Discover Pinehurst

Pinehurst combines golf history with the history of the Village and activities in parks, on Greenway trails, and on guided tours. Different interests come together here: historical development and sporting connections, as well as time outdoors and culinary tastings.

Golf History and Village Development

Since 1915, the Pinehurst Harness Track has served as a winter training center for Standardbred horses. The Pinehurst Fair Barn is the oldest surviving fair exhibition hall in North Carolina. The two sites represent different aspects of local history: winter training and fair history.

The Pinehurst National Historic Landmark District was designated in 1996. The designation recognized its outstanding role in the development of golf and resort communities, as well as its association with Donald Ross, the golfer and golf course designer. James Walker Tufts conceived Pinehurst as a New England-style village designed for a health-conscious lifestyle close to nature. This original vision gives the Village’s historic character a distinctive context.

Pinehurst No. 2 is defined by its distinctive, domed turtleback greens, wide fairways, and native wiregrass and sand. The course hosted consecutive U.S. Open and U.S. Women’s Open championships in 2014, as well as the 2024 U.S. Open. The Tufts Archives preserves original maps of Donald Ross’s golf course designs and photographs from Pinehurst Village’s early years.

Golf-related facilities are also located on the USGA campus, Golf House Pinehurst: the USGA Experience and the World Golf Hall of Fame are situated between the Carolina Hotel and Pinehurst Resort’s Main Clubhouse. Golf history here spans course design and championships held there, as well as named facilities and historical collections.

Parks, Trails, and Outdoor Activities

The Village of Pinehurst’s parks and Greenway trails offer soccer and baseball fields, picnic shelters, an inline hockey rink, and a disc golf course. There are also many miles of Greenway trails. West Pinehurst Park has an 18-hole disc golf course and also hosts archery classes. These details distinguish the broader selection of Village parks and trails from the specific offerings at this park.

The Village Arboretum is a 35-acre site with natural-surface trails and bridges, gardens, a meadow, and an outdoor pavilion. Its features bring together different landscape elements: trails and bridges, landscaped gardens, and open spaces all form part of the grounds. For those comparing park activities with golf history, Pinehurst offers two different perspectives: facilities for outdoor activities and historical connections to the sport of golf.

Guided Walks and Tastings

The guided Historic Walking Tour through the historic Village of Pinehurst is about two miles long and passes, among other places, the Holly Inn and the Theatre Building. Its approximate length and the two sites mentioned give the walk a specific historical focus, while its guided format distinguishes it from exploring on your own.

The Culinary Walking Tour in Pinehurst offers another way to explore local food. Tastings include pastrami sliders, hand-cut potato chips, chicken tempura wraps, and shrimp and grits. Specific menu items may change. This distinguishes the historic walking tour from a culinary tour without reducing both experiences to the same focus.

Explore more destinations: Southern Pines, Foxfire, Whispering Pines, Seven Lakes, Pinebluff

For the broader travel overview: Moore County.