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Roads less-traveled beckon vacationers
Even with the economy on the skids, it’s the time of year that millions of North Carolinians eagerly are awaiting their summer vacation. Guidebooks are being perused, maps are being checked and plans are being made.
For so many of the travelers, this will entail a high-speed trip along an interstate to a distant city, mountain or beach. The allure will be limited to the destination. But, it doesn’t have to be that way.
Instead, the route itself can be part of the pleasure of the trip. Imagine, say, in place of zipping down Interstates 95 and 40 to reach Holden or Ocean Isle beaches, a traveler were to pick up N.C. 242 just off I-40 to head south to Elizabethtown. Not too far pass the Bladen County seat, he or she could turn onto N.C. 211 to head toward the coast.
You probably think this is the stark-raving slow way to start a vacation, and, well, that is part of the idea. Both of these relatively little-used highways are parts of the state’s scenic byways system. The former is known as the Meteor Lakes Byway and the later the Green Swamp Byway. The idea is to get travelers off the long, wide ribbons of interstate macadam and onto roads that show another side of the Variety Vacationland.
The system’s guide, simply titled “N.C. Scenic Byways,” is straightfoward in describing the collection of 51 routes: “The state program identifies and highlights scenic roads with unusual, exceptional or unique intrinsic qualities for public viewing and enjoyment.” It leads travelers along trails such as the mountains’ 98-mile-long Waterfalls Byway that runs through Cherokee, Clay, Jackson, Macon and Transylvania counties or the Uwharrie Scenic Road that covers 50 miles through five Piedmont counties.
There are several byways closer to home. The longest of all, Lafayette’s Tour, covers 173 miles across seven counties just to the north of the Twin Counties. It moves through several communities — you guessed it — that the Marquis de Lafayette visited on his 1825 tour of a then-young United States. Also nearby, the Pamlico Scenic Byway starts its 127-mile run to the coast in little Washington.
One byway, the Tar Heel Trace, touches home, starting in Wilson and then running through southeastern Edgecombe County before ending in Williamston. The guidebook explains how the route crosses the pine forest-dotted area of North Carolina that once provided tar and turpentine, key materials in the days of wooden ships and sails.
“These byways are intended as an alternative to the faster-paced traffic and commercial areas found along our state’s major highways and interstates,” the guide’s introduction reads. “Following the byways, motorists will see some of North Carolina’s most breath-taking scenery, from the Blue Ridge Mountains in the west to the fertile plains of the Piedmont to the crystal blue shore of our coast.”
The 173-page guide is available for download from the N.C. Department of Transportation or by mail by calling Helen Landi at 919-733-2920. One consideration: While the download is, of course, free, the state does ask for a voluntary $5 donation for each mailed copy.
Where are you going for vacation this summer? Why not share your thoughts by commenting on this blog or by e-mailing Ross at rchandler@coxnc.com.
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