experience something new, these are the 15 best places to see in Canada. But plan ahead because as the world’s second-largest country, you won’t be able to do it all in one trip. 

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1. The Canadian Rockies 

Best for mountain views

The sawtooth, white-topped mountains straddling the British Columbia–Alberta border inspire both awe and action. Five national parks – Banff, Yoho, Kootenay, Waterton Lakes and Jasper – offer countless opportunities to delve into the lush wilderness, with ribbons of hiking trails, rushing white-water and powdery ski slopes to satisfy travelers looking for mountain thrills. 

This is one of the best places to visit in Canada in winter, but there is outdoor adventure aplenty during the summer months too.

Planning tip: For a different perspective, take the train and experience the grandeur from the comfort of your seat: luminous lakes, jumbles of wildflowers and glistening glaciers glide by as the steel cars chug up mountain passes and down river valleys en route to points east or west.

2. Vancouver 

Best for combining city and nature

In Vancouver, sea-to-sky beauty surrounds the laid-back, cocktail-loving metropolis. With skiable mountains on the outskirts, beaches fringing the coast and Stanley Park‘s thick rainforest just steps from downtown’s sparkling skyscrapers, you’ll fine a harmonic convergence of city and nature.

For the best of both worlds, pick up provisions and a cold beer and picnic at one of the amazing city parks (during the summer months drinking alcohol is legal at most city parks). 

Shop and stroll through the diverse and charming neighborhoods – you may even spot a celebrity along the way. Known as “Hollywood North”, Vancouver is the filming location for many TV and film productions shot throughout the year.

Planning tip: With its mild climate and beautiful beaches, Vancouver is definitely one of the best places in Canada to visit in summer.

 

3. Manitoulin Island 

Best for celebrating Canada’s First Nations cultures

The largest freshwater island in the world, floating right in Lake Huron’s midst, Manitoulin is a slowpoke place of beaches and summery cottages. Jagged expanses of white quartzite and granite outcroppings edge the shoreline and lead to shimmering vistas. First Nations culture pervades, and the island’s eight communities collaborate to offer local foods (wild rice, corn soup) and eco-adventures (canoeing, horseback riding, hiking). Powwows add drumming, dancing and storytelling to the mix for cultural-immersive experiences that connect you with the people and the land of the country that we now know as Canada.

 

4. Vancouver Island 

Best for nature lovers

Picture-postcard Victoria is the heart of Vancouver Island, beating with bohemian shops, wood-floored coffee bars and an English past steeped in tea culture since the 1840s. 

British Columbia’s capital city is full of charm, but it’s only the kick-off point to an island that has a bounty of natural wonders to explore.

Brooding Pacific Rim National Park Reserve includes the West Coast Trail, where the wind-bashed ocean meets a mist-shrouded wilderness, and surfers line up for Tofino’s waves. With so many outdoor adventures to try, this is one of the best places in Canada for nature lovers.

Detour: Wandering foodies will want to head to the Cowichan Valley, studded with welcoming small farms and boutique wineries.

5. Whistler 

Best for skiing in Canada

This alpine village and 2010 Winter Olympics venue is one of the world’s largest, best-equipped and most popular ski resorts, and it’s only a 90-minute drive from downtown Vancouver. Featuring over 200 marked runs winding down two towering mountains – Whistler and Blackcomb – this destination is paradise for skiers of all levels.

Skiing may be Whistler’s raison d’être, but summer visitors with their downhill mountain bikes and stand-up paddleboards outnumber their ski-season equivalents, making the resort a year-round hot spot for locals and visitors alike.

Adding more diversity, Whistler has recently developed a thriving arts and culture scene, with highlights like the Audain Art Museum and Squamish Li’lwat Cultural Centre taking the stage as equally appealing attractions to the famed slopes.

 

6. Baffin Island

Best for Inuit art and incredible landscapes

The forlorn, rugged landscape of Baffin Island is home to cloud-scraping mountains and a third of Nunavut’s human population. It’s Canada’s largest island (the fifth biggest in the world), and the ideal place for an arctic safari, where you can spot narwhals, belugas and bears in their natural habitat.

The island’s crown jewel is Auyuittuq National Park – its name means “the land that never melts” – and indeed glaciers, fjords and vertiginous cliffs fill the eastern expanse. The park is a siren call for hardcore hikers and climbers, and more than a few polar bears.

Baffin Island is also a center for Inuit art; studios for high-quality carving, printmaking and weaving can be found in many of the small towns that speckle the area.

7. Montréal Jazz Festival 

Best for music lovers 

As Canada’s second-largest city and the country’s cultural heart, Montréal is a marvel for music lovers. Watch the best jazz-influenced musicians in the world amongst over two million, equally-jazzed spectators at the Montréal International Jazz Festival. There are over 500 performances and shows to enjoy (and countless are free).

