Hail to the Queen: Why we’re loving Charlotte now
It’s never a bad time to visit North Carolina’s largest city, but lately, Charlotte is on a roll. From a new pro soccer team and groundbreaking Picasso exhibition to the buzzy Camp North End development, the Queen City seems to have something for everyone.
Every summer, visitors to the Blue Ridge Mountains are treated to this stunning show of color
Called the “King of Shrubs,” the rhododendron loves high altitudes; it’s the national flower of Nepal and a familiar sight in the Southern Appalachians, where blossoms of white, pink, red, and purple paint the tallest slopes in the eastern United States.
Hit the culinary and cultural highlights of Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Chapel Hill, home to the University of North Carolina (UNC), has that elusive blend of qualities that makes for an ideal weekend destination: instantly comfortable yet demanding to be explored.
Bellamy Young on her acting career, the solace of singing, and seeing Asheville through new eyes
Although she now calls New York City home, actress Bellamy Young says she’ll always be a Southern girl at heart.
Highlands, North Carolina’s Main Street is a gathering place for locals and a sweet escape for visitors
Situated on a mountain plateau in western North Carolina, some 4,000 feet above sea level, the four-stoplight town of Highlands is no secluded hamlet. Dubbed the Aspen of the East, it attracts 200,000 visitors a year.
Ask the Expert: An Asheville beer aficionado shares her favorite spots to toast the town
I would start by kayaking on the French Broad River downtown with a six-pack of Asheville Brewing Company’s Perfect Day IPA. Then I’d go to South Slope, our unofficial brewery district with eleven breweries.
Our Favorite Things: 99 of our top spots in the South
Since Southbound debuted in 2013, our staff and contributors have logged thousands of miles, consumed millions of calories, and taken countless notes and photos to showcase the very best destinations around the region. Although every place we’ve covered is special, some left a particularly powerful impression. Here, we give you the best of the very best, our favorite spots in the South.
Simple pleasures await on a road trip through North Carolina’s Yadkin Valley
Visitors traveling through the valley along US 601 from Yadkinville to Mount Airy will pass vineyards pocketed alongside fields of corn, soybeans, and the occasional chartreuse span of tobacco. They’ll also discover a number of attractions worth a stop, from a popcorn factory to a century-old general store to the childhood home of actor Andy Griffith.
Casino Wars in the Carolinas: Two tribes that have battled for centuries are at odds once again
In North Carolina, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians found a way to take care of their people: In 1997, they opened a casino on their lands. Now South Carolina’s Catawba tribe wants to do the same. But there is a problem.
Lakeside Retreat: Novelist Susan Rebecca White’s highs and lows on a mountain lake in the Smokies
"On that night, under that starlit sky, the sound of the water lapping against the dock, I felt a prescient sense of peace."