29 Pictures That Make Orders to Fort Liberty Look Good

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We were less than excited when we first received orders to Fort Liberty, North Carolina (formerly known as Fort Bragg).

Everyone we knew that had previously been stationed there was either outright negative or completely indifferent about it. I didn’t meet anyone who hoped to get stationed there again.

But the truth is….we kind of loved it!

I made our Fort Liberty Bucket List with a HUGE list of things to do all over the state. While we only completed a fraction of the list, we discovered that there is SO MUCH to love about North Carolina.

Here are 29 pictures that make orders to Fort Liberty look good!

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The Mountains

North Carolina is made up of 3 major geographic regions: the Mountains, the Piedmont, and the Coastal Plains.

The Western side of the state contains the mountains and you absolutely cannot be stationed at Fort Liberty without taking at LEAST one trip to the Blue Ridge Mountains. Chasing waterfalls, seeing the views along the Blue Ridge Parkway, and picking apples should all be on your to-do list!

*(Looking Glass Falls in the Pisgah National Forest is gorgeous any time of year, but especially in the fall!)*

Looking Glass Falls in Brevard. — *(And if you visit Looking Glass in the summer, you can play in the water!)*

*(And while you’re in the mountains, make sure to pick your own apples at one of the orchards!)*

If you can’t make it to the mountains, here are 6 Pick-Your-Own Apple Orchards Near Fort Liberty. So, you can still have all of the fun of picking apples without the long drive.

Things to do in Sugar Mountain: Take a hike to see Otter Falls. — *(You could spend nearly every weekend chasing waterfalls during your time at Fort Liberty. This one is called Otter Falls.)*

Asheville KOA East is close to the waterfalls in the Pisgah National Forest. — *(Another gorgeous view of Looking Glass Falls.)*

The Blue Ridge Parkway is a short drive from Asheville KOA East. — *(The photo ops are endless in the Blue Ridge Mountains.)*

Mountain sunset — *(We went camping in the mountains near Asheville and loved it!)*

Pictures that make orders to Fort Bragg, NC look good: fall colors along the Blue Ridge Parkway. — *(The fall colors along the Blue Ridge Parkway* *are dreamy!)*

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The Piedmont

The Piedmont region of North Carolina is where Fort Liberty is located. It encompasses the entire area between the mountains and the coast.

And while it doesn’t have the defining features of the mountains and the beaches, it is a gorgeous region nonetheless.

We spent a lot of our time outdoors, fishing, swimming, hiking, and playing. North Carolina has long hot summers and mild winters, so there’s plenty of great weather and lots of time to spend outside!

Building sand castles at White Lake, North Carolina. — *(Building sand castles at White Lake.)*

boulders and rocks North Carolina sandhills region — *(This massive rock ledge is only a 30-minute drive from Fort Liberty at Raven Rock State Park in Lillington.)*

Pictures that make orders to Fort Bragg look good: seeing the Golden Knights do a jump. — *(And did you even have orders to Fort Liberty if you didn’t see the Golden Knights do a jump?)*

Small wooden walkway at Weymouth Woods in North Carolina. — (*This pretty little hike can be found at Weymouth Woods Nature Preserve in Southern Pines which is home to the oldest Longleaf Pine in the world.*)

These 3 Easy Hikes Near Fort Liberty that are perfect for hiking with kids!

27 pictures that make Fort Bragg look good: The metalmorphosis sculpture in Charlotte, NC. — *(We prefer our adventures to be mostly parks and wild areas, but this urban treat was too good to resist – the Metalmorphosis sculpture in Charlotte, NC.)*

mushrooms growing at Raven Rock State Park in North Carolina — (*Another one of my favorite pictures from Raven Rock State Park.*)

Seeing this sombrero meant that we were almost to home! — *(Caught a sunset at South of the Border, which is technically in South Carolina, but is only an hour’s drive from Fort Liberty.)*

Quirky things to look for in Fayetteville #1: the mini Eiffel Tower. — *(You never know what quirky things you’ll find in Fayetteville.)*

Big list of things to do in Fayetteville, NC. — *(Despite it’s sordid history, the Market House in Fayetteville is a pretty structure.)*

View from the overlook at Raven Rock State Park in Lillington, NC — *(Raven Rock was our favorite nearby hiking spot & this was the view from the top!)*

White Lake in Elizabeth, NC — *(What’s better than floating a summer day away on the lake?)*

*(There’s a reason Luke Combs sings about the Carolina sky. I took this picture in the drive thru at Cook Out in Spring Lake.)*

Pictures that Fort Bragg, NC look good: fishing pond near Anderson Creek. — *(One of our favorite things to do was to go fishing in the summer!)*

The old Lucky Strike water tower at the American Tobacco Campus. — *(The Piedmont is full of urban treats….like the old Lucky Strike Factory.)*

Pictures that make orders to Fort Bragg: fall colors on trees lining the street on post at Fort Bragg. — *(Fall is truly magic in North Carolina. I took this picture on post at Fort Liberty after having lunch with Heff.)*

The Coast

The Coast of North Carolina not only contains the state’s coastline but also the Outer Banks (a string of barrier islands that separate the Atlantic from the mainland).

Since we’re originally from Florida and go to the beach any time we ‘go home’, we spent the least amount of time on the coast of North Carolina.

However, we took a few trips to the beach from Fort Liberty and it was a blast every time!

Hiking at Jockey's Ridge State Park in North Carolina's Outer Banks. — *(Sledding down the dunes at Jockey’s Ridge State Park was exhausting, but made some beautiful pictures!)*

Pictures that make orders to Fort Bragg look good: view from underneath the pier at Wilmington, NC. — *(And the piers stretching out into the Atlantic Ocean are pretty picturesque too!)*

Pictures that make getting stationed at Fort Bragg in North Carolina look good. — *(And if you didn’t get a picture with a lighthouse, did you even visit the Outer Banks?)*

Pictures that make orders to Fort Bragg, NC look good: boardwalk to the beach in Wilmington, NC. — *(Not to mention the miles of public beaches and their beautiful boardwalks.)*

*(And the USS North Carolina in Wilmington is fun to see!)*

*(A picture of the desert or more of Jockey’s Ridge sand dunes?*)

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We weren’t originally thrilled with orders to Fort Liberty. As you can see, we were determined to make the absolute best of it. And we fell in love with the state of North Carolina in the process.

If you have orders to Fort Liberty as your next duty station, don’t worry. There’s so much beauty across North Carolina, so many fun things to do, great food, and even better people.

You’re gonna be just fine!