BB King, Prince and Astor Piazzolla are among those who’ve performed at the 11-day, late-June music festival. You may even get to join in on the fun with free drumming lessons and street-side jam sessions, as the good times roll day and night.

Local tip: Not into jazz? Montréal has a wide musical palate. You’ll find indie, folk, classical and opera performances around the city. For live-music venues and events, big and small, throughout the city. 

8. Old Québec City

Best place to visit in Canada for couples

Québec’s capital is more than 400 years old, and its ancient stone walls, glinting spired cathedrals and jazz-filled corner cafes suffuse it with atmosphere, romance, melancholy, eccentricity and intrigue on par with any European city. The best way to soak it all up is to walk the old town’s labyrinth of lanes and get lost amid the street performers and cozy inns, stopping every so often for a café au lait and flaky pastry.

The city is also home to Québec’s scenic highway, Rte 132. Circling the Gaspé Peninsula, this road winds past the sea and the mountains, as well as charming towns; more than 700,000 people drive this tarmac each summer. 

Of course, it has yet to approach the romantic popularity of Canada’s “Honeymoon Capital,” Niagara Falls, a region that draws more than 14 million annual visitors. But head for the La Gaspésie, instead, young lovers. Because if you’re on your honeymoon, you don’t need 14 million other people hanging around.

9. Toronto 

Best for multicultural experiences

A hyperactive stew of cultures and neighborhoods, Toronto strikes you with sheer urban awe and cultural diversity. Will you have dinner in Chinatown or Greektown? Five-star fusion or a peameal bacon sandwich?

In Ontario‘s coolest city, designer shoes from Bloor-Yorkville are accessorized with tattoos in Queen West, while mod-art galleries, theater par excellence, rocking band rooms and hockey mania add to the megalopolis. It is far and away Canada’s largest city, as well as its most diverse – about half of the city’s residents were born in another country. Be sure to snap a photo of the CN Tower, considered one of the best places to visit in Toronto, and for an added thrill, check out the Edgewalk, where you can walk around the tower’s perimeter while taking in unparalleled city views.

10. Rideau Canal

Best for ice skating

This 185-year-old, 200km-long (124 miles) waterway – consisting of canals, rivers and lakes – connects Ottawa and Kingston via 47 locks. The Rideau Canal is at its finest in wintry Ottawa, where a stretch of its waters become the Rideau Canal Skateway – the world’s largest skating rink.

People swoosh by on the 7.8km (4.8 miles) of groomed ice, pausing for hot chocolate and scrumptious slabs of fried dough called beavertails (a quintessentially Canadian treat). February’s Winterlude festival kicks it up a notch when townsfolk build massive ice sculptures.

Local tip: Once the canal thaws, it becomes a boater’s paradise, meaning you can appreciate it whatever time of year you visit.

 

11. Niagara Falls

Best for an iconic travel experience

Niagara Falls may be relatively short (it doesn’t even crack the top 500 worldwide for height), but when those great muscular bands of water arc over the precipice like liquid glass, roaring into the void below, and when you sail toward it in a mist-shrouded boat – the falls never fail to impress.

While you’re there, extend your stay and head beyond the falls with a two-wheel biking adventure along the Greater Niagara Circle Route, or take a go at the Wildplay Zipline to the Falls, a pulse-pounding rush of a ride that offers unparalleled views of the falls below as you zoom through the sky.

12. The Prairies

Best for road trips

Solitude reigns in Canada’s middle ground. Driving through the flatlands of Manitoba and Saskatchewan turns up uninterrupted fields of golden wheat that stretch to the horizon, eventually melting into the sunshine. When the wind blows, the wheat sways like waves on the ocean, punctuated by the occasional grain elevator rising up like a tall ship.

Big skies mean big storms that drop like an anvil, visible on the skyline for miles. Far-flung towns include arty Winnipeg, boozy Moose Jaw and Mountie-filled Regina, interspersed with Ukrainian and Scandinavian villages.

13. Bay of Fundy

Best place to spot whales

Not your average Canadian bay, though lighthouses, boats and trawlers, fishing villages and other maritime scenery surround it, with frequent landward sightings of deer and moose. The unique geography of Fundy results in the most extreme tides in the world, reaching 16m (56ft), about the height of a five-story building.

They stir up serious whale food, with krill and other plankton attracting fin, humpback and blue whales here to feast, as well as endangered North Atlantic right whales, making a whale watch here an extraordinary must-do.

14. Drumheller

Best for dinosaur enthusiasts

Dinosaur lovers get weak-kneed in dust-blown Drumheller, where paleontological civic pride runs high thanks to the Royal Tyrrell Museum, one of the planet’s pre-eminent fossil collections. The area’s focus on dinosaur fossils definitely makes this one of the most unique places to visit in Canada.

