Tours

Wilson, NC

Grab your boys and get ready for a weekend tour packed with all your favorite activities from fishing and racing to kicking back with a craft brew. Come hungry ‘cause you’ll stop by a few of the Tar Heel state’s tastiest breakfast joints and dine on a perfectly cooked steak and tender, tangy Eastern North Carolina BBQ. Let’s roll.

Medium Activity

2 days | 12 stops

Day 1

STOP 1: Flo's Biscuit

Best. Biscuits. Ever. The restaurant’s cathead biscuits are larger than your fist, buttery as all get-out, and oozing gooey hoop cheese. Flo’s serves other diner-variety fare, but biscuits have always been the lifeblood here. Customize it with crispy chicken, tenderloin, sausage, eggs, bacon, or what-have-you--you won’t regret it.

STOP 2: Fishing at Buckhorn

Spend some quality time with Mother Nature at Buckhorn Lake. This 2,100-acre reservoir is the perfect place to drop your boat into the water and find a fishing hole. The lake is packed with crappie, muskie, catfish, and rainbow trout. If you’re looking to turn up the adrenaline meter a bit, try your hand at water skiing or kayaking. Bring your horse to trot around the trails. The lake is located about 20 minutes from downtown Wilson; easy to get to, but hard to leave behind.

STOP 3: Parker's BBQ

You just can’t beat Parker’s Barbecue. A Wilson staple since 1946, Parker’s weekly smokes about 150 whole hogs — which are chopped and seasoned with a vinegar-and-red-pepper sauce — and fries about 8,000 chickens for 20,000 customers. We suggest you head over early to grab a space in line. You may also want to grab a fist full of napkins. If you’re not getting messy eating this barbecue, you’re not doing it right.

STOP 4: Thunder Alley

The hum of tiny engines fills the track. Drivers nervously grip their controls. In a split second the race is on. Rubber tires spin into action, kicking dirt in the air. Drivers rip through the track. They lean into the curve. They accelerate on the straightaways. They take flight on the hills, hoping for a safe landing and not a crash at the finish line. Welcome to a typical adrenaline filled day at Thunder Alley RC Speedway in Wilson. This local RC track offers visitors a chance to test their driving skills and nerves against other RC novices and enthusiasts. There are two dirt tracks; one oval and one off-road. Try your luck at both or remain a supportive bystander who reminds everyone “I could’ve done better.”

STOP 5: Beefmasters

This little restaurant in Wilson is known for not really having a menu at all. They serve ribeye steak, a baked potato and salad. That’s it. The owners wanted to keep things simple and concentrate on doing one thing well. Judging by the size of the crowds tailgating in the parking lot, it seems to be working out for them. So if you’re hungry for ribeye, and only ribeye, pop on over for a not-so-quick bite.

Day 2

STOP 6: Kountry Kitchen

This is your one stop for food that tastes like it is right from Grandma's kitchen. The eggs are cooked just right. The bacon is just crispy enough. Every bite is exactly what you want it to be--delicious.

STOP 7: Disc Golf

Disc Golf is a lot like regular golf, but played with small plastic discs. The point is to throw these discs into metal baskets. It should be noted that throwing and leaning the direction you want the disc to go does not actually work. The game takes a bit of practice and skill. The player who gets their disc in the basket with the least amount of throws and expletives, is declared the winner. You can try your hand at disc golf while you're in town. Our 18-hole course is located at Lake Wilson. Grab your discs, make peace with the wind gods, and head on over.

STOP 8: Wilson Flea Market

​​Get ready to go on a hunt, a treasure hunt that is. This giant warehouse has it all–antique furniture and home items, estate jewelry, vintage finds that will make you swoon. Save some time to go through this place carefully. There’s a lot to see so you’ll have to focus to find that special piece that speaks to you.

STOP 9: Dick's Hot Dogs

Family-owned Dick’s Hotdog Stand has been around for almost a century. A bit of a museum in itself, its walls are adorned with photos of celebrities, athletes, politicians, and other notables who wandered in over the past decades. But make no mistake, the only true stars in this restaurant are its famous hot dogs. Each is cooked up and slapped in a fresh bun for your dining pleasure. Add some slaw, mustard and maybe some original chili. Then prepare to have your taste buds applaud. Yes, they’re that good.

STOP 10: Kayaking Lake Wilson

Just a few minutes from downtown you’ll find Lake Wilson. This park covers over 320 acres and has some of the best hiking and biking around. Visitors will find two looping trails that circle the lake. The inner loop is about 1.33 miles and the outer loop 1.76 miles. The trails are mostly flat with the exception of one hill about halfway around. Along the paths a bridge will take you over the back of the lake and around the bottom side of the dam. The trails start and end at the parking lot. So just when you think you’re getting tired, you’re back at your car.

STOP 11: Brewmasters

There is no doubt, and once you have their sandwiches or pizza, you’ll agree Brewmaster's food is pretty amazing.The signature sandwich, “The Wilsonian,” is as ‘Wilson’ as it gets. They use only use the best Boar’s Head meats and cheeses and they pride themselves on their craft sandwiches and their rotating taps of craft beers.This is not some high-end, razzle-dazzle joint, but a down-to-earth family-oriented restaurant that prides itself on delicious food and exceptional customer experiences.

STOP 12: County Line Raceway

There’s something hypnotic about watching a race at County Line Raceway. Maybe it’s the sound of the engines reaching deep for that next lap. Maybe it’s the tension of multiple cars lined up bumper to bumper, one wrong move away from a crash. Maybe it’s the cheers of the crowd, yelling encouragement and back-seat driving from the stands. Maybe it’s all those things combined. But when you’re here, you don’t want to be anywhere else. For that brief moment you’re locked on that clay oval--watching, hoping, waiting for the checkered flag to crown a winner and end your suspense. That’s racing in Wilson.