Daytrips in Hampstead, NC

When you want to get out of the city, stretch your legs and breath some fresh air, there is nothing like a little daytrip to Hampstead to rejuvenate the body and soul. Poplar Grove Peanut Plantation, located just over the New Hanover County line on U.S. Highway 17, is a great starting point for a day's adventure. One of the oldest existing peanut plantations in North Carolina, Poplar Grove Plantation was in the same family for over six generations. The Foys originally purchased the land in 1795 and kept it in the family until the mid-1970s. Opened as a museum in 1980, today the mansion is on the National Register of Historic Homes. Plantation visitors can tour the big house and tenant farmer's cabins and spend time visiting historic craft artisans, such as basket makers, weavers and blacksmiths. 

Just a short walk out the Plantation's back door is the Abbey Nature Preserve, a 67-acre nature preserve dedicated to the memory of Margaret Abbey Foy Moore. Enter the preserve across from the livestock barns and enjoy walking along high and dry trails that wind down toward a pond. Choose a short walk that winds up a sandy road toward the house, or a longer walk that leads to a dam and doubles back through the woods. A wooden walkway, built across the pond, connects with walking trails on both sides, to complete a loop across the dam, through the woods, across the bridge, and through the woods once again to join the main loop. After all that walking, it is definitely time for lunch.

If you happen to visit on Wednesday mornings you are in luck. A great lunch can be cobbled together at the farmers' market held in the Plantation's front yard. Homemade bread, ripe tomatoes, lovely herbs, local goat cheese and fresh fish are available every week. If it is not a Wednesday, head up the road to Hampstead where there are a handful of good restaurants that feature homemade Southern cuisine like fried fish, hush puppies, cornbread and huge glasses of sweet tea.  

There are plenty of shopping opportunities in the area. In Hampstead, shoppers can purchase rifles and fishing poles, surfboards and skateboards, windchimes and fudge or antiques. For those seeking a more active afternoon, check out the bowls and street course at the Skate Park located in Hampstead.