We love a day trip. It’s an easy way to feed the travel craving and experience something new. There is a town, city or neighborhood you have never explored just waiting for you to discover – no matter where you are! While we have driven through Greensboro, North Carolina A TON (being native North Carolinians) we have never really stopped in and enjoyed some of the great activities and experiences it has to offer! So, what better quick trip to fill the appetite of travel!
Greensboro, North Carolina is a really busy city with a lot to do…way more than to do in one day! Nearby State Parks, Water Parks, National Historic Sites, Museums, Restaurants – we could spend days here exploring. The outdoors were calling our name so we focused on the free parks the town had to offer. Here is our day guide for visiting Greensboro –
The NC BBQ Trail
Did you know there is an official NC BBQ trail? Neither did we! However, the good people over at the North Carolina Barbecue society have put together a great list (and even trip idea) for us to discover. The historic NC BBQ trail consists of 22 restaurants from the coast to Tennessee. This list highlights different and unique BBQ venues for you to taste and enjoy. It just so happens that Greensboro boasts one of those places – Stamey’s BBQ!
Eat at Stamey’s BBQ
We loved Stamey’s as soon as we entered, extremely friendly staff and a fun atmosphere welcomed us in. The BBQ here is Lexington Style and cooked over hardwood coals. We tried both the chopped barbecue pork and the bbq chicken. The pork definitely won but the sauce was super good on the chicken! Handsdown the best part of the meal was the cobbler of the day – blackberry. Warm, bubbly and served with a side of vanilla ice cream. Yep, nothing much better. There are two locations in Greensboro. We went to the original site located on West Gate Blvd. We will definitely be back to eat here again. Thank you Stamey’s!
Guildford County Court House – National Military Park
This was such a fun find for us! We love a National Park and to discover there was such an important Revolutionary War battle site so close to us was awesome. This site is huge and has multiple trails, monuments and lots to discover and learn. We started in the Battlefield Visitors Center where they have a great little museum detailing the history of the Revolutionary War site. There is also a gift shop and a movie to enjoy. Oh, and don’t forget your stamp!
After stopping by the visitors center we decided to take a tour around the 9 major sites located around the Park. You can choose to bike or walk…but its HUGE so we drove and parked at each site. Once parked you can walk around and check out all there is to offer. At each stop there are monuments or plaques that detail a part of the battle that took place here. There is also a self-guided audio tour you can take through your cell phone. We all learned a ton on this visit! The highlight of the trip was Silas earning his Junior Park Ranger badge – a free and fun thing for kids to do!
*Side Note – every National Park has their own unique Junior Park Ranger program so make sure to check the visitor’s center! Most are free but some do have a fee. The Park Rangers are always really great with the kids! We all end up learning a lot from working through the books.
If you are into discovering more National Parks and need ideas, check out our guide to the Booker T. Washington National Monument. We also have some info on visiting two National Sites in Baltimore!
Haw River – North Carolina State Park
After you have filled your brains with a ton of Revolutionary War history its time to let your mind rest awhile and enjoy some quiet nature! Not too far from the town of Greensboro is the Haw River North Carolina State Park. This park boasts park of the year for 2018, and we quickly found out why! Lots of trails, a lake to canoe on, the river, tons of cabin space (perfect for group trips, reunions, etc), a disc golf course and a great education center. We were greeted right off the bat by an awesome and knowledgable Park Ranger in the welcome center. He went out of his way and spent extra time with Silas showing him some of the education room and giving us a mini tour. Its a beautiful park with tons to do!
What to do at Haw River State Park
We spent the afternoon walking the Fanny’s Ford Trail/Cox Loop Trail. These two trails combined made a great hike for us and included a suspension bridge to cross the river. I would suggest stopping by the welcome center always first to find out the information for each trail. There are a lot here!
After our hike we drove over to check out the disc golf course. This ended up being the most exciting part of our day! We totally ran into a copperhead on the course! And yes, I screamed – loudly. Also, I refused to go back the way we came and made us walk way out of the way to get back to our car. Silas deemed that the best day ever. So, to each their own. Encountering a copperhead would not be my ideal best day ever, but we have a great story and memory to share now! Just a note, there were signs everywhere about copperheads and other snakes. So just be aware when you visit a State Park, especially in the summer.
Honestly we barely even scraped the surface of exploring Greensboro but what a fun day it was! So let us know…have you spent some time in Greensboro, NC before? What are your favorite things to do there?
We love a day trip destination! Check out our full day trip plans to Southwest Virginia or travel to Historical Edenton North Carolina!
