State parks & reserves

Louise Wells Cameron Art Museum
The Cameron Art Museum provides a cultural gathering place for all ages, featuring changing exhibitions of art; dynamic public programs in all media (lectures, music, films, literature, dance); monthly family and children's programs; a unique program of tours for Alzheimers patients; workshops and classes in ceramics at the Clay Studio, as well as weekly classes in Tai Chi and Yoga. Located on a Civil War historic site, the museum is surrounded by woodlands, nature trails, and a growing public art park. The museum gift shop includes unique, artist-made items in ceramic, glass, textiles, wood, and metal.

Morrow Mountain State Park
Morrow Mountain State Park was opened to the public in the summer of 1939 and is under the Department of Environment and Natural Resources. Early development of park property was a cooperative effort between state and federal governments. Work crews of the Civilian Conservation Corps and the Work Projects Administration constructed many of the facilities from 1937 to 1942. Additional facilities were added with state funds in the 1950s and 1960s. Today, the park covers 4,742 acres. The Park includes a museum with exhibits about Native Americans, plant and animal communities, early explorers, and rocks and minerals. The Park also interprets the homestead of a 19th-century doctor, Dr. Francis Kron, the first physician in the area. His home, doctor's office and infirmary, and greenhouse were reconstructed in the 1960s and appear today much as they did in 1870.

Mount Mitchell State Park
Mount Mitchell State Park, established in 1915, was the first state park in North Carolina. At an elevation of 6684 feet, Mount Mitchell is the highest peak east of the Mississippi River and is named for the UNC professor who first measured it and designated it as such in 1839, Dr. Elisha Mitchell. The park celebrates its cultural heritage and its natural history in an exhibit hall near the mountain's summit. Rangers conduct educational programs for children and adults of all ages, and visitors can enjoy a variety of outdoor experiences including picnicking, hiking, camping, and riding at various sections of the park.

UNC-Asheville
Special Collections and University Archives
The Special Collections and University Archives in Ramsey Library at the University of North Carolin at Asheville has as its primary mission to provide resources and instruction for the undergraduate program in the liberal arts at the university. In support of this mission it collects the archives of the University, rare books, manuscripts, photographs, and audio tapes documenting local history and culture, relevant realia, memorabilia, and ephemera, as well as senior papers in history and literature. Some collections of note include a run of John Martin's Book, a magazine for children; rare land plats from North Carolina, Virginia, and Pennsylvania; drawings from the Tryon Toymakers; photographs and diaries of western North Carolina photographer R. Henry Scadin; the Howard H. Peckham Collection of first-hand accounts of World War I; and the archive for the Council on Undergraduate research. Many holdings are available in digital form on the department's website.

North Carolina Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores
The North Carolina Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores is one of three state Aquariums run by the North Carolina Aquariums Division, part of the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources. Located in the Theodore Roosevelt Natural Area, the Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores was built in 1976. After a massive expansion project, the Aquarium tripled in size and reopened in 2006. Aquarium exhibits center on the theme of "North Carolina from the mountains to the sea." The Aquarium also offers outdoor educational activities.

Highlands Nature Center
The Highlands Nature Center seeks to inform the public about the biodiversity of the Southern Appalachians and to display artifacts native to the region for the education and enjoyment of their visitors.

Cliffs of the Neuse State Park
Museum
The museum at Cliffs of the Neuse State Park is located near the northern end of the cliffs. Creative dioramas and audio-visuals depict the geology and the natural history of the area. The museum seeks to educate visitors to the park about the natural diversity and history of the cliffs and Neuse River and to encourage good stewardship of these and the rest of North Carolina's natural resources.

Weymouth Woods Sandhills Nature Preserve
Museum
Weymouth Woods Sandhills Nature Preserve serves the public as a natural area showcasing the unique heritage, topography, flora, and fauna of the Sandhills Region - the longleaf pine forest and rare and endangered species such as the red-cockaded woodpecker, the pine barrens tree frog, the bog spicebush, and the fox squirrel. The museum and research center at the park highlight the area's natural resources, park preservation efforts, and the role of fire in maintaining the Sandhills' delicate ecosystem.

Fort Fisher State Recreation Area
Visitors Center
The Fort Fisher State Recreation Area's Visitor Center Collection includes loggerhead and other turtle shells, seashells, taxidermy mounts of native ducks and other birds, and a variety of other natural history and science specimens. This growing collection is housed and exhibited in the visitor center classroom.

Tuttle Educational State Forest
Tuttle Educational State Forest, part of the Educational State Forest System in the North Carolina Division of Forest Resources, is designed to teach the public about the forest environment. Forest rangers conduct classes and guide tours especially created for schoolchildren to learn more about soil, water, wildlife, timber and forest management. Exhibits, the "talking tree" trail, and forest management demonstration areas help visitors learn more about the forest.

William B. Umstead State Park
William B. Umstead State Park is tucked between the growing cities of Raleigh, Cary, Durham and the corporate world of Research Triangle Park. It is an oasis of tranquility, a peaceful haven where highways fade in the distance as trees, flowers, birds and streams form a more natural community. The Visitor Center at the park features a large exhibit area interpreting the history of the park, the people and families who once inhabited the park area, and the natural history of the region.

