Gold Hill, NC (May 28, 2011)

Got out on a fine day on May 28, fun ride to Gold Hill, NC. Interesting place which is right off of NC-49. I get there turning onto St. Stephens Church Road which is a great ride. Of course, in that area, great roads abound. Interesting place to visit, and they also will be hosting a Classic Motorcycle Show on June 25th from 10am-4pm. Its free and worth the trip, as is the whole area. It was the site of one of the first successful Gold Mines in North Carolina, and also one of the first big gold rushes. Not too far away is the Reed Gold Mine, which is also well worth a visit. Here though you can see some of the mining equipment. There is also one of the original tunnels used in gold mining which you can see at the site.
Many old buildings and equipment can be seen such as this windmill seen at right. There is a restaurant, stores selling various items and the town also hosts a number of events over the year. Gold Hill, NC has a nice web site and its worth a look both for the history of the place, as well as seeing what it has to offer. I have been there a number of times, and always enjoyed the visits, and have ridden there with a number of friends to the town. There are also often people there in period costumes, and also there are a number of music events held in the area. It is a great place to wander around, and a nice place to bring a camera. The riding in that area is really fun as well, some really great roads can be found in that area, and there are a great number of interesting sights to see. Most of the roads are two lane country roads with a lot of twists and turns. It is great to get out on a fine day. Have to watch out for the farm equipment at times, there are a lot of working farms in the area, as well as a number of small towns which are interesting to visit along the way.
Seen here at left is the main street at Gold Hill. For my ride, went some 75 miles and explored some really nice roads. I will not be in town for the bike show, but I have been in the past, and will hate missing it this year. Had to get out that way though, and enjoyed the ride. I have posted a few more photos on my photo page, and hope you have enjoyed these seen here.
Memorial Day weekend was a very good riding weekend, hot but not too humid, and got in a few nice rides, and saw some good sights while I was out. There is nothing like riding in North Carolina, and I will have a few more photos of some other sights in my next post!