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Mountains vs. Beach

cinco

By cinco
in North Carolina

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cinco Burg

cinco

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as a citizen of the piedmont area in north carolina, we are privliged to be in such close proximity to both geographical havens. so, when it comes vacation time where do you go? or where would you rather go? what do you like to do while there? yeah, they're both amazing... but what's your preference?

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NCMike1981 Burg

NCMike1981

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Well it depends, usually in the summer I yearn for the beach although there are times when it's really hot out that I'd prefer the mountains since it's usually cooler up there with less humidity. I tend to miss the mountains in the spring when everything is in bloom but on some warm days I feel like walking along the beach although the water temp is too cool for swimming. Fall has to be mountains, hands down. In the winter I tend to prefer the mountains as well, in hopes of seeing snow.

Alot of times in either place I do the tourist shops thing, if I'm in a decent sized town I'll "do as the natives do" and eat at local places, shop at the mall if it's rainy, stuff like that. If I'm in the mountains, well aside from being in Asheville, you'll find me on the Blue Ridge Parkway or exploring the tiny mountain towns. At the beach I'm probably on the beach or in the ocean...

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MR-2 Hamlet

MR-2

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I quite like the Pisgah Ranger District, and Shining Rock Wilderness in the mountains. I haven't been to most of the stuff there though. I've seen nothing in Nantahala National Forest and the Smokies so far.

The foothills are very interesting too. They extend pretty far into the piedmont, so they get a great view of the flatlands, and the Blue Ridge off in the distance. The Sauratown and the Brushy Mountains have really good hikes.

I've seen more of the beach, and I have to admit, most of it looks the same. The natural beaches like Bear Island and Shackleford Banks are especially great, because the shells and critters aren't cleaned off of them. Ocracoke is incredible too, both the island and the town.

Yin and Yang.... beach and mountains. Maybe the topography in the center of the state could be a bit more interesting, but at least everything is within a day's drive.

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Lithuania Unincorporated Area

Lithuania

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DanRNC - Oriental is cool little town, is it not? A fine gentleman that I used to work with owns the house that looks like it has been pieced together over time (which it has).

Oriential is one of those great little towns that nobody knows about, and the natives seem to want it to stay that way.

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cinco Burg

cinco

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DanRNC - Oriental is cool little town, is it not? A fine gentleman that I used to work with owns the house that looks like it has been pieced together over time (which it has).

Oriential is one of those great little towns that nobody knows about, and the natives seem to want it to stay that way.

i just went to oriental (first weekend in may) for a wedding, and it was beautiful. however, i am more of a mountain man, myself. something about NC's ancient hills that beckons my soul. IMO, both mountains and beach are both great... but i've always had a theory that when it all gets down to brass tacks - your either a mountain person or beach person.... don't even get me started about my other theory - that you either a bird spirit or horse spirit. :)

anyways, 2 of my favorite spots in NC cover both:

bear island, on the coast near jacksonville. (you can camp there)

and

joyce kilmer national forest, in the mountains not too far from murphy, nc. (u can camp)

i have heard that this is the oldest virgin forest in the nation... can that be?

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ERJ170 Whistle-Stop

ERJ170

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So here is a question...

Should there be intra-Carolina flights available from RDU and GSO? CLT sort of has them on US but they are expensive..

Do you think people would want to fly to the Outer Banks if the airport can be brought to the correct category for scheduled flights?

Would RDU/GSO-EWN/ILM/MQI (Outer Banks)/FAY/AVL/CHS/CAE/MYR/GSP/PGV flights work?

How about RDU/GSO-ORF/ROA/RIC?

Would some other flights work like AVL-MYR or ORF-CHS or EWN-MQI or ILM-ROA.. do you think some of these would help make NC more accessable or more tourist friendly? Would they provide easier access to the mountains or the beach instead of driving the 3, 4, 5, or 7 hours depending on where you are going from?

Just wondering.. any thought would be encouraging..

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triadcat Whistle-Stop

triadcat

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I quite like the Pisgah Ranger District, and Shining Rock Wilderness in the mountains. I haven't been to most of the stuff there though. I've seen nothing in Nantahala National Forest and the Smokies so far.

The foothills are very interesting too. They extend pretty far into the piedmont, so they get a great view of the flatlands, and the Blue Ridge off in the distance. The Sauratown and the Brushy Mountains have really good hikes.

I've seen more of the beach, and I have to admit, most of it looks the same. The natural beaches like Bear Island and Shackleford Banks are especially great, because the shells and critters aren't cleaned off of them. Ocracoke is incredible too, both the island and the town.

Yin and Yang.... beach and mountains. Maybe the topography in the center of the state could be a bit more interesting, but at least everything is within a day's drive.

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cinco Burg

cinco

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i'm glad this thread got bumped... a few weeks back i did something i've often wanted to do. i took my camping gear and went to carolina beach state park and stayed for 2 nights then drove directly to linville gorge and stayed a night.

the day i left the beach i swam in the atlantic ocean - that afternoon i took a dip in the toe river @ carolina hemlock state park in the mountains. that night while i was camping in linville i fell asleep during a thunderstorm.... i felt very complete.

obviously the night air of the mountains was incredible compared to the beach - which was a little stiffling... so, i slept better in the mountains. which causes me to think that my bias towards the mountains might be one of pure environment rather than what i actually do there... i.e. shopping, dining, going out... etc.

of course, even still i prefer the mountains... it's just a little more attuned to my way of life. but, i enjoy both immensely.

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Spatula Whistle-Stop

Spatula

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I remember backpacking in the pisgah ranger district in heavy rain, and there was a point where the uphills were so steep, I just wanted to destroy the mountains and never have to hike up them again. We got the tallest, most rugged chunk of mountains on the east coast.

The beaches at Fort Fisher and Ocracoke are especially good. Wrightsville, Hammocks Beach, Topsail, and a few other places also have really good flat shorelines with lots of room to swim. The water's warm, clean, and there isn't trash all over the place. Jockey's ridge, the capes, the sounds, and the abundance of carolina bays (the round natural lakes all over the coastal plain) are also pretty interesting.

It's a tough one.

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Spartan Gigalopolis

Spartan

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So here is a question...

Should there be intra-Carolina flights available from RDU and GSO? CLT sort of has them on US but they are expensive..

Do you think people would want to fly to the Outer Banks if the airport can be brought to the correct category for scheduled flights?

Would RDU/GSO-EWN/ILM/MQI (Outer Banks)/FAY/AVL/CHS/CAE/MYR/GSP/PGV flights work?

How about RDU/GSO-ORF/ROA/RIC?

Would some other flights work like AVL-MYR or ORF-CHS or EWN-MQI or ILM-ROA.. do you think some of these would help make NC more accessable or more tourist friendly? Would they provide easier access to the mountains or the beach instead of driving the 3, 4, 5, or 7 hours depending on where you are going from?

Just wondering.. any thought would be encouraging..

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  • 3 weeks later...
tommy Crossroads

tommy

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as a citizen of the piedmont area in north carolina, we are privliged to be in such close proximity to both geographical havens. so, when it comes vacation time where do you go? or where would you rather go? what do you like to do while there? yeah, they're both amazing... but what's your preference?
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