Rocky Mount, NC Road Trips
Plan drives from Rocky Mount, NC with practical route pages for distance, drive time, fuel cost, road character, and places to stop along the way.
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Trip Routes
1
Longest Drive
211.5 mi
Stallings, NC
Quickest Drive
4h 18m
Stallings, NC
Plan Around Rocky Mount, NC
Continue From Rocky Mount, NC
Good next legs if this city is only one stop in a longer road trip.
Trips from Rocky Mount, NC
Rocky Mount, NC by the Numbers
Recent demographic snapshot from the US Census Bureau's American Community Survey.
Population
54,175
Median Income
$52,927
Median Home Value
$148,300
Median Age
41.8
Source: US Census Bureau ACS 5-year (public domain). See our methodology for details.
Rocky Mount, NC at a Glance
Founded
1816
Elevation
102 ft
Area
44 mi²
Notable People from Rocky Mount, NC
A sampling of people born in Rocky Mount, NC.
Thelonious Monk
1917–1982
American jazz pianist and composer (1917–1982)
Mary Elizabeth Winstead
1984
American actress (born 1984)
Buck Williams
1960
American basketball player and coach
Phil Ford
1956
American basketball player
Mike Easley
1950
72nd governor of North Carolina
Kay Kyser
1905–1985
American bandleader, actor (1905-1985)
James Boyd
1930–1997
American professional boxer
Earle Hyman
1926–2017
American actor (1926-2017)
Susie Sharp
1907–1996
American judge (1907–1996)
Landmarks & Historic Sites
Attractions and heritage-registered places located in Rocky Mount, NC.
Rocky Mount Mills
Historic property in Rocky Mount, North Carolina
City data from Wikidata (Q1021026), available under CC0. Photos from Wikimedia Commons under their respective licenses. See our methodology for details.
Traveler Guide to Rocky Mount, NC
Rocky Mount is a city in North Carolina. Its dawning days were more or less centered around cotton mills in the early 19th century, though it was settled as early as the 1700s by Europeans. Eventually tobacco became the prized crop and warehouses and rail stations sprung up to export this commodity. Rocky Mount, though with a reputation tarnished somewhat by crime and urban decay, is the birthplace of Mike Tyson and Hardee's fast food restaurants and where Jim Thorpe debuted with the Rocky Mountain Railroaders and Jack Kerouac wrote parts of "The Dharma Bums" during his visits there.
The Imperial Centre for the Arts & Sciences, 270 Gay St, ☏ +1 252-972-1266. A multipurpose facility that includes the Children’s Museum & Science Center, the Marie V. Howard Art Museum, and a theater. art gallery is free.
1 Battle Park, 270 Gay St (entrance off Battlepark Lane), ☏ +1 252-972-1151. Daily 6AM-9PM. This park allows you to see the falls and "rocky mounds" on the Tar River for which Rocky Mount was named, as well as the Rocky Mount Mills, the cotton mill from the town's early days built in 1816 that has been redeveloped into breweries and other space. You can also access the 7-mile long Tar River Trail here that crosses an impressively long wooden suspension bridge to the southeast. 2 Dunn Center For The Performing Arts at North Carolina Wesleyan College, 3400 N Wesleyan Blvd, ☏ +1 252-985-5197. Catch a performance here among options that include the Wesleyan Players productions and concerts of the Tar River Swing Band and Orchestra. Watch the North Carolina Wesleyan College's Battling Bishops play NCAA sports.
1 Rocky Mount Mills, 1151 Falls Rd, ☏ +1 252-969-0909. The former mill now has a number of restaurants, such as: The Prime Smokehouse: Barbecue & Beyond - overlooking the river The Tipsy Tomato - pizza restaurant 2 Gardner's Barbecue 301 Flagship Store, 1331 N Wesleyan Blvd, ☏ +1 252-446-2983. Carolina bbq in a buffet-style format, more distinctive than the Western Sizzlin down the road.
Koi Pond Brewing Company also at the Rocky Mount Mills.
Country Inn & Suites By Radisson, 672 English Road, ☏ +1 252-442-0500. Free breakfast and high speed internet. Candlewood Suites Rocky Mount, 688 English Road, ☏ +1 252-467-2550. High speed internet and very clean rooms
By car. Rocky Mount is directly connected by highway with Roanoke Rapids (Interstate 95), Fayetteville (Interstate 95), Raleigh (US 64), Tarboro (US 64), and Wilson (US 301). By plane. The nearest commercial airport serving the area is Pitt–Greenville Airport (PGV IATA).
Travel tips adapted from Rocky Mount on Wikivoyage, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Content summarized; visit the source for the full article. See our methodology for how we use it.
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