We are excited to announce the winners of 2025’s Best of North Carolina Awards, chosen by NC Tripping’s readers and social media followers.
This is our fifth annual Best of NC Awards, where we feature local businesses and destinations in North Carolina across four primary categories, including:
- Getaways
- Outdoors
- Food and Drink
- Community
Join the NC Tripping Community!
We host discussions, downloads, and more in a space free of algorithms and bots.
Free to join.
Enter the Conversation!Previous Winners
Our readers and social media followers (aka you) nominated picks from November 10 to 30, 2025, followed by voting for the Best of NC Winners from December 1 to December 15, 2025.
You can jump to nominate your picks or read through the following sections first:
Categories
Here’s the list of categories featured in the Best of NC Vote:
- Getaways Category
- The Most Romantic Destination in North Carolina
- The Best Family-Friendly Attraction in North Carolina
- The Best Mountain Town in North Carolina (BACK in 2025 after a pause, due to Hurricane Helene)
- The Best Beach Town in North Carolina
- The Most Underrated Destination in North Carolina
- Outdoors Category
- The Best Park in North Carolina (or Your Favorite State Park, National Park, etc.)
- The Best Trail in North Carolina (or Your Favorite)
- The Best Waterfall in North Carolina (or Most Beautiful)
- The Best Lake in North Carolina (or Your Favorite)
- Food and Drink Category
- The Best Breakfast Restaurant in North Carolina
- Your Favorite Barbecue Restaurant in North Carolina
- Your Favorite Ice Cream Shop in North Carolina
- Your Favorite Burger in North Carolina (Restaurant, Food Truck, etc.)
- Your Favorite Brewery in North Carolina
- Your Favorite Winery in North Carolina
- Your Favorite Cidery (or Cider-Maker) in North Carolina
- Your Favorite Distillery in North Carolina
- Community Category
- Your Favorite NC Sports Team in North Carolina(Pro, College, High School, etc.)
- Your Favorite Downtown in North Carolina
- Your Favorite Dog-Friendly Destination in North Carolina
- Your Favorite Annual Festival in North Carolina
- Your Favorite Museum in North Carolina
- Your Favorite Locally Owned Business in North Carolina
- NC’s Strongest Community in North Carolina
The Best of North Carolina 2025 Winners (Getaways Category)
The Most Romantic Destination in North Carolina
Winner: The Omni Grove Park Inn (Asheville)
Runner Up: Biltmore Estate (Asheville)
Finalists: The Swag (Waynesville) and The Umstead Hotel and Spa (Cary)
The Best Family-Friendly Attraction in North Carolina
Winner: The North Carolina Zoo (Asheboro)
Runner Up: Tweetsie Railroad (Blowing Rock)
Finalists: Carowinds Amusement Park (Charlotte) and Wilderness Run Alpine Coaster (Banner Elk)
The Best Mountain Town in North Carolina
Winner: Blowing Rock
Runner Up: Asheville
Finalists: Black Mountain and Boone
The Best Beach Town in North Carolina
Winner: Emerald Isle
“We’re so honored to see Emerald Isle be voted as the best beach town in North Carolina by NC Tripping readers. The Crystal Coast is such a dynamic destination that has so much to offer, and the pristine beaches on Emerald Isle are a big part of the heart and soul of our destination. We’re thrilled to see the elements that we love about the destination resonate so much with the people who come visit us.” – Karen Gould, Associate Executive Director, Crystal Coast Tourism Development Authority.
Runner Up: Oak Island
Finalists: Carolina Beach and Ocracoke
The Most Underrated Destination in North Carolina
Winner: Hendersonville
Runner Up: West Jefferson
Finalists: Elkin and Washington
The Best of North Carolina 2025 Winners (Outdoors Category)
The Best Park in North Carolina (or Your Favorite State Park, National Park, etc.)
Winner: Pisgah National Forest
Runner Up: Grandfather Mountain
Finalists: Eno River State Park and Stone Mountain State Park
The Best Trail in North Carolina (or Your Favorite)
Winner: Hanging Rock Trail
Runner Up: Catawba Falls Trail
Finalists: Carter Falls Trail and the Overmountain Victory Trail
The Best Waterfall in North Carolina (or Most Beautiful)
Winner: Linville Falls
Runner Up: Looking Glass Falls
Finalists: Catawba Falls and Dry Falls
The Best Lake in North Carolina (or Your Favorite)
Winner: Lake Lure
Runner Up: Lake Norman
Finalists: Jordan Lake and Lake James
The Best of North Carolina 2025 Winners (Food and Drink Category)
The Best Breakfast Restaurant in North Carolina
Winner: Breakfastime (Winston-Salem, Clemmons, Concord, and Salisbury)
Runner Up: The Davis Country Store & Cafe (Old Fort)
Finalists: Elmo’s Diner (Durham), Joey’s Pancakes (Maggie Valley), Pig and Grits (Burnsville), and The Table (Asheboro)
Your Favorite Barbecue Restaurant in North Carolina
Winner: Lexington BBQ (Lexington)
Runner Up: Smoke Pit (Salisbury)
Finalists: Jon G’s (Peachland) and Skylight Inn (Ayden)
Your Favorite Ice Cream Shop in North Carolina
Winner: Artesana Ice Cream (Marion)
Runner Up: Boombalatti’s (Carolina Beach, Hampstead, and Wilmington)
Finalists: Sunni Sky’s Homemade Ice Cream (Angier), To the Moon and Back Frozen Treats (Oak Ridge and Winston-Salem), and Two Roosters (Cary, Durham, Raleigh, and Wake Forest)
Your Favorite Burger in North Carolina (Restaurant, Food Truck, etc.)
