Weekend Road Trips from Charlotte

Charlotte is in a great location in North Carolina for weekend road trips. Within a few hours you can be at the coast, the mountains or a lake! Here are some of my favorite trips!

WILMINGTON

If you want to head to the coast without the 6 hour drive to the Outer Banks, Wilmington is a great option as it’s only 3.5 hours from Charlotte. Wilmington is full of history and nature. For history you can tour the Battleship North Carolina or wander the historic mansion district. Nature is abundant with the Cape Fear River running through downtown and Carolina Beach just a short drive away. There are plenty of places to stay - in downtown or at the beach. There are lots of hotels to pick from but we chose this Airbnb. You could easily walk to anything downtown and we were a 15 minute drive to the beach. We had a great meal at the Fork & Cork and fell in love with the beer at Flytrap Brewing. For more details, you can read my blog post about our weekend in Wilmington.

ASHEVILLE

The first mountain town we visited after moving to Charlotte was Asheville. We had been there for my birthday prior to moving and we couldn’t wait to go back. When a place is called ‘Beer City’ and it’s surrounded by mountains, who wouldn’t want to? Asheville is just over a two hour drive from Charlotte. There are a few areas of Asheville you can choose to stay in but the most popular are either downtown or the Biltmore Village area. Both have plenty of hotel options but Airbnb options are plentiful as well. There are countless breweries to visit but our favorite is the ‘beer campus’ of Sierra Nevada next to the Asheville Airport. My favorite place to eat is White Duck Taco. While they have a couple locations, the most idyllic is in the River Arts District as it sits along the French Broad River (which you can kayak or go tubing on!). When you’re tired of beer you can explore the North Carolina Arboretum or take a short drive to the Craggy Gardens trail along the Blue Ridge Parkway. There is also plenty of shopping to be had at the Asheville Outlet Mall. For more details, you can read my Asheville Travel Guide blog post.

BREVARD

Brevard is another mountain town about 30 minutes from Asheville and 2.5 hours from Charlotte. Brevard is known for its waterfalls and aren’t all difficult to get to. We love wandering around downtown and there are a handful of breweries strewn about the area. Our favorite is Upcountry Brewing (which also has a location in Asheville) and is next to a great restaurant, Magpie Meat & Three. There are a few hotel choices in Brevard, we’ve stayed at the Hampton Inn but also this amazing Airbnb. It’s about a 15 minute drive from Brevard but is in the mountains and so peaceful. You’ll definitely want to spend your days in the Pisgah National Forest. You enter it in Brevard and the road winds through a beautiful forest and past popular waterfalls like Looking Glass Falls. You can also pick up the Blue Ridge Parkway from it to add to the drive. While it’s beautiful in the spring and summer it was epic in the fall when the leaves were at their peak in color. For more details, check out my travel guide on Brevard!

BOONE

Boone is the ultimate mountain town to me in North Carolina. It’s in the mountains and the home of Appalachian State. It’s 2 hours from Charlotte and with it being a college town there are plenty of hotels and vacation rentals. We enjoy staying at the Hampton Inn because it’s very close to our favorite brewery there - Booneshine Brewing. They have a brand new big location and also serve food. There are plenty of other restaurants with all types of cuisine in downtown Boone (we had awesome sushi at Cobo Sushi) and a few other breweries. But the outdoor activities are where it's at. The Blue Ridge Parkway runs through the area and you're a close drive to Grandfather Mountain, Linville Falls and Blowing Rock. In the winter skiing is a popular option at nearby Beech Mountain and Sugar Mountain. The town of Banner Elk sits at the bottom of those mountains and has some restaurants, shops and even a winery to explore. If we were independently wealthy we’d definitely have a cabin in the area. We also like it in the summer as it’s cooler there due to the elevation so we can escape the Charlotte heat.

LAKE JAMES

Nebo is the home to Lake James. It’s an hour and forty-five minutes from Charlotte but feels a lot further away. The mountain/lake combo is always a nice thing, especially in the summer. You won’t find any hotels close to the lake so a vacation rental is your best option (this one is amazing). You can find some good restaurants, bars and grocery stores in nearby Marion (we enjoyed McDowell Local for food and Refinery 13 for drinks) but our favorite spot was Fonta Flora Brewery. It was in Nebo and very close to the lake. Their original spot is in Morganton but this one is on a farm and is super scenic and relaxing. They have a taproom inside but also plenty of picnic tables outside with lots of room to spread out and enjoy the view - and beer. If you stay at the vacation rental I referenced you have access to Camp Lake James. It has a pool and restaurant and options to do some water sports for free. Otherwise you can check out Lake James State Park which has beach and boat access.

LAKE NORMAN

Lake Norman is just north of Charlotte, the closest access is anywhere from a 30-45 minute drive. This makes it our go to lake for day trips as well. We’ve accessed the lake on those day trips from Lake Norman State Park in Troutman or Ramsey Creek Park in Cornelius. Right now there are only vacation rental options if you want to stay ON the lake. We enjoyed this Airbnb in Mooresville. The lake is large so there are several cities all around that you can stay in. For hotel options there are some in Mooresville and Statesville - both about 20 minutes from the state park. The State Park is a favorite of ours because it’s free to access, has a beach area, trails and boat access. If you want to eat on the water, Hello Sailor in Cornelius is a great option. And while the area has several breweries, our favorite is one on the water in Mooresville - King Canary Brewing.

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