LoriBa

hi, During March my husband and i will be in north carolina (near valdez) through work, and am interested in adding around a few days or travel and hiking. am interested in interesting cities or towns and or outdoors hiking. Does the weather permit this time of year? looking for suggestions thanks
laura

hauntedheadnc

March is kind of a tricky time of year because the weather is very unpredictable. It could be snowing, it could be sleeting, it could be sunny and in the 60's. Just have a backup plan in case it's to inclement to hike or take in much natural scenery.

Now, you say you're going to be in Valdese. That's between Hickory and Morganton, both of which have nice little downtown areas to explore as well as a couple of museums and things to hold your interest for a few hours apiece. Your better better bet though would probably be to head over to Asheville.

According to Yahoo! Maps, it's about 65 miles from Valdese to Asheville, along I-40. There's plenty to see and do there -- enough to occupy a week or more actually! If you think you might be interested, do a search on here for Asheville, and you'll find plenty of info. If you have any questions feel free to ask. There are museums, art and architecture, great restaurants and shopping, historical attractions... and I would mention the outdoor opportunities but you could probably stay in and around Valdese for that.

hauntedheadnc

Come to think of it, if you'd like to explore Valdese and the environs a little more thoroughly, check out these websites.

http://www.ci.valdese.nc.us/

This is the town website, with a link for "Points of Interest" -- looks like Valdese, like a lot of other NC towns and cities, has embraced the arts as a moneymaker!

http://www.hickorymetro.com

Here's the convention and visitors bureau website for Hickory, about 14 miles from Valdese, according to Yahoo! Maps. According to the website listed above, Hickory is home to a science museum, an art museum and a nice selection of performing arts in their restored, artsy downtown area.

http://www.ci.morganton.nc.us/html/m...y_histori.html

This is web address for a list of attractions in Morganton, about 8 miles from Valdese. According to this website, Morganton has some nice parks, a revitalized downtown, and some surprising attractions like an ongoing archaeological dig where the archaeologists may very well be uncovering a Spanish fort from 1567!

Also, I neglected to mention that you'll very close to Grandfather Mountain, a private nature park, when you're in Valdese, as well as attractions like Linville Caverns, an extensive, beautiful network of caves. You'll be close to lots of waterfalls, Lake James, and South Mountains State Park. I hope you'll be able to enjoy it all, but as I mentioned in my previous post, the weater is hard to predict in March. If you can't get out to enjoy the natural scenery, make visiting Valdese and its neighbors a priority. There's lots to see in Hickory, Valdese and Morganton -- and even more to see in Asheville if you've got the time.

Hope you have a good time! Feel free to ask anymore questions you might have.

Scarlett

hauntedhead,
I knew someone who had a little "rest" in Morganton

We will be in your neighborhood this coming spring or summer. The Yankee wants to go looking for furniture, so High Point will be visited. I want to go to the mountains in the heat of summer though~

wsoxrebel

If I had a few days to wander around north carolina again, I would have two first choices.

1) Biltmore Estate in Asheville for the 250 room estate, the garden tour, the cuisine, etc.

2) Hickory or High Point for the Furniture marts. Did you know that most furniture is made in NC and you can have anything custom made and shipped to your home? The savings paid for my trip once.

It may not be totally natural scenery, but it surely is beautiful scenery!

hauntedheadnc

Well, Scarlett, you know about all the glories of Asheville from reading my posts on here, but if you're going to be in High Point, have you thought about moseying on over to Winston-Salem? I don't know if you've been there lately, but their museums and Old Salem just keep getting better and better! Downtown Winston-Salem is also coming alive with art! I have a friend who makes frequent trips to Winston-Salem and he says just about every time he goes he sees a new sculpture downtown that they've put up since he was there last!

If we're not careful, they'll be snatching away our title up here in Asheville as North Carolina's capital of art and coolness.