It begins in mid-April. The snow melts, the temperature rises, the tips of the trees turn red, then green, the construction crews rush to finish their winter projects, and the buzz of landscaping equipment fills the air. By mid-May the seasonal businesses reopen, the summer homes are de-winterized, the Floridians start to arrive, and the High Country (Boone, Banner Elk, and Blowing Rock) awakens for another glorious summer season.
Things to Do
The High Country offers some spectacular white water rafting or kayaking for adults and children at various levels of difficulty. Numerous outdoor companies offer all inclusive packages with guides, equipment, and transportation. Fly fishing and horseback riding are other popular outdoor adventures. If you bring the kids with you, they can fish for trout or pan for gems at a number of spots along Highway 105. Recent developments are High Country Wineries with three to choose from, open for your sampling pleasure, as well as an increasing number of local ale houses.
Check out your options below and plan your escape to the High Country Adventure this summer.
Photos from High Gravity by Ken Ketchie, High Country Press
>High Gravity Adventures
Other than yet more Appalachian State University student housing, the most exciting construction project this winter has been the mass of poles and ropes that has risen over fifty feet in the air next to Tweetsie Railroad on Highway 321 between Boone and Blowing Rock. High Gravity Adventures is a climbing paradise for kids and adults alike. While safely attached to a harness, you can spend up to three hours negotiating this aerial adventure course of bridges, tight ropes, cargo nets, spider webs, and swinging foot loops. There are seventy-five challenges on the course that become increasingly more difficult the higher you climb. For younger kids there is a junior adventure course just fifteen feet off the ground. All participants go through an aerial orientation and safety briefing before the climbing begins.
High Gravity Adventures is open daily from 9am until 9pm; the cost is $49 on the main course and $19 on the kid’s course.
215 Tweetsie Railroad Rd., Blowing Rock
www.highgravityadventures.com
>Appalachian Summer Festival
For arts and music lovers there’s An Appalachian Summer Festival that runs from late June all the way through the end of July. It is presented by Appalachian State University. From its modest beginnings in 1984 as a Chamber Music Festival, Summer Festival has become one of the nation’s largest multi-arts festivals, with an average attendance of 26,000 throughout the month-long event.
An Appalachian Summer Festival will kick off the 2015 season on Saturday June 27 with an outdoor fireworks concert by new country music sensation, Cacey Musgraves, who topped the charts last spring with her debut album, Same Trailer Different Park. Tickets are $38.
Other Appalachian Summer Festival performances include:
Parsons Dance: July 10, 8pm, Schaefer Center An Evening of Broadway with Brian Stokes Mitchell and the Winston-Salem Symphony: July 11, 8pm, Schaefer Center Eastern Festival Orchestra with Gerard Schwarz, conductor and Awadagin Pratt, piano: July 12, 4pm, Schaefer Center The David Grisman Sextet: July 17, 8pm, Schaefer Center Legendary Rock Band, The Beach Boys: July 18, 8pm, Holmes Convocation Center Rosen-Schaffel Competition for Young and Emerging Artists: July 19, 1pm, Schaefer Center
