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Ambuluwawa Tower
The pavlova comes crowned with jewel-like fruit.
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Hesperus Mountain.
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U.S. Air Force Capt. Samuel “RaZZ” Larson, F-22 Raptor Demonstration Team commander, passes over the flight line at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia, July 9, 2024
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All the United States North Carolina

The Atlas Obscura Guide To North Carolina

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

Updated May 6, 2025

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Cities

Top Cities
Helen’s Bridge
Asheville
Cloud Chamber for the Trees and Sky
Raleigh
Paths wind through the rose bushes.
Charlotte
Regular fireflies. Just use your imagination.
Hendersonville
Duke Lemur Center
Durham
A crystal skull.
Wilmington
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. Maggie Valley
  17. Manteo
  18. Morrisville
  19. Mount Airy
  20. New Bern
  21. Ocracoke
  22. Raleigh
  23. Sanford
  24. Supply
  25. Sylva
  26. Wilmington
  27. Winston Salem
Attractions
Food & Drink
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Unusual Attractions in North Carolina

Cryptozoology & Paranomal Museum in Littleton.

Littleton, North Carolina

Cryptozoology & Paranormal Museum

Bigfoot prints, Feejee mermaids, and haunted dolls on display in a tiny North Carolina town.
Regular fireflies. Just use your imagination.

Hendersonville, North Carolina

Blue Ghost Fireflies

These eerie outliers of the lightning bug family glow a mysterious blue color.
Tunnel at the end of the road.

Bryson City, North Carolina

The Road to Nowhere

This road in the Great Smoky Mountains was supposed to assuage a displaced community, but ended up a $52 million dead end.
Cloud Chamber for the Trees and Sky

Raleigh, North Carolina

Cloud Chamber for the Trees and Sky

This woodland architectural installation acts as a camera obscura for the heavens.
Abandoned Henry River Mill Village

Hildebran, North Carolina

Abandoned Henry River Mill Village

An abandoned village that doubled as "The Hunger Games"' post-apocalyptic wasteland is up for grabs.
Castle Mont Rouge

Rougemont, North Carolina

Castle Mont Rouge

A sculptor's dream castle turned fantastical ruin.
Helen’s Bridge

Asheville, North Carolina

Helen's Bridge

This bridge is haunted by the ghost of a distraught mother.
Trail at Craggy.

Black Mountain, North Carolina

Craggy Gardens Rhododendron Tunnels

Gnarled canopies of pink and purple wildflowers arch over the trail to the summit.
See All 203 Things To Do in North Carolina

Cool Places to Eat & Drink in North Carolina

Under the trellis of perhaps the oldest grape vine in North America.

Manteo, North Carolina

The Mother Vine

Perhaps the oldest vine in North America, this sprawling plant helps make a sweet wine.

Asheville, North Carolina

The Odd

A 17th-century bezoar, dirt from an infamous site, and other curios decorate this unusual bar.
The World’s Largest Frying Pan is found inside this gazebo in Rose Hill, N.C.

Rose Hill, North Carolina

The World's Largest Operational Frying Pan

The 15-foot-wide, 2-ton pan fries hundreds of chickens once a year.

Mount Airy, North Carolina

Scoops Ice Cream & Such

Follow the path behind this treat-slinging camper van to a sculpture garden in the forest.
See all 11 Places to Eat in North Carolina
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Unforgettable Experiences Nearby

