A Spring break camping trip took us to a campground not far from Pilot Mountain in 2023. As a kid driving to my family’s house in Ohio sometimes, we would always pass by this iconic mountain top and see Pilot Mountain from the highway. So we decided to take a trip and visit the peak and surrounding things in the area. Each day we were there, we visited a different area to explore: Pilot Mountain State Park, Mt Airy, and Winston Salem.

We centralized ourselves at the Jomeokee Campground. The campground itself did not have a lot of amenities such as a playground or other activities but the wide open space and serenity with a view of Pilot Mountain made it the perfect playground.

Day 1: Mt. Airy

Mt. Airy aka Mayberry,  is the home of Andy Griffith and everything here is pretty much about the show. My brother Justin is a fan of Andy Griffith and although the rest of us had never spent much time watching it, we definitely were familiar with the theme song. The night before visiting Mt. Airy, we watched the first few episodes in the camper so we could recognize sights. The show is actually fun and entertaining to watch!

We started the morning at the visitors center in Mt. Airy and grabbed a map of the spots to see. Most everything was within walking distance. Alternatively, you could take a sheriff squad car tour and see all the famous Mayberry landmarks. We opted to walk it. Along the main street you can find Snappy’s Lunch, Floyd’s City Barber Shop, Walker’s Soda Fountain, Opie’s Candy Store, Mayberry’s Courthouse, Sheriff’s office, Wally’s Service station, and just a little farther we drove by Andy Griffith’s Homeplace. If you’re familiar with the show, then you know about all these places!

We got the famous pork chop sandwich for  lunch at Snappy’s, followed by a Coke Float at Mayberry’s Soda Fountain, and an obligatory stop at Opie’s Candy Store. If you have more time and aren’t traveling with tots, there’s the Andy Griffith museum.

Day 2: Pilot Mountain State Park

The second day we drove to Pilot Mountain to do some easy hiking with the family. We started at the visitors center and figured out fortunately we could drive practically to the top and park and walk to a couple different overlooks for a nice view of the iconic geologic knob.

Pilot Mountain is a distinctive metamorphic quartzite monadnock rising to a peak 2,421 feet above sea level, making it one of the most recognizable natural features in North Carolina. Pilot Mountain is the centerpiece of Pilot Mountain State Park, which encompasses over 3,000 acres of protected land.

We walked the downtown of Pilot Mountain for a little too. This day was the shortest of all the days spent in the area.

Day 3: Winston Salem

Winston-Salem is a city in North Carolina known for its rich history, vibrant arts scene, and thriving economy. It is the second-largest city in the Piedmont Triad region, after Greensboro.  The city was founded in 1773 by Moravian settlers from Pennsylvania.

We started our morning at a chain of coffee shops called  Bitty & Beau’s which is a place that was started as a way to provide employment opportunities for people with disabilities and to promote inclusion and acceptance. We wanted to stop here since a coffee shop like this just opened in Greenville, NC called Awaken that my brother just started working at! The staff were eager to greet us and adored Isabel and convinced her that she needed a smoothie. The coffee was up to par with any coffee shop too.

Next we went to Old Salem Historic District which is a living history museum in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, that recreates the life of a Moravian settlement in the 18th and 19th centuries. We made sure to stop at Winkler’s Bakery and they are famous for their Moravian ginger cookies! We took a few goodies home with us.

 

We had lunch at Sweet Potatoes which was a great soul-food restaurant before checking out some of the art throughout the city.

We got back in the vehicle and on the way to check out the Historic Bethabara Park, we did a drive by detour to see the Last Shell Oil Clamshell Station!

Historic Bethabara Park is a 1753 Moravian historical site within a wildlife preserve, with a reconstructed village and church. It was easy to walk around freely and interesting to see their way of life.

That concluded our 3-day camping trip. All 3 destinations we visited are within easy driving distance so they were perfect to see all in one trip. Each destination was uniquely different so I couldn’t say which one was our favorite.

Please tell us what you enjoy about these areas if visited before! 

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Happy travels!