Twenty Feet From Stardom’s Lisa Fischer and Grand Baton: July 23, 8pm, Schaefer Center In/Visible Theatre’s production of Without Words: July 24 and 25, 8pm, Valborg Theatre Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox: July 31, 8pm, Schaefer Center The Global Film Series: July 1, 8, 15, 22, 29, August 19 and 26, 7pm, Schaefer Center. Featuring the following selections: Pride (2014); GETT – The Trial of Vivianne Ansalem (2014); The Hunt (2013); Valley of Saints (2012); Twenty Feet from Stardom (2013); Reaching for the Moon (2013); and Oranges and Sunshine (2010). An Appalachian Summer www.appsummer.org >Banner Elk Winery and Villa Wine Tastings –12 to 6 pm daily. $10 per head. Luxury bed and breakfast on-site. 60 Deer Run Lane, Banner Elk >Dutch Creek Trails Horseback riding four times Monday thru Saturday along gentle, scenic trails. Located between Boone and Valle Crucis >Foggy Mountain gem mine Emeralds, rubies, sapphires, and more in each bucket of ore. Cutting, mounting, and appraisal services on site. Gift shop. 4416 Hwy 105 S, Boones >Foscoe Fishing Company Fly fishing classes, guided fishing trips, retail store – only High Country Orvis endorsed fly fishing outfitter in the High Country. 8857 Hwy 105 S. >Grandfather Trout Farm Bait and tackle furnished at no charge. Kid friendly. Help for beginners. Cleaning and packing of your catch. Highway 105 10 miles south of Boone >Grandfather Mountain A mile high swinging bridge at the peak, walking trails, and animals in their natural habitat. Summer hours 8 am –7 pm daily. US 221 & Blue Ridge Parkway, Linville >Grandfather Vineyard Winery Tatum family owned. Noon to 6 pm daily and 1-5 pm on Sundays. Off Hwy 105 S. 225 Vineyard Lane, Banner Elk >Hiking There are endless hiking opportunities all around the High Country. Moses Cone Park, Julian Price Park, the Tanawha Trail, and Linville Falls are all popular destinations. www.highcountryhiking.com/directory.htm >Hawksnest Zipline Tours The longest zipline on the east coast. Open daily with two different tours totaling over four miles of ziplines at heights of over 200 feet and speeds up to 50 mph. Off US 105 S between Boone and Banner Elk >High Mountain Expeditions White water rafting on the Watauga Across from Sugar Mountain in Banner Elk and Hwy. 105 in Boone >Linn Cove Viaduct A 1,243-foot concrete bridge wrapped around the slopes of Grandfather Mountain. The last section of the Blue Ridge Parkway to be completed. Free for all guests. National Park Visitor Center and Bridge Museum at south end at Milepost 304 of the BRP >Linville Falls Winery. Open daily noon – 6pm. Check the website for the Saturday live music schedule. 9557 Linville Falls Highway, Newlanda >Mystery Hill A family oriented, gravity defying, museum, entertainment center, and gift shop. Adjacent to Mystery Hill is Doc’s Gem Mine and Fossil Museum. Open daily. Off Hwy 321 between Boone and Blowing Rock >The Blowing Rock This immense cliff 4,000 feet above sea level over the John’s River Gorge below. Open daily until mid-January, then weekends only. Hwy 321 S, Blowing Rock >Tweetsie Railroad A children’s Wild West Adventure since 1957. Take the historic Number 12 locomotive on a three mile trip with music and entertainment. Carnival rides, gift shops, and an animal park. Daily 9 am to 6 pm. $41 adults, $27 children. Museums and Galleries >Blowing Rock Art & History Museum If you have not visited The High Country in the past five years, you’ll find a wonderful new museum addition in the Blowing Rock Art and History Museum. It opened its doors to the public on October 1, 2011 in a brand new building designed by Callaway, Johnson, Moore, and West out of Winston-Salem. Its permanent collection includes work by North Carolina native and seasonal Blowing Rock resident Elliott Daingerfield, who was a significant figure in the American art scene at the turn of the 20th century. Current exhibits in addition to the permanent collection include: Floating Sculpture: Bruce Barclay Cameron Duck Decoy Collection through July 26. This prestigious collection of duck decoys. Organized by the Cameron Art Museum in Wilmington, North Carolina; Millhands / Handmade through July 26. A look at the South’s vast textile history, from the growth of industrial mills and their effect on southern families, to regional textile artists working today; The Blowing Rock Fire through July 26. An exhibit on the devastating fire of 1923 that took down most of the town. 159 Chestnut St, Blowing Rock Carlton Gallery photo by Ellen Gwin >Carlton Gallery Celebrating 33 years of serving the High Country. Representing over 200 local, regional, and national artists. Spring Group Exhibition. “The Landscape – Masculine and Feminine” by Kevin Beck and Amy Sullivan. May 23 – July 15. Also a stop on the Avery Tour de Art on the 4th Saturday of every month from June thru November. Closed Monday. 