The world’s largest dinosaur is here, too – a giant fiberglass T-rex that visitors can climb and peer out of (through its mouth). Beyond the dino-hoopla, the area offers classic Badlands scenery and eerie, mushroom-like rock columns called hoodoos.

Planning tip: Follow the scenic driving loops, these take you past all the good stuff.

15. Churchill

Best for polar bear encounters

The first polar bear you see up close will take your breath away, and there’s no better place for an encounter than the open arctic tundra of Churchill, Manitoba, which happens to be right on the bears’ migration path. From late September to early November, tundra vehicles head out in search of the razor-clawed beasts, sometimes getting you close enough to lock eyes with the beautiful bears. Summer lets you kayak or stand-up paddleboard with beluga whales.

Belize is the perfect road-trip country. In fact, renting a car and driving yourself is by far the best way to get around when there is so much to see within such short distances. You can stop when and where you want to admire the scenery and take as much time as you’d like at each destination.

And providing you drive carefully, the roads in Belize are safe. Speed bumps are plentiful, so go slow, and be aware that, in some areas, the rules of the road are seen as suggestions instead. Slowing down gives you more opportunities to spot unusual road signs like tapir crossings too – watch out for animals that may wander into the road.

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Car hire isn’t too expensive in Belize – you can get deals for less than $50 a day for economy cars. The five major highways are paved and a regular economy car is sufficient on those. However, the rest of Belize’s roads are mostly dirt or gravel that can get very muddy in the rainy season from around May to November and may only be accessible by 4WD.

Here are our picks for the five best road trips in Belize.

1. Hire a 4WD to drive from Belmopan to Caracol

Best road trip for a mountain drive
Belmopan to Caracol Natural Monument Reservation via Mountain Pine Ridge Forest Reserve; 64 miles

It’s about 50 miles from Belize City to Belmopan along the George Price Highway, also known as the Western Highway. From Belize’s capital city, head west to Georgeville, where you’ll turn south. A 4WD is recommended for this road trip since road conditions can be rough once you turn off the highway.

This route will take you through Mountain Ridge Pine Forest Reserve where the tropical jungle makes way for a rocky, pine-covered landscape. Attractions along the way include Barton Creek Cave, Big Rock Falls, the Rio On Pools and the Río Frio Cave. If you don’t stop along the way, it will take you about two and a half hours to reach the Mayan site of Caracol. However, make this at least a day trip so you can spend some time dipping your toes in the cool mountain streams.

Detour: If you’d like to see more Mayan sites on this trip, turn west when you’re back in Georgeville and drive to San Ignacio, where you’ll find Cahal Pech. Then continue on towards the Guatemalan border for the Xunantunich site. You can even pop across the border into Guatemala for the big one, Tikal. Just be sure to arrange this beforehand with the car rental agency so that the paperwork can be prepared.

2. Cruise along the Hummingbird Highway

Best nature road trip in Belize
Belmopan to Dangriga; 54 miles

The Hummingbird Highway is a favorite among visitors and Belizeans alike, and for good reason. This is arguably the most scenic road trip in Belize, meandering through countless little villages and farmland and across the Maya Mountains. You can do it in less than two hours but why would you? After all, this is the gateway to some of the country’s best natural attractions.

In Belmopan, there’s Guanacaste National Park with its hiking trails and birdwatching opportunities. As you head southwest and into the mountains, you’ll get to St Herman’s Blue Hole National Park, home to St Herman’s Cave with its underground river and, just off the highway, the crystalline swimming spot known as the (Inland) Blue Hole. Next up is Billy Barquedier National Park with its tropical forest and a beautiful little waterfall.

Just south of the village of Alta Vista are Davis Falls, the country’s second highest at an estimated 500ft. The rest of the road to Dangriga is mainly citrus country – watch out for those citrus trucks. Also be on the lookout for the bridges crossing streams along the Hummingbird Highway – quite a few of them are just wide enough for one vehicle and guardrails seem to be optional. Just before you hit Dangriga, you can stock up on some heat at Marie Sharp’s hot-sauce factory.

3. Pass forests and wildlife reserves on the TV Ramos Highway

Best road trip for jungle adventures
Dangriga to Punta Gorda; 98 miles

The Thomas Vincent Ramos Highway, also known as the TV Ramos Highway or the Southern Highway, is the one to take if you want a jungle road trip in Belize. The road itself doesn’t go through the jungle but along the way, you’ll find several forested parks and reserves filled with wildlife.

First up is Mayflower Bocawina National Park, with its hiking trails through dense jungle, waterfalls and swimming holes, and off-the-beaten-track Mayan ruins. Next is the Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary, which offers more jungle hiking, as well as an above-average chance to spot a jaguar in its natural habitat. The access roads to these parks are dirt roads that may require a 4WD in the rainy season.

