Thank you Cabarrus County Convention & Visitors Bureau for sponsoring this post.
10 reasons you should make Cabarrus County your next adventure & why your whole family will love it!
Who knew so many adventures await so close in Cabarrus County?
Cabarrus County is known as “Where Racing Lives,” but it has so much more than motorsports!
Roger & I spent a wonderful weekend experiencing just a small sample of a variety of activities available in the county. They definitely have a reason to be proud of their county & everything that it has to offer its locals & tourists.
From the small town feel of historic downtown Concord to the speed of Charlotte Motor Speedway & one of the largest malls, I’ve ever been seen.
And I can’t even begin to talk about all the delicious food we sampled & indulged on throughout our trip. (P.S. you can see a lot of it in this video of our trip.)
Cabarrus County is a place where you can enjoy a variety of adventures while checking off some exciting bucket list experiences.
I’ve got 10 reasons for why you will love Cabarrus County for your next vacation, the first 4 are things that we personally loved and the last 6 are actual experiences you can enjoy in their beautiful county.
1. Fun for all Ages & Travelers
I had no idea that Cabarrus County would have such a variety of activities for every age & for every style of traveler.
Whether you have small kids who love to have fun, teenagers who like to go fast, an appetite for life, or prefer to take it slow & easy, there is literally something for everyone in this county!
Cabarrus County is an affordable, family-friendly destination that your family is sure to love!
From nature lovers to foodies, to adventures, to shoppers, & beyond you are sure to find something everyone will love & enjoy in Cabarrus County. And I’ve got 6 fun experiences listed below!
2. Location
Cabarrus County is an under-the-radar southern destination that’s easily accessible by car or plane.
Cabarrus County is only about 5 & 1/2 hours away from where we live (east of Chattanooga) even when taking the scenic route through the mountains (rather than going south through big cities).
Both on the way to Cabarrus County & on the way home we decided to take the scenic mountain route and it really made the journey so much more relaxing & enjoyable.
And because Cabarrus County is in such a great location we were able to sleep in, drive there, & still have 6+ hours of daylight to explore!
3. Small town Feel
I love the environment, excitement, & energy of a small town.
Between the historic small town environment of downtown Concord, the excitement of gold, & the energy of racing, Cabarrus County has a lot going for both its locals & tourists!
And a visit to Cabarrus County means you can take a relaxing walk through their many antique malls in the morning, enjoy the speed of racecars in the afternoon, & then enjoy a nice dinner in downtown Concord!
4. Friendly Locals
On several occasions, Roger & I stopped to talk to locals like at the visitor center, restaurants, & our hotel.
Everyone was so friendly, helpful, & informative! Just one more thing you have to love about the south!
I highly recommend you check out the visitor center when you first arrive in Cabarrus County.
They will give you all the details about the exciting activities & events happening during your stay & they have a plethora of information on the best eats (which is pretty much everywhere), fun attractions, & best ways to relax while enjoying their county.
While visiting their visitor center we found out that Cabarrus County even has their own app that brings their Cabarrus County magazine to life. And in this video, I give you a little peek at how it works, but you have to check it out for yourself. It’s so cool!
5. Explore Downtown Concord
You will most definitely want to have your camera in hand when you head to downtown Concord because it is picture perfect!
I had so much fun taking pictures & having pictures taken of me (Thanks Rog!) while exploring through historic Concord.
There are so many things to see, do (like at The Basement Arcade Bar where you can 80s and 90s arcade games), & eat in downtown Concord!
One of my favorite sights included the Coca-Cola “ghost sign” on the corner of Union & Cabarrus. The mural was discovered beneath a metal façade & has been restored in recent years.
6. Foodie Fun
Wherever & whenever we travel food is one of the first things that we research because food is fun!
And as you can see from this video, we had a lot of fun eating!
We were able to experience a lot of delicious & local eateries while visiting Cabarrus County & I’ve already started making a list of places I want to try next time we visit Cabarrus County.