10360 Hwy 105 S, Banner Elk See our profile of Toni Carlton in the May 2014 issue >Turchin Center for the Visual Arts at Appalachian State University In addition to the permanent collection current exhibits include: Quicksilver: New Acquisitions from The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts. Quicksilver pays homage to Andy Warhol’s original Factory (1950s – 1962/63); Andrzej Maciejewski: Garden of Eden. From the paintings of old masters to modern commercials, Garden of Eden inspires a discussion on our relationship with the nature and on our civilization; Structures & Surfaces: Lynn Duryea & Brad Stroman. Both artists have perfected their skills through years of dedicated and solitary practice – one through steel and clay forms, the other with acrylic paint on canvas. TCVA. 423 West King St, Boone Where to Shop You can shop, while the others kayak, at the original Mast General Store in Valle Crucis, at the galleries, furniture, and antique stores along Hwy 105, on picturesque Main Street in Blowing Rock, on the more eclectic King Street in Boone, or score name-brand bargains from over 40 stores at Tanger Outlets. >Blowing Rock Main Street The place for discriminating folks to shop and be seen. Boutiques, antiques, jewelry, furniture, galleries, and gifts. Fudge, sweets, restaurants, and ale houses. www.blowingrock.com/shopping.php >Boone With over 15,000 Appalachian State University students, the Boone Downtown shopping scene is younger and more eclectic with a mix of art galleries, restaurants, boutiques, and antique shops, with modern hotels and traditional shopping centers close by. www.downtownboonenc.com/index.cfm/directory/shopping/ >Dewoolfson Linens America’s finest quality white goose down comforters, pillows, and feather beds. Closed Sunday. 9452 Hwy 105 S, Banner Elk >Fred’s General Mercantile A little bit of everything on top of Beech Mountain. Groceries to clothing. Deli with your favorite beverages. 501 Beech Mtn. Pkwy, Beech Mountain >Mast General Store The original store (circa 1883) that built a reputation for carrying everything from “cradles to caskets” is in Valle Crucis. Just half a mile down the street you’ll find the Mast Store Annex, which blends casual clothing with a mountain outfitters shop and the original Candy Barrel….a child’s dream come true. Additional stores in Boone, Asheville, Hendersonville, Waynesville, Greenville, Knoxville, and Columbia. See our profile of John Cooper and his team in the February 2014 issue. www.capitalatplay.com/mast-general-store/ >Tanger Outlets Largest outlet mall in the High Country with great deals on your favorite designers and brand-name stores. Offering 43 stores, the outlet is located off of US Hwy 321 just south of the Blue Ridge Parkway. 278 Shoppes on the Parkway Rd, Blowing Rock >Tatum Galleries Fine furniture and accessories for 25 years. Interior design, outdoor furniture, and window treatments. Closed Sunday. See our profile of Sally and Steve Tatum in the May 2014 issue. www.capitalatplay.com/velvet-varnish-vines/ 5320 Hwy. 105 S, Banner Elk Where to Stay High Country accommodations run the full gamut from luxury resorts, to comfortable bed and breakfasts, to more traditional chain hotels. The more upscale accommodations tend to be around Blowing Rock, with most of the chain hotels in Boone, and a variety of condo accommodations near the ski resorts in Banner Elk and Beech Mountain. >The New Public House The old Crippen’s Hotel and Restaurant in Blowing Rock is under new ownership and has been beautifully remodeled as The New Public House and