Once you’ve crossed into the Toledo District, the highway traverses the Swasey Bladen Forest Reserve and the Deep River Forest Reserve. You’ll also pass Belize Spice Farm and Botanical Gardens and the Mayan ruins of Nim Li Punit. Where the highway kinks southeast towards Punta Gorda at the community of Dump, it passes the Aguacaliente Wildlife Sanctuary with its extensive wetlands.

Detour: Punta Gorda is a great introduction to Garifuna culture. From here, make a pilgrimage south to the coastal village of Barranco, the birthplace of the most famous Garifuna musician, Andy Palacio. You can travel by road or, to cut your travel time in half to about 20 minutes, take a boat.

You can then turn the drive back to Dangriga into the best coastal road trip in Belize. First, take the turnoff to Monkey River Town, a purely Belizean Creole seaside village from where you can take a guided trip upriver. At Santa Cruz, turn right and head back south to Placencia for fancier beach resorts and Garifuna drumming. Get more beach time and Garifuna culture in Hopkins.

4. Visit the Mayan villages of Toledo

Best road trip for living Mayan culture
TV Ramos Highway to Pueblo Viejo; 30 miles

Close to the Guatemalan border in Southern Belize, you can see how the Maya live today. A little past the Nim Li Punit ruins, turn right onto the gravel road for Silver Creek. From here, you’ll find a string of Q’eqchi’ and Mopan villages, some complete with thatched houses. Along the way, you can visit the Lubaantun and Uchben’Kaj Mayan ruins, the Columbia Forest Reserve and the Río Blanco National Park with the lovely Río Blanco Falls. You can also go on jungle hikes and explore caves and sinkholes. The terrain is hilly and you may need a 4WD for this trip, especially during the rainy season.

Detour: On the way back from Pueblo Viejo, turn right just after San Antonio and head to Blue Creek, which, as the name suggests, features a stream of clear blue water. The inhabitants are a mix of Mopan and Q’eqchi’ heritage. Keep an eye out for the otters living in the stream.

5. Slow down for potholes on the Old Northern Highway

Best road trip for Mayan ruins
Belize City to Corozal; 95 miles

Sure, you can get from Belize City to Corozal faster via the Philip Goldson Highway – also known as the Northern Highway – but then you’d miss out on one of the country’s most famous Mayan sites. Instead, check your shock absorbers and brace yourself for the bumpy ride along the pothole-filled Old Northern Highway. This highway turns off from the Philip Goldson Highway just past the community of Sand Hill and takes you through a landscape of mostly farmland.

At Lucky Strike, you’ll find the turnoff for Altun Ha, the largest structure that you may recognize from the Belikin beer label. Some of the houses in the nearby village of Rockstone Pond were built using stones from Altun Ha. Just before Orange Walk, the road joins the Philip Goldson Highway again. In Orange Walk Town, the Latin influences become more pronounced due to the proximity to Mexico and you’ll also meet more people of Yucatec Mayan descent. The trip ends in Corozal, with its distinctly Spanish colonial feel.

In town, you’ll find the Mayan ruins of Santa Rita while a 13-mile drive around the bay will take you to the Cerros Mayan ruins. If you’ve arranged this with the car-rental agency, you may be able to drop off your car in Corozal and either take a boat to San Pedro on Ambergris Caye, from where you can sail back to Belize City or move on to Chetumal just across the border in Mexico.

Detour: There are two ways to visit the Lamanai Mayan ruins from Orange Walk – you can take a boat down the New River or you can drive down. While a boat ride is fun, the drive down allows you to also explore the nearby Mennonite communities of Shipyard, Indian Creek and Blue Creek.

From ancient mountain ranges, dense forests and remote islands to historic forts, battlefields and national monuments, Virginia has 22 wonderful national parks calling out to modern-day explorers.

Millions of visitors flock to famous sites such as Shenandoah National Park, Colonial National Historical Park and Fredericksburg National Military Park for Virginia’s signature blend of natural beauty and history, but there are plenty of less-visited sites where you can escape the crowds.

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As of 2021, Virginia can also claim the honor of having the most visited site in the National Park Service system – the Blue Ridge Parkway, which logged a staggering 15.9 million visits in 2021. Whether you’re seeking spectacular views, an outdoor concert or a green, clean escape from the city, Virginia’s national parks have something for every type of traveler. Here are seven of our favorites.
 

1. Blue Ridge Parkway

Best park for road trippers

The Blue Ridge Parkway isn’t your typical US national park — it’s actually a series of parks, stretching from the Appalachian highlands of Virginia into North Carolina’s Great Smoky Mountains National Park (which, incidentally, was America’s second most visited national park in 2021). Spanning 469 miles, the Blue Ridge Parkway covers a great deal of ground, passing through unspoiled countryside that offers a vastly different experience depending on the season, from the lush green of summer to the vivid colors of fall and snowy mountain peaks in the winter.

