
“North Carolina is such a beautiful state!”
“It has mountains AND beaches!”
“You’ll get all four seasons!” (It’s a big deal for Floridians.)
What’s not to love?
Right?
But I was not excited to get orders to Fort Liberty, North Carolina (formerly known as Fort Bragg). In fact, I outright dreaded it.
Fort Liberty is THE largest military installation in.the.world. It stretches into 3 counties, contains many of the Army’s command centers, and maintains 2 separate airfields in conjunction with the Air Force.

We heard bad things about the workload, the traffic, the extra duties, the crime rate, the schools, etc. It seemed that no one had anything good to say about our new duty station.
In a feeble attempt to look on the bright side, I scoured the internet, searching for things to do and places to go while we were stationed at Fort Liberty.
To my surprise, I came up with a long list of things to do just in Fayetteville alone!
As I looked into the surrounding areas, my North Carolina Pinterest Board was filled with ideas. I found more than 100 things that I wanted to do during our time at Fort Liberty.
As a result, the Fort Liberty Bucket List was born!
Keep in mind, that all of the items on the bucket list are family-friendly (I have two young kids). And a lot of the nearby items are free or cheap because sometimes the kids and I just need to get out of the house.
Because I am OCD, the list is organized by distance. The closest attractions are at the top and the destinations get further away from Fort Liberty as you go down the list.

The Ultimate Fort Liberty Bucket List
On Post at Fort Liberty
Dive-In Theater at Twin Lions/Tolson Pool- Go ice skating at Cleland Ice & In-line Skating Rink
- Look around Memorial Plaza
- See movie under the Stars at Smith Lake
See a Golden Knights demonstration- Walk/Hike all of the Fort Liberty Trails
- Smith Lake 5k Hiking Trail (3.1 miles)
- All-American Trail (11 miles)
- Coscom Trail (0.64 miles)
- Engineer Trail (1.55 miles)
- Son Tay Trail (2.45 miles)
- Watch the airplanes take-off/land at Flightline Park
- See a training jump
- Do one of the Fun Runs
Go to a Family Fun DayGo to the Renaissance Faire

Fayetteville
- Visit the North Carolina Veteran’s Park/Airborne & Special Ops Museum
- Go to Zipquest Waterfall & Treetop Adventure
Walk the Cape Fear River Trail- Visit the Fayetteville Rose Garden
Go to the Fascinate-U Children’s MuseumVisit the Cape Fear Botanical Garden- Go to the Climbing Place
Visit the Poe HouseGet some ice cream at Gillis Hill Farms- Drive the Historical Marker Trail
- Go to Lake Rim Park
Explore downtown Fayetteville & see the Market HouseGo to a Marksmen hockey gameSee the ghost tower at Arsenal Park- Go to the Cumberland County Fair
- Experience the Dogwood Festival
- Go to the Dickens Christmas Festival
See the Mini Eiffel Tower- Walk the trails at Arnette Park
- Get some grub on Food Truck Wednesday
Go to a trampoline parkGo to Mazarick ParkTake the kids to J. Bayard Clark Park & Nature CenterGo swimming at Chalmer’s Pool- Watch a Woodpecker’s baseball game
- Go fishing at Cambellton Landing
Play mini-golf at Omni Family Amusement CenterCool off at Lake Pines Swim ClubGo to the Bragg Boulevard Flea Market- Complete a Fayetteville Passport

Fort Liberty’s Surrounding Areas
- Hawk’s Manor Falconry (Lillington)
- Kayak/canoe down the Cape Fear River (Lillington)
Hike up to the Raven Rock Overlook (Lillington)- See the Barnstormer Murals (Cameron)
- Shop for antiques in Sanford
- Kayak down the Little River (Spring Lake)
- See the Devil’s Tramping Ground (Bear Creek)
- Go swimming at Tucker Lake (Benson)
Hike at Carver’s Creek State Park (Spring Lake)- Shoot skeet at the Fort Bragg Clay Target Center (Spring Lake)
Visit Weymouth Woods-Sandhills Nature Preserve (Southern Pines)Feed the friendly giraffe at Aloha Safari Zoo (Cameron)- Take a walk at Reservoir Park (Southern Pines)
Eat some ice cream at Sunni Sky’s (Angier)- Explore the pottery highway in (Cameron/Carthage)
Go swimming at White Lake (White Lake)- Check out the Dirtbag Ales Farmers Market (Hope Mills)
Go swimming at Waldo’s Beach (Hope Mills)