Hotel. Accommodations feature five bright and airy, fully renovated, guest rooms with king sized beds, walk-in showers, and modern sinks. There is a suite on the third floor with a king size bed, and a separate sitting room for those seeking a little additional space. If you are looking for privacy there is also a cottage suite on the grounds with a separate entrance, king size bed, and sitting area. All accommodations include a full breakfast in the restaurant, which is also open to the public for breakfast, dinner, and Sunday brunch. There is a very comfortable bar adjacent to the restaurant that serves beer, wine, and classic cocktails. Summer rates run from around $175 to $225 per night, with a two night minimum on weekends. 239 Sunset Drive, Blowing Rock. >The Blowing Rock Ale House & Inn Just off Main Street you will find The Blowing Rock Ale House & Inn. The Ale House Restaurant offers a freshly prepared, seasonally changing menu using local and organic ingredients. Dine on craft pub food and sample their ever-changing artisanal craft beers, brewed on site. Brewery tours are available on Saturdays from 1pm-5pm. The Inn features five rooms appropriately named Wheat, Stout, Hops, Pint, and Amber. All rooms have their own tub/shower. Four of them feature queen sized beds, while the largest room has a king size bed. Annual rates run $125 to $175 per night, with a two night minimum on weekends. The Ale House Restaurant is open Thursday through Monday from 11am to 9pm. 152 Sunset Drive, Blowing Rock Some other accommodation options include: >Chetola Resort Chetola Lodge, The Bob Timberlake Inn, and Chetola Condominiums. Spa including massages, facials, and nail treatments. Timberlake’s Restaurant serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner daily in the summer. Headwaters Pub. 185 Chetola Lake Drive, Blowing Rock >Courtyard Marriott The newest chain hotel in the High Country. 1050 Hwy 105, Boone. >Foscoe Rentals A large selection of vacation homes, condos, and log cabins. Rental office off Hwy 105 S at133 Echota Parkway, Boone >Green Park Inn This 1891 “Grand Dame of the High Country” straddles the Eastern Divide at the gateway to Blowing Rock. Recently renovated and refurnished by new owners. Chestnut Grille Restaurant and Divide Tavern. 9239 Valley Blvd, Blowing Rock >Inn at Ragged Garden 10 rooms, suites, and cottages in 100 year old house. On premises is the highly rated Best Cellar restaurant. 203 Sunset Drive, Blowing Rock See our review from the January 2014 issue. >Mast Farm Inn Seven rooms in a Valle Crucis farmhouse built in the early 1800s. Other cottages available on the grounds of this inn and farm to table restaurant. Breakfast included. Additional restaurant, Over Yonder, a few hundred yards from the Inn. 2543 Broadstone Road, Banner Elk See our profile from the July 2014 issue. >Westglow Resort & Spa A Relais & Chateaux Resort. Spa treatment and three meals included in the Resort Package room rates. Bed and breakfast and Day Spa options also available. 224 Westglow Circle, Blowing Rock See our profile from the March 2014 issue. Where to Eat For much of last year and this past winter we guessed at what was going on where Mr. Original Gyros used to be attached to the Kangaroo Gas Station on Highway 105 in Boone. The construction of a large outdoor fireplace and deck sent us searching Facebook for answers. There we found the Trout & Barrel, which bills itself as Boone’s new smokehouse and tavern with smoked brisket, 43 beers, and live music. The deadline for this article had come and gone by the time they opened, but thanks to an understanding publisher we got to take a look. >The Trout and Barrel First impressions can be deceiving. The Trout and Barrel has sealed concrete floors, pressed metal ceilings, rustic wood paneling, homemade wooden tables, and has yet to hang a sign on the building. But, once they hand you the menu, everything changes — definitely not your typical bar menu. We