17 Best Things To Do In Statesville, North Carolina
Statesville, North Carolina, might not be shouting for attention, but once you roll in, it gets loud in all the right ways. Think hot air balloons floating over farmland, hidden speakeasies downtown, and a history that doesn’t just sit in a museum—it walks the streets. You can explore vineyards, watch a Civil War reenactment, then catch a bluegrass band all in the same afternoon. It’s part chill, small-town charm, part surprise-you fun. You never quite know what you’ll stumble into—and that’s the best part.
Looking up what to do in Statesville? Start with a morning stroll through the downtown district. The shops have personality, not just price tags. Swing by a local coffee spot, then hit up Fort Dobbs for a hands-on history fix. Feeling adventurous? There’s skydiving nearby. Prefer solid ground? Take a wine tour and sip your way through Iredell County. And when the sun dips, there’s usually live music, food trucks, or a local event going strong. It’s easy to overlook a town like this—but once you’ve seen the balloon glow during the Carolina BalloonFest, you’ll get it. Statesville knows how to leave a mark—without even trying.
1. Take a Walk Through the Past
📍 Location: Downtown Statesville, NC
Fun Fact: Statesville’s downtown has buildings from the 1800s and a self-guided walking tour with plaques that spill all the juicy history.
Forget dusty textbooks—Statesville’s history hits harder when you’re standing in it. The Downtown Statesville Development Corporation offers guided walking tours from April through October, and they’re anything but boring. Every Saturday at 10 a.m., you’ll stroll past over 20 historic landmarks with someone who actually knows the stories behind them.
We're talking places like the 1839 Mitchell College building and the old-school charm of the 1901 Southern Railway Passenger Depot. These aren’t just pretty buildings—they’re chapters in Statesville’s wild, complicated, and sometimes surprising past. The guides? They’re locals, and they bring serious storytelling game. You’ll hear the stuff that didn’t make it into the brochure. Want to know which building was once a jail? Or where Prohibition-era bootleggers hid out? They’ve got the tea.
Prefer to go at your own pace? Grab a self-guided tour brochure online or at the DSDC office. Highlights include the Iredell County Courthouse, the Confederate Monument, Nixon Livery Stable, and several vintage banks. Informative signs provide context about each site's architecture and history.
2. All American Trailways Museum
📍 Location: 801 S Meeting St, Statesville, NC 28677
Fun Fact: Housed in a vintage Trailways bus station, it celebrates the golden age of American bus travel—greyhound nostalgia included.
You wouldn’t think an old bus station could be this cool, but the All American Trailways Museum proves otherwise. It's like stepping straight into the golden age of American road travel—back when people wanted to take the bus. The place is packed with vintage uniforms, throwback signage, ticket stubs, and even a fully restored Trailways coach that you can walk through. And let’s be real: sitting inside that thing makes you feel like you're headed to a 1950s jazz club in New Orleans, not just checking out another small-town exhibit.
This isn’t a huge, corporate museum with velvet ropes and digital guides. It's local, it's personal, and it’s got a lot of heart. You can almost hear the old engines and station announcements as you wander through. Perfect for history buffs, road trip junkies, or anyone who loves Americana with a side of grit. Among all the unique things to do in Statesville, this one flies way under the radar—and that’s part of the charm.
Just go see it. Bring your curiosity and a little imagination. You’ll leave with a new appreciation for buses, travel, and the weirdly fascinating details of how people used to move across America.
3. Fort Dobbs Historic Site
📍 Location: 438 Fort Dobbs Rd, Statesville, NC 28625
Fun Fact: The only state historic site in North Carolina dedicated to the French and Indian War. Think living history meets battlefield drama.
Fort Dobbs Historic Site offers a journey back to the 1750s with its reconstructed frontier fort, originally built to protect settlers during the French and Indian War. Visitors can explore barracks, officer quarters, palisades, and period cannons while costumed interpreters bring history to life. The commanding officer’s house displays artifacts like medical tools, camp gear, and weaponry. An on-site museum showcases excavated colonial relics, while surrounding nature trails enhance the immersive experience. Special events, including reenactments, campfire cooking, and military drills, provide a deeper connection to the past.
4. Historic Sharpe House
📍 Location: 402 S Center St, Statesville, NC 28677
Fun Fact: Built in 1866 and once home to Col. Silas Sharpe, this house now hosts teas, jazz nights, and spooky dinner parties.
The Historic Sharpe House isn’t just another old building—it’s the real deal. Built in 1866, this Greek Revival-style home is one of Statesville’s most iconic landmarks, and it’s been standing through wars, economic booms, and generations of Southern stories. Originally home to Col. Silas Alexander Sharpe, a Confederate veteran and North Carolina legislator, the house was a symbol of post-Civil War recovery. It still has the original woodwork, restored chandeliers, and a porch that practically dares you not to take a selfie. Guided tours let you explore the architecture and learn how this house played a role in the town’s political and social history.