Built as a series of public works projects during the Great Depression, the Parkway’s natural history dates back millions of years – its forested ridges are the remains of one of the oldest mountain ranges in the world. Along the route, you’ll find scenic stops such as Humpback Rocks, the Peaks of Otter and Mabry Mill, a historic relic from 1903 that is one of the most photographed landmarks along the Parkway. Visitor’s centers, scenic overlooks, peaceful picnic sites and rewarding hiking trails offer plenty of ways to take a break from driving.

There are numerous places where you can join the Parkway – to drive the full route, start from the town of Afton, near Shenandoah National Park, or from the town of Cherokee in North Carolina, on the edge of Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

2. Shenandoah National Park

Best park for hiking

Virginia’s first designated national park, Shenandoah National Park was dedicated way back in 1936. It’s part of the Blue Ridge Mountain range, but the Blue Ridge Parkway ends at the park’s entrance and the Skyline Drive takes its place. The park’s 200,000 protected acres provide a home for a wide range of wildlife, from bobcats and black bears to birds, foxes and brown bats.

Old Rag Mountain is the most popular destination in Shenandoah National Park, and it has the weekend crowds to prove it — try to visit on a weekday if you’re hiking in peak season (summer or fall). The 9.5-mile-long Old Rag hike is famously challenging, but it offers a highly rewarding view from the summit. Near the center of the park, Big Meadows is another favorite stop, a unique mountaintop meadow that’s a great place to spot wildlife, stargaze, or just meander through the wild grasses.

If you’re looking for a place to bed down for the night or a bite to eat, Skyland is a historic resort set inside Shenandoah that many people use as a hub for exploring the area.

3. George Washington Memorial Parkway

Best park for escaping the sprawl of Washington, DC

Coming in at No 6 on the National Park Service’s list of the most-visited parks, the George Washington Memorial Parkway is another scenic route built for satisfying recreational drives. Beginning just outside of Washington, DC, this 25-mile parkway links a number of significant historical sites and nature preserves threaded through Virginia, DC and Maryland and leading up to Washington’s former estate at Mt Vernon.

Nature-seekers can take their pick from some stunning natural sites, including Great Falls Park on the Virginia-Maryland border, known for its dramatic collection of rocky waterfalls. The Dyke Marsh Wildlife Preserve, one of the largest remaining freshwater tidal wetland areas in the DC area, and Turkey Run Park, part of the Potomac Gorge ecosystem, are also top stops.

4. Assateague Island National Seashore

Best park for beach lovers

Although best known for its wild ponies, the barrier island of Assateague Island National Seashore is a habitat for a multitude of animals, including sika deer, ghost crabs, red fox, and many species of shorebirds. The 37-mile island stretches into Maryland, but the Virginia portion is managed by the US Fish and Wildlife Service as Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge, with access from Virginia Beach via US 13. 

This striking section of foreshore forms part of the homeland of the Pocomoke and Occohannock people, and the NPS operates a visitor’s center and recreational beach within the refuge. Besides hanging out on the beach, other popular activities on the island include camping, hiking, biking, crabbing, fishing and kayaking.

5. Colonial National Historical Park

Best park for understanding America’s origins

The Colonial National Historical Park contains two sites that encapsulate the beginning and end of colonial America. Historic Jamestowne and the Yorktown Battlefield are considered to be among the most historically significant sites in North America, connected by the 23-mile Colonial Parkway, which also passes through Colonial Williamsburg.

Although you could easily breeze through in a matter of hours, it’s worth taking a weekend to fully explore. The Cape Henry Memorial marks the landing site of the first colonists in 1607, and at Jamestowne, you can walk in the footsteps of the first permanent English settlers in North America. Meanwhile, over at the Yorktown Battlefield, you can explore the site where the first major battle of the American Revolutionary War was fought (it’s also a setting for regular re-enactments).

6. Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania National Military Park

Best park for battlefield buffs

There are many significant Civil War battlefield sites in Virginia — including at Petersburg, Manassas, and Richmond – but some of the bloodiest and most tragic battles took place in Fredericksburg and the surrounding settlements of Chancellorsville, Wilderness and Spotsylvania. An estimated 15,000 men were killed and more than 85,000 were wounded on these battlefields, while farms were looted and thousands of refugees were forced into the countryside.

Today, the Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park offers a stark reminder of why this region is still known as “America’s Battleground.” Besides the battlefields, the park contains a number of historic sites including Chatham Manor, Salem Church and the site where Stonewall Jackson died.