Crowders Mountain State Park
Crowders Mountain is a registered natural heritage area that features sheer vertical cliffs ranging from 100 to 150 feet in height. Kings Pinnacle, by contrast, has a round, gentle profile and reaches an elevation of 1,705 feet. Crowders Mountain State Park encompasses both these peaks, remnants of the ancient Appalachian mountain range, and seeks to preserve them and the surrounding countryside for the education and enjoyment of the public. Holdings at the park include materials for educational and natural science programs and an exhibit hall that highlights the natural history, geology, and cultural history of the area. The cultural history areas highlight the All Healing Springs Health and Pleasure Resort and Linwood College (formerly Jones Seminary), which were located on today's park property. Information is also included about Lincoln Academy, a school for underprivileged Black students, that was located on land adjacent to the park.

Lake Waccamaw State Park
Lake Waccamaw State Park, under the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, protects North Carolina's natural diversity, provides and promotes outdoor recreation opportunities, and encourages good stewardship of natural resources through educational programs. The educational mission of Lake Waccamaw State Park is supported by an interactive exhibit hall that focuses on local ecology, while the history and significance of Lake Waccamaw is depicted in informative displays throughout the visitor center.

Jockey's Ridge State Park
Jockey's Ridge is the tallest natural sand dune system in the eastern United States. It is an example of a medano-a huge hill of shifting sand that lacks vegetation. Long before the first European settlers, the Algonquian Indians inhabited the Outer Banks. Following its sighting by Spanish and French explorers, the ridge became an important landmark for mariners. Jockey's Ridge, which was in danger of being compromised by commercial development, was declared a National Natural Landmark in 1974 and became a State Park in 1975. Visitors to this park can enjoy nature trails, educational programs, a museum that interprets the natural and cultural history of the site, and recreational activities including hang gliding.

Dismal Swamp Canal Visitor Center
The Dismal Swamp Canal Visitor Center is the first visitor center built off an interstate in North Carolina and the only such facility in the country greeting visitors by both a major highway and historic waterway. The Dismal Swamp Canal, the oldest man-made waterway in the United States still in use today, began construction in 1784 and was completed in 1805. Improvements have been made continually over the years. The canal is part of the Atlantic Inter-coastal Waterway, uses a system of locks to assist navigation, is on the National Register of Historic Places, and has been designated a National Civil Engineering Landmark. The Dismal Swamp Canal Visitor Center provides educational material and programs celebrating the canal's history and significance as well as serving as a state Welcome Center and regional tourism information hub.

Fort Macon State Park
Fort Macon interprets and preserves the history of this structure. Displayed throughout the fort is the history of the site and its military role from the pre-Civil War era through World War II. Exhibits include the hot shot furnace in the fort yard, bread oven, kitchen and supply areas, and exhibits on the Fort Macon soldier's life.

North Carolina Coastal Federation
The North Carolina Coastal Federation headquarters the Bob Daland Nature Library. With more than 600 titles specific to the coastal environment and its conservation it is a resource for student, teachers or the curious coastal resident. Also on display at the federation office is an extensive shell collection comprised of specimens from around the world.

Stone Mountain State Park
Visitor Center Mountain Culture Exhibit, Hutchinson Homestead, and Garden Creek Church
Located on more than 13,500 acres, Stone Mountain State Park offers a variety of natural features including beautiful waterfalls, mountain trout streams, quiet forests abundant with wildlife, and scenic hiking trails. One of the park's most spectacular features is Stone Mountain, a 600-foot granite dome. The park also interprets a historic mountain homestead and houses a large historical exhibit in the Visitor Center.

Kerr Lake State Recreation Area
Visitors Center
Kerr Lake State Recreation Area protects North Carolina's natural diversity, promotes outdoor recreation opportunities, and encourages good stewardship of North Carolina's natural and cultural resources for all citizens and visitors of North Carolina. The Visitor Center currently makes available information about local history, early rural life, and animals native to the area. Environmental education resources are also available.

Goose Creek State Park
Environmental Education Center
Goose Creek State Park seeks to preserve and to educate the public about the plantlife, wildlife, and ecosystems of the Goose Creek, Mallard Creek, Flatty Creek, and Pamlico River area through educational programs, permanent and traveling exhibits in the Environmental Education Center, and ongoing conservation projects in partnership with regional and local organizations. Permanent collections include mounted specimens of many of the animal species found in and around Goose Creek State Park. A five minute film is available to introduce visitors to sights in the park. The park's newletter, The Waterline, can accessed on the NC State Parks website, www.ncparks.net.

Hanging Rock State Park
Many of the facilities at Hanging Rock State Park were constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) between 1935 and 1942. A concrete and earthen dam completed in 1938 impounded a 12-acre lake, and a stone bathhouse, diving tower and sandy beach also were built. Several of the historic structures are still in use today. The Exhibit Hall in the Park's Visitors Center has displays about the Saura Native Americans as well as about the Park's history and natural resources.