Awesome Facts About North Carolina You Probably Didn’t Know!

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Fun Facts about North Carolina You Probably Didn’t Know

After 2 years of living in Raleigh, North Carolina, I have learned so many cool facts about this state that really blew my mind! Therefore, I, of caourse, must share all these awesome facts with you, because, North Carolina is in fact a really cool state!

Mount Mitchell Overlook with Me and Marley
Top of Mt. Mitchell

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1. Tallest Sand Dune on the East Coast

Did you know you could find the tallest living sand dune in North Carolina? Well, east of the Mississippi. It is called Jockeys Ridge and is located in the Outer Banks! The sand dunes can reach 60 ft. tall.

Jockeys Ridge in the Outer Banks
Jockey’s Ridge Sand Dunes

2. First in Flight

As a traveler, one of my favorite North Carolina facts is that we were first in flight. Kitty Hawk, also located in the Outer Banks, is where the Wrights Brothers were first to fly a plane. Now the “First in Flight” North Carolina License plate makes sense!

3. Highest Mountain Peak on the East Coast

North Carolina is home to the highest peak east of the Mississippi. You can drive to the top of Mt. Mitchell and enjoy panoramic views at 6,684 ft. It is known as one of the best stops on the Blue Ridge Parkways.

Boone NC mountains are a must visit in a weekend
Boone, NC in Fall

4. Highest Ski Mountain

Looking to hit the slopes? North Carolina is also known to have the highest ski slope on the North East. Located in Western North Carolina, Beech Mountain Ski Slope is 5,505 ft.

Roan Mountain in Winter
Roan Mountain in Winter

5. The largest Private Estate in the USA

Located in Asheville, you can explore the Biltmore Estate and massive gardens. The Biltmore was built for the Vanderbilt family, and getting tickets ahead of time will help you get a better price. The grounds are dog-friendly, however, dogs are not allowed in the house.

Biltmore Estate in Asheville NC
Biltmore Estate

6. Home to Pepsi

North Carolina is where one of the most famous soft drinks was born; Pepsi.

7. Home to Krispy Kreme Donuts

Krispy Kreme Donuts was also born in the tar heel state! Therefore, you will find shops all over the state!

8. Largest Producer of Sweet Potatoes

North Carolina is the largest producer of sweet potatoes, yummm! So, when you buy sweet potatoes in NC, know it likely came from a local farm.

9. Inventor of Mini-Golf

Mini-golf/putt-putt golf was said to be started in North Carolina.

10. North Carolina Christmas Trees

NC is one of the top-producing states of Christmas Trees out in Ashe County. You can even visit Christmas Tree farms and cut your own tree.

11. NC Black Bears

The largest concentration of black bears in the southeastern United States is in North Carolina. They are also known as some of the largest Black Bears and can be found on NC’s coastal plains.

12. North Carolina Has Wild Horses

Wild Horses can be found on the Outer Banks in Corolla. These wild Colonial Spanish Mustangs have been living there for 500 years!

13. Oldest Public Univerity

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill claims to be the oldest public university in the USA.

Chapel hill NC wearing travel outfit lulus maxi dress
Lulu Maxi Dress

14. America’s Longest Linear Parkway

The Blue Ridge Parkway is America’s longest linear park running through Virginia and, you guessed it, North Carolina!

Beacon Hike on Grandfather Mountain in Boone during fall in NC weekend
Beacon Trail on Grandfather Mountain

15. North Carolina BBQ

Another fun fact about North Carolina is that we have some of the best Barbeque Cities in the America!

16. Smithsonian of the South

Raleigh, the capital of North Carolina has been dubbed the Smithsonian of the South. This is because they have many free museums you can visit. In fact, it is one of the best things to do in Downtown Raleigh!


Facts about North Carolina: Wrap-up

As you can see, North Carolina indeed has some pretty cool facts! If I missed any of your favorite facts about the Tar-Heel state, let me know in the comments below!

Enjoy this post on fun facts about North Carolina? If so, I’d so appreciate it if you could share it below!

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Sam Opp

Sam Opp is a New Yorker based in Raleigh, NC. She is a travel writer and content creator who loves traveling, photography, coffee, and pizza. When she's not traveling, you can find her cuddling with her pup, Marley

13 thoughts on “Awesome Facts About North Carolina You Probably Didn’t Know!”

  1. I don’t know why but I love reading facts about other countries! It always makes me curious to see more of the country. I didn’t know Pepsi was founded in NC!

    Reply
  2. Great post! I live in Florida now so I’m just close enough to make a visit easy… but I haven’t been yet! Awesome advice 🙂 thanks for sharing!

    Reply
  3. This is awesome Sam! I didn’t know that the tallest peak is in NC. I also didn’t know the tallest ski slope was in NC too, for some reason, I thought it was in Vermont. I learned a lot of new things from this blog post. 🙂

    Reply
  4. Very interesting. I’m from Georgia and UGA (where I went to school) also claims to be the oldest university in the USA. I didn’t know that other schools also had the same claim. It looks like there are 3!

    Reply
  5. I live in Charlotte, NC and didn’t even know some of these facts! I just learned that Mt Mitchel is the tallest peak east of the Mississippi though! I was able to visit last month! Such a cool fun fact! Love this so much!

    Reply

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