Highlands, North Carolina, offers natural history, art, history, and hiking trails as different reasons to visit. When choosing a destination for a trip, it’s worth asking which kind of discovery appeals to you most: exhibits and hands-on activities, artistic offerings, a historic site, or a specific hiking trail.

Natural History: Exhibits and Botanical Diversity

The Highlands Nature Center offers exhibits, hands-on activities, and programs about the biodiversity of the southern Appalachian region. It was founded in 1927 as a museum of the Highlands Biological Station. The Highlands Botanical Gardens serve as a living representation of the botanical diversity of the Blue Ridge Escarpment and the surrounding southern Appalachian region. The distinction is clear when making your choice: the Nature Center brings together exhibits, activities, and programs; the Botanical Gardens focus on botanical diversity. This lets you weigh activity-based offerings against a presentation of botanical diversity. The Nature Center is located at 930 Horse Cove Road in Highlands, North Carolina.

Art Experiences at The Bascom

The Bascom offers classes, workshops, and other hands-on opportunities in several artistic media. The program is designed for artists of all ages and experience levels. If you want to prioritize artistic practice during your stay rather than observation alone, this is a distinct focus alongside natural history and hiking trails. The Bascom campus is on a former six-acre horse farm in Highlands, North Carolina. It includes exhibition spaces, classrooms, and a nature trail. The site therefore combines exhibition and classroom spaces with a nature trail: both art experiences and a connection to nature are part of the campus.

A Historic Site in Highlands

The Historic Village of the Highlands Historical Society is located at 524 N. 4th Street in Highlands, North Carolina. This means you can also include a specific historic site in your plans, alongside art and nature.

Greenway and Hiking Trails

The Highlands Plateau Greenway is a nonprofit organization. Its goal is to improve, expand, and maintain a system of connected walking and hiking trails in and around Highlands. In downtown Highlands, Oak Street is the Greenway’s central starting point and provides access to all trails.

The trails offer different points of comparison: the Satulah Mountain Trail is a 1.6-mile walk of moderate to strenuous difficulty. Sunset Rock is a short hiking trail with beautiful views, located a few hundred yards from downtown; the route there is a 0.5-mile hike along a gravel road. From a natural amphitheater of granite slabs, Sunset Rock offers beautiful sunsets over the town. In direct comparison, Satulah offers a defined length and difficulty level; at Sunset Rock, the gravel road, proximity to town, and views shape the experience.

Discover more destinations: Topton, Franklin.

For the broader travel overview: Macon County.