Living Local
Living Local: life in Moore County, season by season.
Living Local is my guide to the places and traditions that make the Sandhills feel like home: the holidays we celebrate, the trails we walk, and the weekends we fill. Everything here is a spot or a date I would send my own family to first.
I've lived and worked in this county since 2003, and I keep this hub updated as the season changes. Pull on your walking shoes, mark the calendar, and meet me in the pines.
01 · Holidays
The Moore County Holiday Event Guide 2026.
The Sandhills come alive for the holidays. From tree lightings in a dozen town squares to the parades and longtime traditions that connect neighbors to neighbors, Moore County knows how to make December feel like home. Living Local is my guide to making the most of the season, town by town, in Terry's own voice.
I've lived and worked in this county since 2003, and the holidays here are one of my favorite times of the year. Bring a thermos, bundle up, and let's go see what's lit.
Thanksgiving morning
The Blessing of the Hounds
A longtime hunt-country tradition that gathers riders, hounds, and onlookers in the Sandhills on Thanksgiving morning. It is the kind of scene that feels like this corner of North Carolina: hounds belling, horses standing steady in the cool morning air, and a quiet blessing before the season really begins.
Location, time, and hosts are shared by the hosting organization each year, so check back for the details as they are announced.
The 2026 schedule
The full calendar, grouped by town.
Mark your favorites, then check the town or host before you head out: dates come from the 2026 local schedule and can change.
Aberdeen
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Tree Lighting
Thursday, Dec. 3 @ 6:15pm
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Parade
Saturday, Dec. 12 @ 11am
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Old Fashioned Christmas
Saturday, Dec. 12 @ 1pm
Cameron
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Tree Lighting
Saturday, Nov. 28 @ 5pm
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Parade
Saturday, Dec. 5 @ 10am
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Lighting of Cameron
Sunday, Dec. 6 @ 5pm
Carthage
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Parade
Saturday, Dec. 12 @ 6pm
Robbins
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Parade
Thursday, Dec. 3 @ 6pm
Southern Pines
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Tree Lighting
Saturday, Nov. 28 @ 4:30pm
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Parade
Saturday, Dec. 5 @ 11am
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Carriage Parade
Saturday, Dec. 12 @ 1pm
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First Eve Celebration
Thursday, Dec. 31 @ 6pm
Taylortown
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Tree Lighting
Date to be announced by Town Hall
Vass
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Tree Lighting
Friday, Nov. 27 @ 5:30pm
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Parade
Saturday, Dec. 19 @ 11am
Village of Pinehurst
The 30th Annual Festival of Trees
November 18-21, 2026
Three decades of decorated trees, wreaths, and holiday cheer in the Village, a beloved 30-year tradition that marks the start of the season. Details are shared by the Village each year.
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A Village Christmas
Friday, Dec. 4 @ 5pm
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Tree Lighting
Friday, Dec. 4 @ 6:30pm
These dates come from the 2026 local schedule and can change, so please confirm with the town or host organization before heading out. More events get added as the season goes on, and I'll post them here as they are announced.
02 · Walking Trails
Stretch your legs in the longleaf.
Moore County is threaded with public trails, from state-preserve longleaf to a lake loop in the middle of town. These are the walks I send friends and new neighbors to first: all free, all open to everyone, and each with its own kind of quiet.
Trails and seasonal hours do change, so it never hurts to check the park or town page before you head out. Bring water, wear shoes you don't mind getting sandy, and take the pace the pines set.
Weymouth Woods Sandhills Nature Preserve
Southern Pines
A 900-acre state preserve of old-growth longleaf with about 5 miles of easy, flat trails, from the 1.8-mile Holly Road loop to the short Pyxie Moss walk. Free, with a Visitor Center right on Fort Bragg Road.
Terry's tip: Park at the Visitor Center, bring water, and go in the morning when the woods are quietest.
More infoReservoir Park
Southern Pines
A flat 2-mile greenway loop around a 95-acre lake, with disc golf, a kayak dock, and on-site paddleboard rentals. Free and open every day from dawn to dusk.
Terry's tip: Turn in off Reservoir Park Road near the airport; the loop is stroller friendly and the lake breeze helps on warm days.
More infoAberdeen Lake Park
Aberdeen
A 1.5-mile gravel loop around Pages Lake at the heart of a 79-acre park, with a playground, picnic shelters, fishing, and non-motorized boating.
Terry's tip: Open sunrise to sunset; flat, family friendly, and dogs are welcome on a leash.
More infoPinehurst Greenway & Rassie Wicker Park
Village of Pinehurst
More than 7 miles of the Village greenway system are built and counting, linking parks, gardens, and the business district. Rassie Wicker Park alone holds about 3 miles of walking trails, including an easy 1.1-mile paved loop.
Terry's tip: Start at Village Hall on Rassie Wicker Drive and follow the greenway toward the Village Arboretum. Golf carts stay off the trails, so it stays quiet.