Visitor’s centers at the Fredericksburg Battlefield and Chancellorsville Battlefield have maps, educational exhibits, junior ranger programs and activities that help put all of the history into perspective. Trails such as the Sunken Road Walking Trail and the Jackson Wounding Trail invite visitors to wander the same routes as Civil War soldiers – a humbling experience even today.

7. Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts 

Best park to visit in the summer

Part of the National Park System since 2002, Wolf Trap was founded as a recreational Farm Park in the 1960s following an act of Congress, but it’s evolved into a vibrant cultural hub. Today, the park represents a unique partnership between the NPS and a nonprofit arts organization. The NPS maintains the pristine grounds and buildings on-site, while Wolf Trap Foundation oversees the programming. It’s the only national park in the US dedicated to the performing arts.

Wolf Trap is less than 20 miles from Washington, DC, and it’s easily accessible by the city’s Metro system. The 117-acre park hosts more than 100 performances across a range of genres every summer, from pop and jazz to classical music and rock.

The park is also famous for its natural setting. Scattered around its green grounds are the Filene Center outdoor amphitheater, the Barns at Wolf Trap (a music venue in two converted barns), and the intimate Children’s Theatre-in-the-Woods. To explore  without the crowds, try visiting in the off-season, October through April.

 

North Carolina is blessed with National Park Service lands in nearly every corner of the state. Each park embodies a different aspect of the state’s history and terrain, and almost all offer the chance to get outdoors and into nature.

Some parks are ideal for a day trip, while others warrant multiple days of exploration. Best of all, the vast majority of the state’s federally designated parks and seashores are free to visit. All surely rank among the top places to discover in this marvelous state.

Here’s our guide to the best national parks in North Carolina, from the Great Smoky Mountains to the Outer Banks.

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1. Great Smoky Mountains National Park – best for hiking in the wilds

While most visitors access Great Smoky Mountains National Park from Tennessee, nearly half of the park’s 522,419 acres lie within North Carolina. This is America’s most visited national park, with some 14 million visitors annually. And for good reason.

A few miles from the town of Cherokee, the Oconaluftee Visitor Center is the best place to start your journey. The North Carolina side of the park is home to the Mountain Farm Museum, a collection of buildings and historic structures that provide a glimpse into early life in the region. The Mingus Mill has been grinding wheat and corn since 1886.

There are over 150 official hiking routes in the Smokies. Popular trails run to the rocky lookout known as Charlies Bunion, the forest-covered Alum Cave Bluffs, the gushing Ramsey Cascades and the grassy hilltop of Andrews Bald. 

There’s no fee to visit the park, but this may change in 2023 due to rising visitor numbers in recent years. The park also offers year-round camping at Smokemont Campground, where tent and RV sites are available from $25 per night.

2. Blue Ridge Parkway – best for road trippers

Not only is the Blue Ridge Parkway one of North Carolina’s best road trips, this NPS-affiliated scenic byway also offers visitors plenty of chances to connect with the great outdoors. Known as “America’s Favorite Drive,” the 469-mile road winds into Virginia through protected land.

Popular stops along the route, first constructed in 1936, include the scenic Linville Falls, the lavish Moses Cone Manor, the Linn Cove Viaduct and 5721ft Mount Pisgah.

There’s no fee to visit the North Carolina portion of the parkway, and several visitor centers along the route provide information about nearby attractions and accommodations.

Five campgrounds – at Doughton Park, Crabtree Falls, Julian Price Memorial Park, Linville Falls and Mount Pisgah – can be found along the route. Check for road closures and changing conditions before you go, and watch out for black bears.

3. Cape Hatteras National Seashore – best for beaches and treasure hunting

Cape Hatteras is one of two stretches of protected coastline in the Outer Banks, the sandy barrier islands that flank the North Carolina coast. This 70-mile stretch of seashore runs from Whalebone to Ocracoke Island, including several sections connected by ferry.

Along the way, visitors can drop in on such historic landmarks as the site of Blackbeard’s final battle and the Bodie Island and Ocracoke lighthouses. Ocracoke is the oldest operating lighthouse in North Carolina and the second-oldest in the country.

Among North Carolina’s best, Cape Hatteras’ four beaches – Coquina, Ocracoke, Friso and Old Lighthouse – provide ample space for walks, flying kites and building sand castles. Lifeguards are on hand during the summer; still, be vigilant of rip currents. Fishing is possible with a permit. You can also spot wildlife, including turtles, piping plovers and seals.

There’s no fee to enter the national seashore, but activities such as lighthouse visits, campground reservations and marina access require admission fees. You can also get a permit to drive off-road vehicles on the beach. Cape Hatteras has four campgrounds, two of which are seasonal, and all can accommodate tents and RVs.