Atlas Obscura Itineraries

The Explorer’s Guide to Road Tripping Around Appalachia

The world still doesn’t quite know what to make of Appalachia. The mountainous, multi-state region has long been defined both by mystery and misconceptions. In many ways, it’s been America’s shadow since the nation’s birth. Early settlers fretted about American Indian tribes, dark hollows, and looming wilderness in the 1600s and 1700s, while modern folks tend to worry more about the environmental degradation and concentration of Trump voters. Yet, Appalachia is much like America as a whole—it sprawls from south to north across several states, spawning local cultures marked as much by their diversity and differences than what they have in common. And these mountains are old. Rocks formed during the Precambrian era have been found in some places. Parts of the Appalachian Mountains are thought to be even older than Saturn’s rings, and millennia of erosion have given rise to one of the richest temperate ecosystems in the world. This diverse bioregion has become home to a melting pot of culture. Archaeological findings indicate that American Indian tribes inhabited the region 20,000 years ago. The first Europeans arrived in the 1500s, when Spanish conquistadors ventured up from what is now Florida. English and French settlers followed, establishing a general pattern that continues into the present: Newcomers bring their cultural traditions into the region, where they are absorbed into the greater whole.

View Itinerary
Although much of Appalachia’s old-growth forests have been destroyed, those that survive are glorious.

Explore North Carolina

A
203
Museums 24
History 17
Architecture 15
Homes 12
Houses 12
Art 11
Monuments 11
Collections 10
Animals 10
Nature 9
Mountains 9
Architectural Oddities 9
Unique Restaurants & Bars 2

North Carolina Leaderboard

Places Added

  1. meltingknight
    5
  2. hana
    5
  3. amymanikowski
    4
  4. thomasharper
    3
  5. igrohs
    3
Join the Ranks!
Add an unusual place to North Carolina.

Places Edited

  1. blimpcaptain
    27
  2. PushingUpDaisies
    17
  3. mackenzieprice13
    16
  4. Rachel
    15
  5. Martin
    14

Places Visited

  1. dylanjamesyoung
    120
  2. NCObscura
    94
  3. Dr Leia
    84
  4. back2silver
    81
  5. georgefspencer
    76

Recent North Carolina Activity

  • primordialpouch32

    wants to go to Smoky Mountain Elk Fest

    about 11 hours ago
  • hauntedbydeadlines

    wants to go to Cryptozoology & Paranormal Museum

    about 11 hours ago
  • malloryS

    wants to go to Charlotte Hawkins Brown Museum

    about 11 hours ago
  • primordialpouch32

    wants to go to Chimney Rock

    about 10 hours ago
  • hauntedbydeadlines

    wants to go to Museum of the Bizarre

    about 9 hours ago

Stories About North Carolina

The carved message of CROATOAN, likely a note for rescuers, has  also been fodder for supernatural speculation.

The Lingering Mystery of the 'Lost Colony' of Roanoke

From historians to horror writers to white nationalists, attempts to explain the settlement's fate reveal a great deal about our own attitudes.
by Colin Dickey
April 2, 2025
View from the overlook on Kuwohi of the mountain peaks and ridges of Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

The Tallest of the Great Smoky Mountains Is—Officially—Kuwohi

The return of the Indigenous name of Tennessee’s highest point has meaning beyond what’s on a map.
by Seth T. Kannarr and Derek H. Alderman
November 4, 2024

Who Were the Mysterious Moon-Eyed People of Appalachia?

Tales of strange, nocturnal people haunt the region—and so do theories about who they were, from a lost Welsh "tribe" to aliens.
by Hadley Meares
October 22, 2024
A school of grunts on a sunken World War II German submarine in the Atlantic Ocean off North Carolina.

From Shark 'Rest Stops' to Living Reefs, Shipwrecks Teem With Life

When vessels such as the WWII tanker E.M. Clark sink, they begin a second life as habitat for a diverse ecosystem.
by Avery Paxton
January 15, 2024
After a 1906 killing, a half-century battle followed.

A Murderous Gravestone Grudge Carved a New Law Into Stone

When murder won’t rest in peace.
by Max Longley
January 11, 2024
An aerial view of the Biltmore’s grounds and gardens.

10 Reasons to Visit Asheville During the Week

Savoring the city’s cultural and culinary offerings with more room to explore.
Sponsored by Explore Asheville

Podcast: The Fugitive Train Wreck

Near the remains of a famed movie scene, an older, true story of injustice.
by The Podcast Team
May 18, 2023

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

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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