More infoHillcrest Park & Lake Luke Marion
Carthage
Two easy walks in the county seat: a 1.5-mile trail at Hillcrest Park with a seasonal splash pad and disc golf, plus a smooth one-third-mile loop around Lake Luke Marion right downtown with a fishing pier.
Terry's tip: Do Hillcrest in the morning, then wander downtown and finish with the lake loop and the ducks.
More infoMore walking spots are on the way. I add new favorites to this list as I find them, so check back before a long weekend.
03 · Things to Do
So much to do, you'll need a bigger weekend.
Moore County calls itself the Home of American Golf, and with roughly 40 courses within 15 miles of Pinehurst, the nickname is earned. But the list runs far past the fairways: two walkable downtowns, arts and live music most nights, a growing brewery scene, and enough parks and lakes to keep a family busy year-round.
New to Fort Bragg or new to the county? Start here, add your own favorites as you find them, and send me the ones I'm missing.
Golf & Outdoors
Famous names and daily-fee favorites, plus horse country and lake days.
Pinehurst Resort & Country Club
The Home of American Golf: more than 8 courses, including No. 2, host of the 2024 U.S. Open.
Southern Pines Golf Club
A classic 1906 Donald Ross public course right in Southern Pines.
Pine Needles & Mid Pines
Two Donald Ross designs in Southern Pines that have hosted U.S. Women’s Opens.
Longleaf Golf & Family Club
A semi-private family club near Pinehurst.
Hyland Golf Club
A recently restored layout just outside Southern Pines toward Vass.
Midland Country Club
Another public option in the Pinehurst area.
Arts & Culture
Live music, films, galleries, and a railroad museum right downtown.
Sunrise Theater
A restored downtown Southern Pines cinema running films and live music.
Weymouth Center for the Arts & Humanities
Concerts, lectures, and gallery shows in a historic Southern Pines estate.
Campbell House / Moore County Arts
Gallery and arts programming on East Connecticut Avenue in Southern Pines.
Bradshaw Performing Arts Center
Theater, concerts, and touring acts on the Sandhills Community College campus.
Union Station Railroad Museum
A restored 1900 depot with railroad history and model trains in downtown Aberdeen.
Dining & Shopping
Local kitchens, taprooms, and storefronts worth the trip downtown.
The Roast Office
Coffee in a converted downtown post office on Broad Street.
Betsy's Crepes
A Broad Street favorite for sweet and savory crepes in downtown Southern Pines.
The Magnolia Inn & Villaggio Ristorante
A landmark inn with a longtime Italian favorite at the edge of downtown.
PL8TE Southern Table
A modern Southern kitchen on the downtown restaurant row.
Pinehurst Brewing Company
Brewery and taproom in the historic 1895 Village steam plant.
Southern Pines Brewing Company
Local brews on Pennsylvania Avenue in downtown Southern Pines.
Railhouse Brewery
A veteran-owned brewery in a converted rail house in Aberdeen.
For shopping, wander Broad Street and Pennsylvania Avenue in Southern Pines (Marie & Marcele and Antiquely Chic on SW Broad Street are good stops), and in Aberdeen, Twigg & Co., a renovated 1928 building filled with more than 100 local vendors, is worth a full afternoon.
Family Fun & Events
Zoos, festivals, splash pads, and gardens that keep every age happy.
North Carolina Zoo, Asheboro
About an hour's drive from Pinehurst: a huge, walkable natural-habitat zoo that makes a full family day trip.
Carthage Buggy Festival
The county seat's signature free family festival since 1989, drawing about 20,000 visitors each spring.
SpringFest, Southern Pines
An April street festival filling downtown with more than 100 North Carolina vendors.
Sandhills Horticultural Gardens
32 free acres of themed gardens and a Japanese garden on the Sandhills Community College campus in Pinehurst.
Reservoir Park
Disc golf, a kayak dock, and a flat lake loop for all ages, free from dawn to dusk.
Hillcrest Park & Moore County Sports Complex
A seasonal splash pad, playground, 1.5-mile trail, and disc golf at the county parks hub in Carthage.
This list keeps growing: I add new favorites as I discover them. Know a spot I'm missing? I'd love to hear about it.
From Terry
“Experience isn't expensive, it's priceless!”
I hope these guides help you find the moments that make life here special, whether that's your first tree lighting in a new town, a quiet walk in the longleaf, or the parade you've caught every year since you moved in. The best part of this county is the people it draws together, and there is plenty of both.
Terry Nanney, Realtor
Towering Pines Real Estate, brokered by eXp Realty
Serving Moore County and the surrounding Sandhills of North Carolina
Thinking about making Moore County home?
If a season in the Sandhills sounds like your kind of place, I'd love to help you find the home that fits it. Reach out any time, Sunday to city hall, with a question or just to talk about what's on your calendar.