Today, the Sharpe House is more than just a museum—it’s a living part of the community. They host tea parties, holiday events, live music, and even murder mystery dinners. Seriously. It’s not just for history buffs. The lawn is often packed for outdoor performances or local fundraisers. You might show up for a tour and leave with tickets to their next jazz night.
If you're mapping out attractions, don’t skip this one. It's got elegance, stories, and just enough surprise to keep it way more interesting than your average old-house visit.
5. Lake Norman State Park
📍 Location: 759 State Park Rd, Troutman, NC 28166
Fun Fact: With over 1,900 acres, 30+ miles of trails, and access to North Carolina’s largest lake—this place is a haven for hikers, bikers, and kayakers.
Lake Norman State Park offers an idyllic getaway with its serene setting along North Carolina’s largest manmade lake. Visitors can fish for bass, catfish, and crappie, launch a boat, or paddle a kayak along the scenic shoreline. Secluded coves provide perfect spots for picnicking, swimming, and wading, while a swim beach with concessions ensures a relaxing day by the water.
Hiking trails wind through hardwood forests and open meadows, offering stunning lake views. Campers can enjoy wooded tent and RV sites with modern amenities. Enrich your visit with interpretive programs like guided night hikes or kayak tours. With its blend of outdoor adventure and peaceful natural beauty, Lake Norman State Park is a must-visit near Statesville.
6. Iredell County Quilt Trail
📍 Location: Throughout Iredell County, NC
Fun Fact: Each barn quilt tells a story—some inspired by family traditions, others honoring local farms or quilting guilds.
The Iredell County Quilt Trail celebrates the region’s artistic and cultural traditions through more than 200 painted quilt blocks displayed on barns, homes, and businesses. Each 8-foot block replicates the intricate patterns of antique quilts, paying homage to the area’s heritage.
Use a free trail map or app to locate quilt blocks in communities like Harmony and Olin, and learn about the history and symbolism behind each design. Visit the Quilt Lizzy Museum in Statesville to view antique quilt replicas and discover more about this unique form of public art. The Quilt Trail offers a delightful mix of creativity, history, and scenic exploration.
7. Balloon Ride with Big oh! Balloons
📍 Location: 238 Airport Rd, Statesville, NC 28677
Fun Fact: Flights launch at sunrise and give you bird’s-eye views of the Piedmont and Lake Norman—plus, every flight ends with a champagne toast.
Experience the magic of flight with Big oh! Balloons and take in breathtaking aerial views of Statesville and Iredell County. Glide peacefully over rolling farmland, woodlands, and shimmering lakes as an experienced pilot points out landmarks and shares insights about the region.
Flights at sunrise reveal stunning colors and serene landscapes, offering a unique perspective of the area’s natural beauty. After an hour-long journey, celebrate with a champagne toast upon landing. Statesville’s ideal wind conditions make it a top destination for hot air ballooning, providing a truly unforgettable adventure high above the countryside.
8. Rescue Ranch
📍 Location: 1424 Turnersburg Hwy, Statesville, NC 28625
Fun Fact: This 87-acre animal sanctuary teaches kids about kindness and even has an inclusive, ADA-accessible playground built for all abilities.
Rescue Ranch in Statesville offers unforgettable encounters with animals while promoting care and compassion. This nonprofit sanctuary provides a home for rescued farm animals and exotic species, from alpacas and horses to wallabies and emus. Guided tours allow visitors to interact with these animals, hear their rescue stories, and learn about their care.
Kids can feed rabbits and pigs, meet grazing cows, and observe playful goats and curious anteaters. Special programs, including summer camps, offer hands-on activities like grooming and feeding. With its engaging animal encounters and mission-driven education, Rescue Ranch inspires visitors to connect with nature and support animal welfare.
9. Visit Rare Ride Company
📍 Location: 1244 River Hwy, Mooresville, NC 28117
Fun Fact: Their showroom includes rare muscle cars, exotic imports, and collector pieces most people only dream of seeing in person.
There’s no sign with flashing lights or revving engines outside, but the second you walk into Rare Ride Company, you know you’re not in some basic car lot. It’s quieter—more like a showroom-meets-time-capsule with attitude. Every vehicle in there has a story. One might’ve been a Sunday driver from the ‘70s, another a barely-touched beast that looks like it just rolled off the line. You walk through the rows, and it hits you: this place doesn’t deal in cars. It deals with obsessions.
