Places valadelrio Wants to Go

A 315-foot spire jutting out from the Blue Ridge Mountains makes for breathtaking views.

Traditional Appalachian dances such as the Georgia Rang Tang and the Shoo-Fly Swing are kept alive at this weekly event.

This shifting North Carolina sand dune is an odd little desert surrounded by oceanic forest life.

This ceremonial mound is one of the first officially recognized Native American historical sites in North Carolina.

A mountaintop space observatory that is certified dark.

Follow the path behind this treat-slinging camper van to a sculpture garden in the forest.

This roadside attraction has been serving out its fair share of hearty folklore and chaos since 1858.

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

This granite rock face is named for the magnificent reflection that occurs when the sun hits it just right.

This stunning home looks like it belongs in medieval Europe, not North Carolina.

Some North Carolina Cherokee have been keeping their history alive for decades with a single play.

A wonderful display of arts and crafts handmade by local artisans in the Southern Appalachians.

This Transylvania County city is home to a rare white squirrel population that is descended from an escaped carnival animal.

A mailbox that saved a nature reserve.

These strange large stones served as a campsite and lookout post for generations of Native Americans.

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

A wedding chapel, vintage clothing shop, and bar all under one roof.

This rare basilica nestled right in downtown Asheville is an architectural marvel, inside and out.

The highest point in North Carolina and the United States east of the Mississippi River, Mount Mitchell is named after argumentative explorer Elisha Mitchell.

A retired tobacco farmer's pet project turned into a sturdy miniature city.

This scented city oasis was a labor of love.

This vast kitty-themed collection illustrates the history of human-cat interaction.

One of the best places to see wild Colonial Spanish Mustangs in the United States.

North Carolina's finest examples of Native American pictographs have survived for 5,000 years.