4. Cape Lookout National Seashore – best for stargazing and seeing wild horses

Almost adjoining Cape Hatteras National Seashore, Cape Lookout runs from Portsmouth to Shackleford Banks. The site is home to an International Dark Sky Park, the first such designation in the National Park System on the Atlantic coast.

The barrier islands here are only accessible by ferry and require visitors to pack in and out any trash that they bring. Because of the remoteness of the seashore, visitors can experience wildlife completely uninterrupted. Look out for the iconic Shackleford Banks wild horses and 250 species of birds, including ducks and herons.

Cape Lookout is one of the best North Carolina national parks for primitive beach camping. There are also wooden cabins on the beachside for rent. While there’s no fee to visit Cape Lookout, expect to pay for fishing licenses and beach driving permits.

5. Guilford Courthouse National Military Park – best for history buffs

The site of a famous Revolutionary War battle, Guilford Courthouse National Military Park spreads over 250 acres. It was here, in 1781, that British soldiers drove out General Nathanael Greene and his American troops.

Located about six miles from Greensboro, the battlefield site includes 29 monuments and gravesites, including a statue of Nathanael Greene in military regalia on horseback.

Another offering at Guilford is the scenic Battlefield Tour Rd, a popular destination for cyclists, walkers and their four-legged companions. Twenty-six interpretive panels offer an insightful self-guided tour.

You can step back in time with a visit to the 18th-century Hoskins Farm. Covering 150 acres, this well-preserved farmstead tells the story of Joseph and Hannah Hoskins, who purchased it in 1778. The couple eventually fled when the Revolutionary War found its way to their land.

Every year, Haitians around the globe eat the pumpkin dish on January 1 to commemorate the liberation of the world’s first free Black republic

Repeat destination? 🏝️

The birds and their habitat are threatened by development, but efforts to protect them are gaining traction

The nation’s seasonal publishing and gifting tradition nourishes its unique literary culture

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New Orleans is a good value-for-money city, and not just because the drinks are cheap.

The city that gave the USA carnival season is itself a sort of perpetual carnival, a place where spectacle and performances are constantly on offer to even the casual visitor – all at little to no cost. These are the top free experiences in New Orleans to help you save your dollars.

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1. Mardi Gras is a free party, and it’s fantastic

Few cities are as defined by an event the way Mardi Gras defines New Orleans. The holiday, which hits in February or March depending on the year, has been called the greatest free show on Earth, and it’s an explosion of color, costumes and revelry. Despite the cliches, the annual celebration is actually largely aimed at families.

Planning tip: The two-and-a-half weeks preceding Mardi Gras are known as Carnival and are similarly packed with parades and street performances, so if you can’t make the main event, there’s still a party in town.

2. Meander through the woods at City Park

Visitors to New Orleans’ City Park can expect to find ancient live oak trees with Spanish moss beards, slow waterways, Greek-style pavilions and walking trails that meander through woods and wetlands.

A stroll down Royal St is a stroll through the heart of the French Quarter, minus the booze-soaked bacchanalia of adjacent Bourbon St. Various blocks expose visitors to some of the city’s finest Caribbean-style architecture.

Planning Tip: The sectioned-off area that’s chockablock with street performers becomes pedestrian-only in the middle of the day.

4. Groove to the music at Louis Armstrong Park

Usually just called “Armstrong Park” by locals, this park, adjacent to the Tremé and French Quarter, was once the site of Congo Square, the place where enslaved African were allowed to perform their old-world music.

Those performances laid the foundation for the development of all the sonic genres New Orleans helped give the world. Today the park is home to sculptures and walkways and often hosts free festivals and concerts throughout the year.

5. Get artsy at Sydney and Wanda Besthoff Sculpture Garden

Some 90 sculptures by world-renowned artists pepper a series of shady walking trails, which web over two lagoons and through a living forest of magnolia trees and live oaks. The Besthoff Sculpture Garden is a beloved gem and fixture of the local arts scene, representing one of the city’s best marriages of public art and outdoors activity. It’s free to visit and open every day.

6. Be mesmerized by stunning St Charles Ave

Few people can cross the length of St Charles Ave without having to pick their jaws up off of the floor. This is classic overgrown, lush, fecund New Orleans: a wide avenue, cut through by a charming streetcar and flanked on either side by enormous live oaks and some of the South’s most stately mansions.

Planning tip: OK, it’s not free. But at just $3 for an all-day pass, riding the streetcar is very good value.

7. Soak up the atmosphere in Jackson Square

The beating heart of the French Quarter, Jackson Square fronts the gorgeous St Louis Cathedral, perhaps the most iconic building in New Orleans, plus the historic Pontalba apartment buildings, the Cabildo, a state history museum, and the Presbytère – a museum dedicated to Mardi Gras and Hurricane Katrina.