These aren’t your run-of-the-mill rides. This is where gearheads, collectors, and dreamers come to track down that one model they’ve been talking about for 10 years. Rare Ride’s collection runs deep—muscle cars, luxury cruisers, oddball imports, the kind of stuff you thought only lived on Instagram feeds.
If you’re hunting for specialty cars in Statesville, this is the spot. No sales pressure, no corny slogans—just real machines and real people who know the difference between “nice” and “rare.” You don’t have to be a car nut to appreciate it. But if you are? You’re gonna lose your mind in the best way possible.
10. Lazy 5 Ranch Corn Maze
📍 Location: 15100 Mooresville Rd, Mooresville, NC 28115
Fun Fact: Beyond the corn maze, this drive-thru safari features giraffes, camels, and zebras... in rural NC. Yeah, you read that right.
Each fall, Lazy 5 Ranch transforms its sprawling cornfield into a themed maze, challenging visitors to navigate its winding paths. From pirates to outer space, the designs change yearly and provide 45 minutes of puzzling fun.
Beyond the maze, the ranch offers a petting zoo, train rides, and pumpkin picking. Families can enjoy seasonal treats like barbecue and kettle corn while exploring the ranch’s animal exhibits. The Lazy 5 Ranch Corn Maze guarantees a day full of festive fall activities for all ages.
11. Uncle Dave Macon Days
📍 Location: Various venues in Statesville, NC
Fun Fact: What started in Tennessee as a small tribute concert turned into a multi-day celebration of folk, bluegrass, and roots music.
Celebrate Statesville’s country music heritage at Uncle Dave Macon Days each July. This festival honors the legacy of local legend David Macon with live performances of bluegrass, blues, and old-time music across four stages.
During the day, visitors can enjoy heritage craft demos like blacksmithing and quilting, or join workshops to learn traditional skills. Evening activities include square dancing, mule wagon rides, and a fiddlers’ convention. For four days, Uncle Dave Macon Days transforms downtown Statesville into a vibrant celebration of Americana.
12. Carolina BalloonFest
📍 Location: 531 Old Airport Rd, Statesville, NC 28677
Fun Fact: This hot air balloon festival dates back to 1974 and features launches, tethered rides, wine tastings, and live music across three packed days.
In October, the Carolina BalloonFest fills Statesville’s skies with colorful hot air balloons. Visitors can watch crews inflate balloons, enjoy tethered rides, or simply marvel at the breathtaking ascents during sunrise and sunset launches.
On the ground, the festival offers live music, food vendors, kids’ activities, and balloon demonstrations. The highlight is the evening balloon glow, where the vibrant colors light up the night. This annual event combines aerial beauty with family-friendly fun, making it a must-see fall tradition.
13. Southern Distilling Company
📍 Location: 211 Jennings Rd, Statesville, NC 28625
Fun Fact: One of the largest craft distilleries in the U.S.—they make small-batch bourbon and rye and offer behind-the-scenes tours (yes, samples included).
You don’t have to be a whiskey snob to appreciate what Southern Distilling is doing. You just have to like the idea of sipping something smooth where it’s made. Walk into their big red barn-style building, and you’ll smell the good stuff before you even get to the tasting bar. This place is warm, polished, and full of history—but also feels like it’s made for people who want to enjoy themselves, not just nod seriously at barrels.
They make small-batch bourbon, rye, and a killer apple brandy, and they’ll walk you through how it’s all done—from grain to glass. The tasting flights are generous, and if you hang around long enough, you’ll probably meet someone who knows way too much about corn mash but makes it weirdly fascinating. Statesville used to be known as the liquor capital of the world, and Southern Distilling is out here trying to earn that title back.
14. Resettlers
📍 Location: 132 Turnersburg Hwy, Statesville, NC 28625
Fun Fact: It’s 45,000 square feet of furniture, oddities, collectibles, and architectural salvage—aka, antique paradise for treasure hunters.
You think you’re just going in to browse. Next thing you know, it’s two hours later and you’re deep in a furniture vortex, wondering if you do need a 1940s sideboard or a neon beer sign from someone’s granddad’s basement. That’s Resettlers. Half antique store, half estate sale explosion, all-in on weird, cool, and unexpectedly useful finds.
This place is huge. Like, you-might-need-a-map huge. It’s part vintage treasure hunt, part “Wait, that’s only HOW much?” moment. You’ll see old radios, retro couches, taxidermy, gently used cowboy boots, maybe even a grandfather clock or two. And the staff? Chill, helpful, and very used to people wandering around in dazed joy. If you’re looking for what to do in Statesville, NC, especially when you want to avoid another cookie-cutter chain store, this is your spot. Go with zero expectations and leave with something that has a story—even if it’s just a lamp shaped like a duck.
Fair warning: Resettlers is the kind of place you tell yourself you’ll come back to… and then somehow end up at again two days later.