The Triangle (Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill)
- Raleighwood Dinner and Movie (Raleigh)
- see the Bennett Place (Durham)
Go to the Chinese Lantern Festival (Raleigh)- Little Princess Tea at Carolina Inn (Chapel Hill)
- Visit University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
- take a picture of the Old Well
- see the Forest Theater
- view the Unsung Founders Memorial
- see a show at the Moorehead Planetarium
- take a picture of the Coker Arboretum
- Museum of Life and Science (Durham)
Visit the Videri Chocolate Factory (Raleigh)- Ride the carousel at Pullen Park (Raleigh)
- Go play at Three Bears Acres (Raleigh)
- See Duke University & it’s garden (Durham)
- Walk the trails at Eno River State Park (Durham)
American Tobacco Campus (Durham)- visit the JC Raulston Aboretum (Raleigh)
- see the sunflowers at Dorthea Dix Park (Raleigh)
visit the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences (Raleigh)

Winston-Salem
- See Old Salem
- Restored Clam Shell gas station
- Quarry Park
- Find Bath Branch Falls
Get a doughnut at the original Krispy Kreme (259 S. Stratford St.)- Find an Art-O-Mat
- Visit the Black Mountain Chocolate Factory
- See the West End Historic District
Wilmington
Find wildVenusFlytraps- See the Shag Contest at the Azalea Festival
See the Battleship USS North Carolina- Visit Airlie Gardens
go shopping at the Cotton ExchangeSpend the day at Carolina Beach- Take a stroll along the River Walk
See the mermaids at the NC Aquariumvisit Fort Fisher- Take a ride on the Henrietta III Riverboat

Charlotte
Visit the American Girl Store- Hang out at The Green
- Take the kids to Discovery Place
- Go to the Children’s Theatre/Imaginon
- Visit the Sea Life Aquarium
See the Metalmorphasis sculpture- Carowinds Amusement Park
- Go play at Ray’s Splash Planet

Misc. Day Trips
Visit Mayberry (aka Mount Airy)- See the Hunger Games’ District 12 (Hildebran)
See the World’s Largest Chest of Drawers (High Point)Stop at South of the Border (Dillon, SC)- Happy Hills Alpaca Farm (Monroe)
- Swim in the quarry at Carrigan Farms (Mooresville)
Pick apples at Millstone Creek Orchards (Ramseur)

The Outer Banks
Sled down Jockey’s Ridge sand dunesSee a lighthouse- Take the Nicholas Sparks Tour
- See the wild horses in Corolla
- Go camping on the beach
Visit Kitty Hawk and see the Wright Brother’s MemorialSee the Roanoke settlement siteDrive the Outer Banks National Scenic Byway- Visit the Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum
Hunt for sea shells/sea glass- Hunt for shark’s teeth at Nag’s Head
- See the site of Blackbeard’s last stand on Ocracroke

Western NC & Asheville
- See Crabtree Falls
- Hike to the top of Grandfather Mountain
- Hickory Nut Falls (Last of the Mohicans)
- Visit Lake Lure (from the movie Dirty Dancing)
- Experience Autumn at Oz
See Looking Glass Falls- Visit Craggy Gardens
- Swim at Wintergreen Falls in Dupont State Forest
- Swim at Paradise Falls in the Nantahala National Forest
- See Linville Gorge/Hunt and Fish Falls
Pick our own apples- Visit the Biltmore Estate
Experience Mystery Hill (Blowing Rock)Go down sliding rock (Pigsah Forest)Shop at the original Mast General Store in Valle Crucis

Miscellaneous Things
Make a trip to Washington DCSee the fall colors on the Blue Ridge ParkwayGlamping in Shenandoah ValleyMake a trip to Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg Tennessee- Take a Space-A trip
- See an outdoor drama (Cherokee or Manteo)
Go camping- Complete a NC State Parks Passport
Build a snowman- Take a trip with Amtrak

Whew……that’s a ton of stuff! Do I think I’ll accomplish all of the Fort Liberty Bucket List?
Umm….maybe? I guess it depends on how long we’re stationed here and how life (and finances) go.
At least, I’ll never have a reason to say that we were bored!
What’s on your Fort Liberty Bucket List?






