North Caroline getaway?????
 

My husband and I are planning a long weekend in early November and I would like to visit North Carolina. I have only been to NC once and it was for a business trip in Raleigh - needless to say I didn't get much of a feel for the area, but I knew I wanted to go back. Is this time of year OK and where should we go - Raleigh, Asheville? Any help would be appreciated!

The Grove Park Inn in Asheville or the OuterBanks.

Not Raleigh. Either the mountains--Asheville, Blowing Rock. Or the beach. Outer Banks are a fer piece. Try Wrightsville, Ocean Isle Beach, Sunset Beach.

Asheville, Blowing Rock, Boone .... beautiful in our mountains that time of year! :-)

The leaves will probably have turned and fallen off by November in the mountains, but I still think there is beauty in fallen leaves and bare trees. Early Nov. should be peak in the triangle area but that might not happen since the leaves are falling off due to the lack of rain around here.

The weather is usually very nice and shouldn't be so crowded since it's after leaf season in the mountains and still pleasant but not crowded at the coast.

For the coast, Wilmington area offers more than just beachy activities. There are some historic homes and gardens and the USS North Carolina.

I'd suggest starting with the visit NC website (I think www.visitnc.gov but it could be .com or .org).

I'm going to divulge my secret place in the hills of North Carolina--a little town named Saluda. Lots of different kinds of history there, and a few neat B&B's if you really want to get away to some peace and quiet. The Oaks B&B was very nice when we were there a couple of years ago.

Also, it isn't far to drive to places like Asheville, Hendersonville, and such for day trips. I just love the peace and tranquility of Saluda. Now the cat's out of the bag.

You are right--a real charmer.

Asheville tends to power down that time of year with all the out-of-towners abandoning us after the leaves are gone. 3 questions for you:
Where are you from? Where would you fly into? What types of things to you enjoy doing? e.g. hiking, beach, museums, historic sites ....

Raleigh is a wonderful place to live but not much to do of interest on a vacation.

About 45 minutes east of Raleigh is Wilson North Carolina....Antiques galore if you like antiques....beautiful antiques.

To second some of the previous posts:

Ocracoke or Duck for autumn-beach getaway -- quiet, not for swimming but definitely for beach combing.

Wilmington/Wrightsville -- you might be surprised at the historical sites in W'ton, and the quality of restaurants, antique stores, book stores.

An outside chance of snow in the mountains on the Blue Ridge Parkway but otherwise lovely, go toward Blowing Rock and Grandfather Mountain for sights, Asheville for Biltmore and some surprising artisanal culture.

Where, by the way, are you coming from?

Snow the first of NOvember? When!!! You would have a good chance of fog on the upper reaches of the Parkway but not snow!

Yes, snow, Gretchen! Maybe not a *good* chance, but definitely a chance. On our first trip to Mast Farm Inn, at the end of October, a few years ago, we drove in a shimmering of snow on the Blue Ridge Parkway, then once we got in the Inn, we sat by the fire with hot cocoa, watching the whole area slowly turn white! It was wonderful ... :-) By the next morning, the dusting of snow was melting away, but it was a lovely surprise!

I personally think early November is one of the best times of the year to visit western NC. While the leaf season may have peaked, lower elevations still usually have some color to them, and the weather is still good. Plus, this is definitely a good value season in terms of hotel rates.

ttt for mkm

A relative lives in Roaring Gap, and yesterday, October 25, when he was driving over to Sparta .... guess what? There was a dusting of SNOW!!! :-)

Also meant to say, our leaf color is about a week late this year in the mountains ... peak is supposed to be from about Oct. 30 to Nov.6, so if anyone is interested, you can still see the splendor ... ;;)

I was just thinking -- gosh, the leaves really haven't turned very much yet! Early November? Should be lovely.

I had four snows before Thanksgiving at my place (as did Asheville) a few years ago - and then no snow (or ice) at all for the last few years until Jan-Mar.

Ya just don't know. But, the norm is...beautiful fall weather without snow.

Recently we moved to Brevard area, after leaving in Europe and Africa for many years so I cannot contribute much on this board but I was very surprised reading there is sometimes snow in November on Blue Ridge Parkway. I could hardly belive this can happen. On Tusdays my husband doesn't need to be in a hospital so we try to go hiking. Yesterday, we were going to hike in the Craggy Garden but the parkway was closed due to snow and ice on the road. We spoke to a few tourists who were upset the road was closed as they planned this trip months in advance and now they had to travel on different roads than the parkway. the road conditions were not for driving and on the evening news we saw some interesting pictures of snow and very winter like conditions in that area. I think that anyone planning to travel on the parkway should have a plan B. Some of the roads are beautiful. Many leaves above 6,000 feet are already gone. We decided to hike to the top of Pisga Mtn where we hiked to the peak covered with white frost and a very windy condtions. Windbreakers and warm clothes including wool hats, gloves, windbreakers kept us warm. The most beautiful leaves as of yesterday were on routes 276 and 215 from the parkway to Brevard.

We just returned from a 7-day trip which took us from Memphis to Nashville to Cherokee (Bryson City) to Asheville to Charleston to Savannah. Weather moderate most of the time with some light snow from Cherokee to Asheville through the mountains. Pass from Pigeon Forge to Cherokee closed on the one day we wanted to run up and do some shopping. Leaves are changing but are not brilliant oranges and yellows, just some burnt reds and dark oranges. Great time of year to go!! And you MUST stop by the Biltmore Estates for the tour and lunch in the stables.

leaves are still not really turning in Asheville except at higher elevations...VERY late this year because of warmer weather and I guess lack of rain.

I second what Bonniebroad suggested!(Ashville,Boone,Blowing Rock):) Trust me..I am from Raleigh..the mountains are alot more beautiful!

Christie

Went to Tweetsie RR in Blowing Rock on Friday afternoon and there was a dusting of snow on both Grandfather and Roan Mtns. Weather at Tweetsie was sunny but CHILLY! Took Hwy 221 from Blowing Rock over to Banner Elk afterwards and it was a very pretty drive and the skies were clearer than usual.

Leah - I just got back from New England last week and their leaves aren't turning much either. I think they had too much rain and wind right before leaf time. A bad year for leaf looking all around, it appears.

I came down from the N Ga mountains and there is basically no color - yet. The ample rain we had along with warmer temps = still green.

I checked the forest service leaf watcher page online and they expect the leaves to start turning. There was (finally) a cold snap on Oct. 26 and a dusting of snow on Brasstown Bald. Conditions are changing...now maybe the leaves will!

litespeed - we've been doing lots of travel lately as well...early Oct in VT the leaves were just starting to change. We just got back from Bermuda last week and were surprised everything was still pretty green here in Asheville. Usually it starts changing by early October and is done by the end of October.

I'll be staying in the Black Mt. area next weekend. The leaves are running late this year, it should be beautiful.

Starrsville, where do you find the leaf watchers page? Please share the web address.

Here's one for north GA with gorgeous photos -

http://www.innorthgeorgia.com/leaf_o_meter.html

Here's the official Forest Service link for ALL REGIONS -
http://www.fs.fed.us/news/fallcolors/

and, here's a link for Asheville -
http://www.exploreasheville.com/leafreports.asp

I adore New Bern, at any time of year. It's such a quaint and lovely little town, with lots of history. My husband (then-boyfriend) and I used to take long weekends as a break from college.