15. Iredell Museums
📍 Location: 134 Court St, Statesville, NC 28677
Fun Fact: Home to one of NC’s most surprising exhibits—“George,” a legit 3,000-year-old Egyptian mummy, lives here. So do rotating art and history collections.
You know how some museums feel like they’re trying too hard? Iredell Museums isn’t that. It’s small, local, and totally unpretentious—just full of things that make you go, “Wait, I didn’t know that!” It started back in 1956 in an old waterworks building and has been evolving ever since. Now you’ll find it downtown at the Court Street Gallery, mixing local history with hands-on exhibits that keep kids (and adults) interested.
There’s a real Egyptian mummy here—yes, in Statesville. Also fossils, Civil War artifacts, and rotating exhibits that feel way more personal than anything behind glass at a big city museum. They’ve even got spaces for younger kids to explore and touch stuff without getting yelled at. It’s the kind of place where the staff knows the history and wants to talk about it.
If you’re looking for amazing places to visit in Statesville, this one’s underrated in the best way. It’s not about flashy tech or endless wings—it’s about curiosity, weird facts, and leaving just a little more informed than when you walked in.
16. Bigleaf Slopes Park
📍 Location: 1332 Lewis Ferry Rd, Statesville, NC 28677
Fun Fact: It’s named after the rare Bigleaf Magnolia tree and features some of the area’s best biking trails and forested footpaths.
This park doesn’t try to be the next big attraction—and honestly, that’s exactly why it works. Bigleaf Slopes is the kind of place you go when your brain’s overloaded, your phone’s been buzzing too much, and you just want a trail, some trees, and a bit of quiet. The paths here aren’t anything extreme—rated easy to moderate, mostly gentle slopes—but they take you through peaceful stretches of forest where the loudest sound is usually your footsteps.
Along the way, you’ll pass signs that tell you what kind of trees you’re seeing. It sounds simple, but it makes you slow down and pay attention, which is kind of the whole point. There’s no playground, no snack bar—just a solid walking loop, a lot of shade, and enough nature to reset your mood. If you’re into low-key hikes or just need an excuse to stretch your legs, it’s a solid choice.
17. Key to Escape
📍 Location: 141 E Broad St, Statesville, NC 28677
Fun Fact: It’s Statesville’s highest-rated escape room—offering pirate ships, mad scientist labs, haunted hotels, and just enough pressure to test your friendships.
This isn’t your average escape room. Key to Escape is tucked inside a historic church, which already gives it a mood, but then you walk in and suddenly you're halfway to Oz. Literally. There are rooms themed around the Wizard of Oz, and they don’t just toss in a yellow brick or two. The detail here is wild—set design, sound, lighting—it all feels like someone cared when they built it.
The puzzles? Creative without being frustrating. You don’t need to be a genius, but you can’t just guess your way through either. It's the perfect middle ground for families, date nights, or that one coworker who’s way too into escape rooms. The staff is friendly, the clues are smart, and there's zero pressure—just fun, problem-solving chaos in a cool building.
Conclusion
Statesville is a treasure trove of history, culture, and natural beauty, offering far more than any single guide can capture. The attractions highlighted here are just the beginning—Statesville invites you to uncover its many charms for yourself.
Stroll through downtown to admire its historic architecture or relax at Quiet Oaks Lavender Farm. Cheer on the Statesville Owls at a minor league baseball game or tee off at one of the area’s many golf courses. Paddle along the South Yadkin River or browse the antique shops lining Highway 21. Wherever your interests lie, Statesville’s friendly, small-town warmth ensures every visitor feels right at home.
With endless possibilities, this North Carolina gem promises memories waiting to be made. Are you planning to visit the city? Karta has some amazing deals on Statesville vacation rentals for you!
FAQ
1. What are some hidden historical landmarks to explore in Statesville, NC?
Discover hidden gems like Fort Dobbs Historic Site and privately owned 19th-century homes, often accessible during heritage events or through local tours.
2. Are there any unique dining experiences in Statesville, NC?
Enjoy Southern cuisine with a twist at Twisted Oak American Bar & Grill or visit farm-to-table pop-ups during weekend markets.
3. Does Statesville have any annual events that are worth planning a trip around?
Don't miss the Carolina BalloonFest in October, the Pumpkin Fest, and the Art Crawl for diverse cultural and family-friendly experiences.
4. What are the best outdoor activities near Statesville for adventure lovers?
Visit Lake Norman State Park for water sports and hiking or dig for treasures at Hiddenite Gems Mine.
5. What’s a fun way to explore Statesville with kids?
Head to Zootastic Park for interactive wildlife encounters or the Statesville Children’s Museum for engaging, hands-on exhibits.
