Fall break is coming up next week and many students aren’t sure what they want to do. If you’re one of these people, here are some fun fall break ideas.

Blue Ridge Parkway

Blue Ridge Parkway connects The Great Smoky Mountains National Park near Cherokee, N.C. and Shenandoah National Park near Waynesboro, V.A. — a scenic 469 miles that is especially beautiful in the fall months. Driving up Route 77 North toward Virginia, you will run into the Blue Ridge Parkway near Fancy Gap. From there, you can spend your Fall Break on an outdoor adventure, choosing to follow the parkway north toward Roanoke, V.A. or south toward Asheville, N.C. Either way, you will find plenty of stops along the way to get out of the car and hike and camp.

Asheville

Stay in Asheville. There are endless options, including shopping, eating and touring the Biltmore House. Downtown is packed with various restaurants and stores. My favorite place to eat is Papa’s and Beer, an authentic Mexican restaraunt with a free salsa bar. There are tons of bohemian style shops and many local vendors. The arts have a huge presence in the city and there are hand made tapestries and paintings in almost every shop. Lastly, spend a day in the Biltmore House. It was originally a Vanderbilt Family estates, but now it has turned into one of the biggest tourist attractions of the city.

Carowinds

Carowinds is another fun trip you should take with all of your friends. Carowinds is a theme park located an hour and a half from Wake Forest. During the fall, they transform it into a Halloween themed haunted park. If scary isn’t your thing, they still have the regular park open during the day. But once it gets dark, all the monsters come out to terrify attendees. Carowinds has many nationally recognized roller coasters like the Intimidater and their newest addition, Fury 325. Although my favorite ride is Afterburn. Carowinds is open Friday through Saturday from 7pm to 12am and tickets are $40.

Concord Mills

Shop at Concord Mills, a mall near Charlotte. It’s about an hour away from campus and has over 200 stores, a small theme park and an aquarium. Concord Mills is more than just a shopping mall though, outside there is a theme park with two go kart tracks and other small rides. Afterwards go to Dave and Busters, an adult Chuck E Chesse if you will. Although if shopping is your thing, check out the Nike Factory Store or Francescas. Before you leave, stop by the aquarium. It has a nice variety of fish and other aquatic creatures, and it only costs $20.

Myrtle Beach

Myrtle Beach is just about four and half hours away by car, but feels a whole world away from the stress of Wake Forest. It is also home to many great golf courses which offer discount rates as the season come to close. The weather continues to stay warm into the week of Fall Break, even a good 10 degrees warmer than Winston-Salem. So if you are not one for spending a day in the sand traps, trade in your golf shoes for flip flops and lay out on the shore. Also, check out Hamburger Joe’s in North Myrtle Beach for some cheap grub. That way, you can save your money to go shopping at Broadway at the  Beach.