Gastonia, NC Road Trips

Downtown Gastonia is home to numerous historic buildings from the early 20th century, the Gaston County Courthouse, and other County and City administrative offices. The downtown area has been the backdrop for several movie and TV productions due to its consistent historic look. The Schiele Museum of Natural History includes a planetarium, numerous collections pertaining to natural history and geography, national traveling exhibits, and a Nature Trail including a Backcountry Farm, Grist Mill, and Catawba Indian village with demonstrations of historically applicable crafts and skills. The Gaston County Museum of Art and History is in adjacent Dallas in the historic Hoffman Hotel and has exhibits on local history, art from around the region, and one of the largest collections of carriages in the country.

1 Crowder's Mountain State Park (west of town). Includes two mountain peaks over 1,500 ft (460 m) with miles of hiking trails. The summits of Crowders and Kings mountains offer breathtaking views of the surrounding region including views of the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Charlotte skyline. Crowders Mountain has an imposing rock face that is popular with rock climbing buffs. The ruins of the All Healing Springs Resort are located in the park. Campsites and walking tours are also available. 2 Adventure Landing (along Franklin Boulevard). Arcade games and miniature golf course.

Gastonia and greater Gaston County is home to numerous local and chain restaurants. Of special note is Milano's for Italian, Tequilas in downtown for Mexican, and Shrimp Boat for southern-fried-food. Local specialties of Gaston County include: Fish Camps - Fish Camps are a fried seafood lover's dream. The decor and service are simple, but the food is great. Livermush - Livermush is similar to sausage and often served with breakfast or on sandwiches. Livermush is available in many local 'dive' style eateries. Barbeque - BBQ in Gastonia is predominantly 'Western NC' style. R.O.'s has become nationally known due to its unique spicy slaw that is the dominant ingredient in R.O.'s style of BBQ. Tony's Ice Cream - Consistently voted the best ice cream in the Charlotte Metro, Tony's makes their own ice cream in a variety of flavors on-site and distributes to numerous retailers across the region.

Gastonia has liquor by the drink, as to most surrounding towns, and numerous restaurants and bars serve liquor, beer, and wine. Outside those establishments, beer and wine are available in grocery stores, gas stations, and other stores, but liquor is only available in state-licensed ABC stores. SunDrop, a highly caffeinated citrus flavored soft drink, originates in St. Louis, Missouri, but is bottled in Gastonia and is a hometown favorite. Sweetened iced tea ("Sweet tea") is another local favorite.

There are a variety of comfortable chain hotels located between the New Hope and Cox Road exits on Interstate 85 and at the intersection with U.S. 321 including a Courtyard by Marriot, Fairfield Inn, Comfort Inn and Suites, Hampton Inn, Holiday Inn Express, and Motel 6. Numerous additional hotels are located 15-20 minutes away in nearby Charlotte.

Gastonia is located 15 minutes west of Charlotte Douglas International Airport. Gastonia has a municipal airport for small jets and prop driven aircraft. Interstate 85 and U.S. Highways 321 and 29/74 provide highway access. While rather inconvenient, it is possible to travel to Gastonia by train. Amtrak serves the town via its Crescent train between New York City and New Orleans, however trains arrive in the middle of the night. The unmanned 1 Gastonia station is located at 350 Hancock St. A Greyhound station is located just east of downtown.

Although there is a city bus system and taxis are available, a car is practically necessary for effectively visiting Gastonia.