From the mountains to the ocean, no state in the Union is more diverse than North Carolina. From the sand dunes, wetlands, and coastal plains of the east, the land rises gradually into the rolling hills of the piedmont, dips into midsection sand hills, then dramatically rises to 5,000-foot peaks in the Blue Ridge and Smoky Mountains, where hundreds of cascading waterfalls crash down through green gorges to raging rivers.

If you open a road map of North Carolina (which must be horizontal to capture the width of the state), you will find a red line stretching from end to end--U.S. Route 64, which winds 543 miles east to west from Manteo to Murphy. If you had the time and inclination for a leisurely southern exposure to this state, you could drive old Highway 64 from the Outer Banks to the southwestern recesses of the Smokies. And in so doing, you would not only see almost every facet of the state's changing geography, but become familiar with some extraordinary history as well. Colonists, sponsored by Sir Walter Raleigh, for whom the state capital is named, first came to the Outer Banks in 1585, and folks have been making history here ever since. As they gradually moved west, they settled in towns, carved out farms, mined the mountains, and forged divergent lives in roughly three distinct sections:

THE COAST

The Outer Banks are like a giant sand bar that protects more than 275 miles of Atlantic coastline that runs south and southwest from the little resort town of Corolla, with its wild horses, lighthouse, and rental beach houses, down to Bald Head Island with its golf resort. On a map, the Outer Banks appear like the Florida Keys, connected either by bridges or ferry service. But there the similarity ends. Beaches are wide, long, and firm enough to drive on. Long, narrow parks like Cape Hatteras and Cape Lookout national seashores restrict human habitat, but exhibit nature in exquisite settings of seaside tranquility and blazing sunsets over Pamlico Sound.

There are six operating lighthouses, about one every 40 miles, along the 300-mile coastline. But even so, 2,000 ships have foundered here in the treacherous shoals, dubbed the "Graveyard of the Atlantic," including one infamous vessel skippered by Blackbeard the pirate. Artifacts from the wreck are on display at a museum in the town of Beaufort.

It was, however, sand rather than sea that attracted two brothers from Ohio who, in December, 1903, made the world's first sustained and controlled flight of an airplane at Kitty Hawk. Neither Wilbur nor Orville Wright could have imagined that, a century later, vacationers would be taking advantage of the same wind currents to hang-glide from kites over these same sand dunes at a park called Jockey's Ridge.

Nature has always had a great hold over this scene. But it was a manmade object that sparked intense national interest here on Hatteras during the summer of 1999. The Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, the tallest and probably best-known lighthouse in America, was cut from its base and rolled to safer ground one-half mile inland. The $11-million project was not without controversy, but today the light still sweeps the coastal waters from the 198-foot, 5,000-ton structure as it has for 130 years.

The remote atmosphere here gives way to a more formal Victorian mood as you move west toward urban areas. Route 64 basically ends in historic Manteo, so you have to travel further south and inland from the Outer Banks to pick up later history. The original colonial capital in pre-Revolutionary times was established in 1775 in New Bern, located several miles up the Neuse River from Pamlico Sound. And the Civil War in this region is perhaps best remembered at Wilmington, where Union blockade runners exchanged Confederate supplies for Carolina cotton. Today, however, Wilmington is on a completely different track. The state's $250 million-a-year film industry is anchored by major studios located here. You can tour the sets of "Dawson's Creek" on weekends and visit area location shooting sites for dozens of movies within a 25-mile-radius.

THE HEARTLAND

Rolling west on Route 64 from the coast, lowlands and farms give way to the populous piedmont, where the so-called Research Triangle of cities--Raleigh, Chapel Hill, and Durham--form a nucleus of state government, industry, and education. Raleigh offers museums, fine and traditional dining, a live theater complex, and a new IMAX cinema. Basketball is king in the Triangle, with NC State, North Carolina, and Duke all vying for the hoops spotlight. It's not the only sport, however. Catching a Durham Bulls baseball game is a popular and inexpensive family pastime, while golf is played at its zenith in nearby Pinehurst. Charlotte, spreading almost to the South Carolina border in the state's southwestern piedmont, is not only the largest city in North Carolina and a formidable urban metropolis, it's also NASCAR nirvana, drawing tens of thousands of fans to its tracks for the Winston Cup races.

Outside Raleigh, Route 64 stretches due west for about 70 miles to Asheboro, home of North Carolina Zoological Park, the nation's first natural habitat zoo. Spending a few hours here with the kids is like roaming on foot around Africa and beyond. Historic Winston-Salem, with its 18th century Moravian town, Old Salem, and the furniture capital of High Point are not far to the north, but after Statesville, old 64 begins to roam south and west toward the Blue Ridge Mountains.

THE MOUNTAINS

The resorts and hidden lodges of Lake Lure, and the scenic overhangs of Chimney Rock, introduce you to North Carolina's most legendary and venerable region and the tallest, oldest mountains east of the Mississippi. From Hendersonville, you can turn due north to Asheville to wander through the grounds of the opulent Biltmore Estate, the largest private residence in the U.S., search for arts and crafts, or try one of the hundreds of hiking trails along the nearby Blue Ridge Parkway. In this narrow corner of the state, thousands of acres of wilderness are embraced by massive national parks where whitewater rafting makes for great adventure on rivers like the Nantahala, Oconaluftee, and Little Tennessee. Bryson City, located just south of the Tennessee border, offers both rafting and a unique 44-mile train excursion through the wild Nantahala Gorge.

The Cherokee Indian Reservation, near the Blue Ridge Parkway and southern entrance of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, offers several attractions. At Oconaluftee Indian Village, a recreation of a 1750s Cherokee community, visitors see the making of baskets, pottery, canoes, arrows, and blowguns. "Unto These Hills," a historical drama about the Cherokees, is performed in summer at the Mountainside Amphitheater. Also on the reservation are a casino and museum.

For about 65 miles, Route 64 dissects a dozen small mountain towns as it winds through the Nantahala and Pisgah national forests. Green valleys and black-topped byways branch north and south of the road, leading to hundreds of streams and rivers swirling through mossy forests and wooded canyons. From May through October, Route 64 is an artery for an army of tourists and nature lovers exploring the heart of waterfall country. Parks, natural heritage sites, roadside stands, outfitters, gem mining operations, and a wide-range of accommodations have drawn on the vitality and rejuvenating power of a region that contains the highest concentration of waterfalls in the Eastern United States.

Armed with maps and guidebooks, and fueled with plenty of gas, it's possible to visit dozens of waterfalls in a long weekend using Route 64 as a major corridor. At the heart of it all is the tiny but ever-growing town of Cashiers. Esconced in a valley 3,500 feet above sea level, more than a dozen restaurants and small cafes, along with craft and souvenir shops, resort lodges, motels, and B&Bs, are within a mile or two of the town's only stoplight. There are 20 waterfalls in the area along three fast-moving rivers. Elms, hemlocks, black gum, birch, dogwood, fir, hickory, holly, magnolia, and a dozen other tree varieties provide homes for well over 120 species of birds. In the spring, rhododendron, mountain laurel, and azaleas add flaming red and pink to a thick backdrop of green shrubs, and in fall brilliant foliage adorns the mountainsides.