Roger’s favorite was Cabarrus Creamery which serves homemade ice cream & I can’t stop dreaming about Cookie Dough Bliss & their edible cookie dough.
Seriously, the entire drive home last Sunday I kept mentally & vocally dreaming about eating more of their yummy cookie dough!
7. Reed Gold Mine
One of our first stops in Cabarrus County was to check out the Reed Gold Mine which was the first documented site of gold discovered in the U.S.
We even got to pan for gold during our visit & I found an itsy bitsy piece of gold!
After panning for gold we cooled down a bit by going underground & exploring the mine. It was so fun!
This is a great place to explore for families or anyone looking for a unique bit of historical fun.
8. Nature Trails
Since getting out in nature is one of our favorite things to do (it kind of has to be now that we bought 27 acres, right?) we decided to explore some of the many nature trails & parks in Cabarrus County.
On Saturday we enjoyed a picnic Frank Liske Park & spent some time reading in the sunshine.
And my favorite was exploring the Carolina Thread Trail I felt like I was stepping into a wooded fairytale.
It was beautiful!!
9. Antiquing in Cabarrus County
If you love antiquing than you will love Cabarrus County!
From White Owl Antique Mall & Design Center to Ruffin’s Roost, Cline’s Country Antiques, & The Depot at Gibson Mill you are sure to find just what you are looking for & probably some things you weren’t planning on but can’t live without!
We spent some time at the Depot at Gibson Mill which is the largest & most popular antique mall in the Southeastern United States. We even read that on a sign while driving around Cabarrus County!
We saw everything from the popular farmhouse style, to guitars, cameras, furniture, toys, & more!
10. Feel the Need for Speed
If you love NASCAR, speed, or just the thrill of a good ride then you need to race on over to Cabarrus County for the NASCAR Racing Experience!
Sorry, I really couldn’t help my self with that pun!!
But seriously, if driving (or riding) on a speedway in a real NASCAR isn’t already on your bucket list you should add it right now!
And as you can tell from this video, we both had an amazing time, him driving & me riding, at the Charlotte Motor Speedway.
I was really nervous about this all weekend since the only thing I could equate it to was rollercoasters (which I can be picky about), but riding alongside a professional driver going 170 MPH was one of the most exciting & thrilling things I have ever done in my life!
Next time (because yes, there will be a next time), Roger wants to do the ride along too so he can feel what it’s like to go 170 MPH before climbing into the driver’s seat again in hopes of getting nearly that fast!
I, on the other hand, am perfectly content to sit in the passenger seat & yell “gun it!” while wearing the biggest grin of my life!
But don’t for a minute think that there are only 10 reasons, or even just 6 things to do, in this beautiful county! Although we were there for a long weekend, we could have easily stayed a whole week in order to experience everything!
Some things that we didn’t have time for, but would love to go back to experience (especially once we have kids) include the Great Wolf Lodge, a Tour of Charlotte Motor Speedway, SEA LIFE Aquarium, & Gem Theatre.
Another experience we enjoyed while visiting Cabarrus County that I highly recommend, includes Concord Mills which is a mall that is designed like a racetrack with over 200 “pit stops” that include everything from manufacturer & retail outlets to off-price retailers, as well as unique specialty stores. Not only did we eat some good food there, but Roger was able to find something in one of their stores that he had been looking for, for a while now.
If you want to see a more personal look at everything we did while in Cabarrus County be sure to check out this short video of our whole trip which includes our favorite eats, moments, & experiences.
You can learn more about Cabarrus County by clicking here & start planning your trip by downloading the Cabarrus County Destination Guide here.
What exciting adventure are you most interested in while visiting Cabarrus County?
I’d love to hear from you!
Feel free to comment below, email me, or tweet me on Twitter.
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With love, Giustina
I was selected for this opportunity as a member of CLEVER and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.
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