Winner: Nick’s Old Fashioned Hamburger House (Lexington)
Runner Up: Hop’s Burger Bar (Greensboro)
Finalists: Brooks Sandwich House (Charlotte), Harry’s Place (Elkin), and Heff’s Burger Club (Winston-Salem)
Your Favorite Brewery in North Carolina
Winner: Highland Brewing Company (Asheville)
“We are honored to be voted your favorite brewery in NC! Let’s celebrate over a pint of Gaelic Ale.”
Runner Up: Goose and the Monkey Brew House (Lexington)
Finalists: Fiddlin’ Fish Brewing Company (Winston-Salem), Homeplace Beer Company (Burnsville), Mica Town Brewing (Marion and Nebo), Mills River Brewing, The Old Mecklenburg Brewery (Charlotte)
Your Favorite Winery in North Carolina
Winner: Childress Vineyards (Lexington)
“We are deeply honored to be named NC Tripping Best Winery for 2025 and grateful to our guests, partners, and dedicated team who make every visit special. This recognition celebrates our passion for hospitality, craftsmanship, and unforgettable experiences. For all life’s winning moments, visit Childress Vineyards.”
Runner Up: Grandfather Vineyard & Winery (Banner Elk)
Finalists: Duplin Winery (Rose Hill), Dynamis Estate Wines (Jonesville), Linville Falls Winery (Newland), and Twisted Vines (Clinton)
Your Favorite Cidery (or Cider-Maker) in North Carolina
Winner: Bold Rock (Mills River)
Runner Up: Bull City Ciderworks (Durham and Lexington)
Finalists: East Bower Cider (Raleigh) and James Creek Cider House (Cameron)
Your Favorite Distillery in North Carolina
Winner: Southern Distilling Company (Statesville)
Runner Up: Outer Banks Distilling (Manteo)
Finalists: Call Family Distillers (Wilkesboro), End of Days Distillery (Wilmington), Mystic Farm & Distillery (Durham), Old Nick Williams Farm & Distillery (Lewisville), and Weldon Mills Distilling (Durham and Weldon)
The Best of North Carolina 2025 Winners (Community Category)
Your Favorite NC Sports Team in North Carolina(Pro, College, High School, etc.)
Winner: UNC-Chapel Hill Tar Heels (NCAA)
Runner Up: Carolina Panthers (NFL)
Finalists: Carolina Hurricanes (NHL), Duke University Blue Devils (NCAA), NC State University Wolfpack (NCAA), and Western Carolina Catamounts (NCAA)
Your Favorite Downtown in North Carolina
Winner: Blowing Rock
“We’re honored to be voted Best Mountain Town in North Carolina by NC Tripping followers. Blowing Rock’s natural beauty and its charm are enhanced by the strong sense of community here. This special combination makes it a place people love to explore again and again.” Tracy Brown, Executive Director of the Blowing Rock Tourism Development Authority
Runner Up: Brevard
Finalists: Cary, Durham, and New Bern
Your Favorite Dog-Friendly Destination in North Carolina
Winner: Asheville
Runner Up: N/A (Cats are Better than Dogs)
Finalists: Black Mountain, Cary, and Jordan Lake
Your Favorite Annual Festival in North Carolina
Winner: NC Apple Festival (Hendersonville)
“We’re thrilled that the NCTripping community voted the NC Apple Festival as their favorite annual festival in NC. In 2026, the festival turns 80 and we’re excited to welcome our neighbors to Hendersonville on Labor Day weekend to celebrate all things apples.”
Runner Up: Lexington Barbecue Festival
Finalists: The Apple Harvest Festival (Waynesville), The Cheerwine Festival (Salisbury), The Mount Mitchell Crafts Fair (Burnsville), Mumfest (New Bern), and the Woolly Worm Festival (Banner Elk)
Your Favorite Museum in North Carolina
Winner: Greensboro Science Center
Runner Up: NC Museum of Natural Sciences (Raleigh)
Finalists: Mint Museum (Charlotte), Museum of Life and Science (Durham), NASCAR Hall of Fame (Charlotte), NC Museum of Art (Raleigh), and Wilkes County Heritage Museum (Wilkesboro)
Your Favorite Locally Owned Business in North Carolina
Winner: DD Bullwinkel’s Outdoors (Brevard)
“We are truly honored and grateful to be voted Favorite Locally Owned Business in North Carolina! Thank you to NC Tripping and everyone who voted for us—we love serving this amazing community! This recognition belongs to our community as much as it belongs to D.D. Bullwinkel’s.”
Runner Up: Milk & Honey Coffee Bar (Oakboro)
Finalists: Period Nirvana (Asheville) and To the Moon and Back Frozen Treats (Oak Ridge)
NC’s Strongest Community in North Carolina
Winner: Western NC
No Runner Up
Best of North Carolina 2025 Updates and Changes
To continue improving The Best of NC, we made the following updates and changes to the awards for 2025:
- Best -> Your Favorite
- We wanted to make this more about you and your picks, so we changed the wording or added “your favorite” to sub-categories.
- “Getaways” Category
- Resumed “Mountain Town” after a one-year pause due to Hurricane Helene.
- “Outdoors” Category
- Added “Your Favorite Lake” after a one-year hiatus.
- “N/A” Option
- For alcohol-related sub-categories in the “Food and Drink” Category, we added N/A to keep those in mind who don’t drink alcohol.
Read More: The North Carolina Bucket List Book
More of The Best of North Carolina 2025
Congratulations to the winners of 2025’s Best of North Carolina. We look forward to sharing more about them here on our website and on our social media pages.
We also share people and places of NC in our email newsletter and in our Community.
We have featured these Best of North Carolina award winners and finalists in many of our NC Travel Guides. Here are some guides to help you explore this amazing state.
