National parks in North Carolina

North Carolina's thirteen National Park Service units stretch across a state that resists easy description, running from the windswept barrier islands of Cape Hatteras and Cape Lookout in the east to the fog-wrapped ridges of Great Smoky Mountains National Park in the west, with the Blue Ridge Parkway threading through much of that highland country in between. The collection falls into two distinct worlds: a coastal cluster built around wild beaches, ferry-only access, and some of the darkest night skies on the Eastern Seaboard, and an Appalachian cluster where hiking, camping, and long scenic drives set the pace. History runs through both ends, from the early Revolutionary War engagements at Moores Creek and Guilford Courthouse to the backcountry patriot route of the Overmountain Victory Trail. The state rewards visitors who enjoy contrast, people happy to trade a crowded summit one day for a near-empty barrier island the next.