Planning tip: This pedestrian-only area is constantly (like, 24/7) filled with street performers, tarot-card readers, artists and general nonstop pageantry, so it will be buzzing whenever you stop by.

8. Browse the creations at Palace Market

On Frenchmen Street – itself a notable gratis attraction – you’ll find this art market, a sort of bizarre bazaar starring some of the city’s funkiest creatives. “Art market” is a broad brush, and in this case includes weird T-shirts, idiosyncratic crafts, handmade jewelry and the occasional jacket detailing/bedazzling.

Planning tip: If you can’t find what you’re looking for at Palace Market, head next door to the similar, just-a-skooch-smaller Art Garden.

9. Join a second line

A second line is a New Orleans street parade, led by a local brass band and followed by hundreds of citizens carrying on because life is short, so why not listen to some good music?

While weddings and even conventions throw small second lines, the real-deal parades that occur in Tremé and Central City – both largely Black neighborhoods – have deep community significance.

Planning tip: Second lines generally occur on Sundays outside of summer; local radio station WWOZ has online schedules.

10. Tour St Augustine Church

St Augustine is the oldest Black Catholic church in the country and occupies a lovely tree-lined corner of the Treme neighborhood – and a vitally important position in Black American history. It’s the site of the Tomb of the Unknown Slave, a moving sculpture, and the congregation explicitly preaches for civil rights and social justice.

11. Enjoy views of the Mississippi River at Crescent Park

Many visitors to New Orleans are surprised at how tough it can be to spot the Mississippi River, given that said river is so integral to the city’s identity. But you’ll have no such trouble at Crescent Park, which runs alongside the banks of the famed river adjacent to the candy-colored charm of neighborhoods like Faubourg Marigny and Bywater.

12. Stroll New Orleans’ (in)famous Bourbon St

Bourbon St is a multi-block procession of neon, bars, strip clubs, bachelor/ette parties, drinks the color of a Lisa Frank binder and bad decisions. At least, that’s Bourbon closer to Canal St. The other side of Bourbon is a little more low-key, aimed at LGBTQIA+ travelers around St Philip St and turning residential as it approaches Esplanade Ave.

13. Pop in to the live music clubs on Frenchmen Street

While Frenchmen can feel as busy as Bourbon on the weekends, it’s still well worth a visit; this is the best concentration of live music clubs in the city. Stroll around after 6pm on any given evening and you’ll hear music somewhere that will inevitably pull you in, even during the week.

14. Check out free concerts

The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation puts on several free festivals and concerts throughout the year. The music department at the University of New Orleans also has a lineup of shows that are free and open to the public.

Planning tip: Be aware that musical acts on the street and in the bars aren’t really free. Locals pride themselves on being good tippers, and if a tip hat or jar gets passed around, you should always kick in some money.

15. Relax by the Bayou St John

Once an actual bayou (a body of very slow-moving water), Bayou St John used to form a natural watery highway throughout the marshy membrane of historic New Orleans. Now it’s a pretty body of water plunked directly in the middle of the city and surrounded by small grassy walkways – a pleasant natural cooling agent on hot days, of which there are many….

16. Check out the Arts Market of New Orleans

The Arts Council of New Orleans puts on this excellent juried arts market twice monthly: at City Park on the second Saturday of the month and at Marsalis Harmony Park (formerly Palmer Park), located just off of Carrollton Ave, on the fourth. It showcases some of the city’s local creative talent, as well as kid-friendly music and activities.

17. Explore the French-Creole mansions on Esplanade Ave

Most visitors to New Orleans have heard of Bourbon St, and St Charles Ave is at least world-famous in photos, but it’s the rare tourist who mentions Esplanade Ave. That’s telling, because this is an absolutely stunning street, lined with French-Creole style mansions and cut through by a bicycle lane that extends all the way from the French Quarter to the fields of City Park.

18. Embrace your Southern Gothic side at Lafayette Cemetery No. 1

New Orleans is famed for its necropolis-style cemeteries, filled with raised mausoleums that keep the corpses from washing away during the city’s fabled rainstorms. Lafayette, located in the Garden District and packed with creeping vines, gnarled tree roots and faded statuary, is one of the most pathos-drenched examples of the local Gothic-cemetery genre.

Planning tip: The cemetery is currently closed to the public while repairs and improvements are being made. Call or visit the website to check for details.

19. Window-shop and people-watch on Magazine St

If you like shopping, historic buildings or both, take a walk down Magazine St. The roughly 6 miles of city blocks offer up the best shops, galleries, restaurants and bars in New Orleans. It’s popular with all ages; some blocks seem to cater more towards students, while others are aimed at families.

20. Go green at Audubon Park

Although Audubon is smaller than City Park, it’s also filled with live oaks and Spanish moss and flanked by some of the city’s most impressive mansions and handsome neighborhoods.