Location: Alleghany County, 62 miles northwest of Winston-Salem
You can find: Stone Mountain and rich natural communities as you traverse the summit
Location: Burke County, 70 miles east of Asheville
You can find: elevations up to 3,000 feet, mountain streams, and the rosebay rhododendron
Location: Harnett County, 40 miles southwest of Raleigh
At the park, you can find: Raven Rock; rapids on the Cape Fear River; Northington Lock and Dam remains; creek tributaries; mountain laurel
Location: Ashe County, 31 miles northeast of Boone
At the park, you can find: 26.5 miles of the New River; the hellbender salamander; 14 rare and threatened species of flora
Location: Ashe County, 36 miles northeast of Boone
At the park, you can find: 26.5 miles of the New River; the hellbender salamander; 14 rare and threatened species of flora
Location: Stanly County, 51 miles north of Charlotte
You can find: Morrow Mountain, one of the highest peak in the Uwharries, and bald eagles spotted from Lake Tillery
Location: Gates County, 10 miles south of the northeast border with Virginia
You can find: millpond more than 200 years old and the American alligator at the northernmost point of its range
Location: McDowell County, 50 miles east of Asheville
At the park, you can find: Lake James and its resident bald eagles
Location: Chatham County, 29 miles southwest of downtown Raleigh
At the park, you can find: 14,000-acre Jordan Lake reservoir and the bald eagle
Location: Onslow County, 19 miles east of Jacksonville
You can find: Bear Island, a 4-mile-long, undeveloped barrier island, and sea turtle nests, including loggerhead turtles, who nest above the high tide line at the island