For 500 years, wild horses, descended from Spanish mustangs brought by the earliest European explorers, wandered the length of the Outer Banks freely. Today, only a handful of herds remain, but they aren’t hard to find — if you know where to look. Visitors can catch a glimpse of these resilient wild horses on Shackleford Banks, in Corolla, on Ocracoke, and at the Rachel Carson Reserve.
Split-rail fences don’t shout “keep out.” They lean, they shift, they invite. And in western North Carolina, they remind us that some lines are meant to hold, not harden.
Each May, spring climbs nearly 3,000 feet to the seat of Alleghany County. Here, as the rhododendrons blush, a beloved mountain town welcomes visitors with its food, art, and flourish of color and creativity.
Brief but delicious, soft-shell crab season is cherished by diners as well as the folks who work around the clock to put these native pinchers on our plates.
When it comes to poultry, the best is raised close to home.
