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The Atlas Obscura Guide To North Carolina

167 Cool, Hidden, and Unusual Things to Do in North Carolina

Updated January 27, 2023

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Cities

Top Cities
All Cities
  1. Asheville
  2. Beaufort
  3. Brevard
  4. Bryson City
  5. Burnsville
  6. Charlotte
  7. Cherokee
  8. Corolla
  9. Durham
  10. Greensboro
  11. Hatteras
  12. Hendersonville
  13. High Point
  14. Hillsborough
  15. Hot Springs
  16. Manteo
  17. Mount Airy
  18. New Bern
  19. Ocracoke
  20. Raleigh
  21. Rose Hill
  22. Sanford
  23. Supply
  24. Sylva
  25. Wilmington
  26. Winston Salem

Unusual Attractions in North Carolina

See All 167 Things To Do in North Carolina

Cool Places to Eat & Drink in North Carolina

See all 9 Places to Eat in North Carolina
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Guided Tours of North Carolina

Atlas Obscura Itineraries

Asheville: Off the Beaten Path

With bustling food, music, and brewery scenes, Asheville has plenty of attractions—but stick to the downtown area alone, and you’re missing half the fun, at least. Surrounded by national forests, hideaway mountain towns, quirky arts centers, and more, some of Asheville's best spots lie beyond the downtown area. This itinerary will help you navigate America’s weirdest little mountain town like a local as you scale mountaintops, watch artisans at work, ride century-old trolley cars, and get fake-married at a real-live punk bar. Welcome to Asheville.

View Itinerary

Explore North Carolina

History 16
Museums And Collections 15
Homes 12
Art 12
Houses 11
Monuments 11
Architectural Oddities 10
Animals 10

North Carolina Leaderboard

Recent North Carolina Activity

Stories About North Carolina

What’s Inside the New Gastro Obscura Vending Machine?

The second iteration is filled with rare and unexpected treats from the American South.
Sponsored by Partners of Travel South

Podcast: Shipwrecked Doritos

Join us for a daily celebration of the world’s most wondrous, unexpected, even strange places.
by The Podcast Team

Meet the Appalachian Apple Hunter Who Rescued 1,000 'Lost' Varieties

Tom Brown's retirement hobby is a godsend for chefs, conservationists, and cider.
by Eric J. Wallace

The Radical Act of Opening a Brewery as a Native American

Many associate beer and spirits with disease and colonialism.
by Eric J. Wallace

A North Carolina Artist’s Search for a Lost Sound Uncovered a Dark History

Freeman Vines honors a lost Black life with his ‘Hanging Tree Guitars.’
by Winnie Lee

The Rise and Fall of North Carolina's National Hollerin' Contest

Hollers are sort of like the yodels of the American South.
by Emily Cataneo

Scientists Need Your Sourdough to Solve a Microbial Mystery

For North Carolina researchers, every starter is more data.
by Hannah Thomasy

The Carolinas' Mysterious Great White Shark Cluster Is Not Mysterious, Not a Cluster

They're just doing what sharks do.
by Sabrina Imbler

Lists Featuring North Carolina

Rats of Karni Mata Temple
Paxton Gate Exterior
Albino Squirrels of Olney, Illinois

A Rat Lover's Tour of the World

15 places where rodents are celebrated, feared, preserved, and studied.

15

Including Karni Mata Temple, Nutty Narrows Bridge, and Paxton Gate

Original letter of Abraham, the son of Maimonides found in the Cairo genizah.
A sculpture of the Tower of Babel, by Alan Baughman, from the Introductory Room of the Museum of the Alphabet
Boontling word of the week in the tap room of the Anderson Valley Brewing Company.

A Linguistics Lover's Tour of the World

12 places to marvel at the history of human language.

12

Including The Cairo Genizah , The Museum of the Alphabet , and Boontling Language of Boonville

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