The Best of North Carolina 2027 Awards Nominations

This is our sixth annual Best of North Carolina Awards, where we feature local businesses and destinations in North Carolina across four primary categories, including:

• Getaways
• Outdoors
• Food and Drink
• Community

Including those nominations, here’s what you’ll find below:

Previous Years’ Winners

These are the winners from past years, starting with our first Best of North Carolina in 2021.

There’s no 2026 edition: starting this year, we announce winners in January, after the December votes are counted, so the awards now reflect the year they’re announced.

2025

Our readers and social media followers (aka you) will nominate picks from November 1 to 30, 2026, then vote for the Best of North Carolina winners from December 1 to December 31, 2026.

You can jump to nominate your picks or review the categories first.

Categories

Here’s the list of categories featured in the Best of NC:

• Getaways Category
  • Your Favorite Romantic Destination in North Carolina
  • Your Favorite Family-Friendly Attraction in North Carolina
  • Your Favorite Mountain Town in North Carolina
  • Your Favorite Beach Town in North Carolina
  • The Most Underrated Destination in North Carolina
• Outdoors Category
  • Your Favorite Park in North Carolina (State Park, National Park, Nature Preserve, etc.)
  • Your Favorite Trail in North Carolina
  • Your Favorite Waterfall in North Carolina
  • Your Favorite Lake in North Carolina
• Food and Drink Category
  • Your Favorite 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 (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

Best of North Carolina 2027 Updates and Changes

To continue improving The Best of NC, we made the following updates and changes to the awards for 2027:

• More time to nominate and vote, and a later release. Previously, we announced the winners in the year they were voted on. Going forward, we’ll announce winners in January.
• Best -> Your Favorite
  • We wanted to make this more about you and your picks, so we changed the wording or added “your favorite” to every sub-category except “The Most Underrated Destination.”
• “Community” Category
  • We removed “NC’s Strongest Community” because, in our opinion, every community in NC is strong.

Read More: The North Carolina Bucket List Book

Nominate Your Best of NC Picks

More of The Best of North Carolina

Thanks for nominating your favorites for the 2027 Best of North Carolina. We look forward to sharing more about them on our website and social media pages.

We also share people and places of NC in our email newsletter, so don’t forget to subscribe!

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.