started with trout wings, slices from the belly of the trout, lightly battered and fried with a honey sriracha glaze and slaw. Round two was a super tender Texas style beef brisket sandwich with red onion confit and house cut fries. My companion enjoyed a char grilled romaine salad with a side of Momma’s baked mac and cheese. Other options include smoked trout, sausage, pork chop, and chicken salad, as well as steaks, catfish, and Eastern North Carolina BBQ. A welcome addition to town. 2968A Highway 105, Boone >Artisanal “Modern American Cuisine” in an upscale, barn setting. All items made from scratch daily. Impeccable food and service. Arguably the best restaurant in the High Country. 1200 Dobbins Rd, >Bistro Roca and Antler’s Bar American bistro fare and wood fired pizza. Lunch, dinner, and Sunday Brunch. 143 Wonderland Trail, >Blowing Rock Alehouse & Brewery The feeling of an English Pub with the mood of a French Bistro. 150 Sunset Dr., Blowing Rock >Canyons A wall of windows overlooking the majestic John’s River Gorge. Sunday Jazz Brunch. 8960 Hwy. 321 heading out of Blowing Rock towards Lenoir >Cobo Sushi Bistro and Bar A sophisticated relatively new addition to the Boone dining experience. Dinner only, but open late. Closed Sunday and Monday. 161 Howard St, Ste B, Boone >Gamekeeper Restaurant AAA Four Diamond Rating for six years running. Bison, ostrich, venison, and more. Worth navigating the twisty scenic road. Between Boone and Blowing Rock. 3005 Schulls Mill Rd, Boone >Joy Bistro Fine Continental/French dining. Dinner only. Closed Monday. 115 New Market Center, Boone >Rowland’s at the Westglow Resort & Spa Gamekeeper Restaurant photo courtesy of Gamekeeper Restaurant Elegant, fine dining at the 1917 mansion that was once the summer home of famed artist and writer Elliott Daingerfield. Regular and healthy spa menus. 224 Westglow Circle, Blowing Rock The Best Cellar in the Inn at Ragged Garden photo by Ellen Gwin >Vidalia Restaurant & Wine Bar This recently expanded farm-to-table restaurant in downtown Boone now has a full bar in addition to additional seating. Lunch, dinner, and Sunday Brunch. Closed Mondays. 831 W. King St., Boone >The Best Cellar in the Inn at Ragged Garden Fine dining since 1975. Capital at Play reviewed this restaurant in January 2014. 203 Sunset Drive, Blowing Rock >Zuzda Tapas Restaurant and Bar. Spanish and other progressive small plate dining. 502 W Main St, Banner Elk The full article continues below. Click to open in fullscreen…
www.bannerelkwinery.com
793 Rubin Walker Rd, Vilas
www.dutchcreektrails.com
www.foggymountaingems.com
between Boone and Banner Elk
www.foscoefishing.com
www.grandfathertroutfarm.com
www.grandfather.com
www.grandfathervineyard.com
Find a complete list with descriptions on their website.
2058 Skyline Drive, Seven Devils
www.hawksnestzipline.com
or Nolichucky rivers, tubing on the New River, kayaking, caving, and hiking excursions.
www.highmountainexpeditions.com
www.blueridgeparkway.org/v.php?pg=873
www.linvillefallswinery.com
www.mysteryhill-nc.com
www.docsrocks.net
www.theblowingrock.com
www.blowingrockmuseum.com
www.carltongallery.com
www.capitalatplay.com/toni-carlton-gallery/
www.tcva.org
www.dewoolfsonlinens.com
www.fredsgeneral.com
www.tangeroutlet.com/blowingrock
www.tatumgalleries.com
www.thenewpublichouse.com
www.blowingrockalehouseandinn.com
www.chetola.com
www.courtyard.com/hkybn
800-723-7341 or www.foscoerentals.com
www.greenparkinn.com
www.ragged-gardens.com
www.capitalatplay.com/high-country-escapes/
www.themastfarminn.com
www.capitalatplay.com/deschamps-mast-farm-inn
www.westglow.com
www.capitalatplay.com/west-glow-spa/
www.facebook.com/boonetroutandbarrel
Banner Elk
www.artisanalnc.com
Blowing Rock
828-295-4008 or www.bistroroca.com
www.blowingrockbrewing.com
www.canyonsbr.com
828-386-1201 or www.cobosushi.com
www.gamekeeper-nc.com
www.joybistroboone.com
www.westglowresortandspa.com/15/rowlands-restaurant/
www.vidaliaofboonenc.com
www.ragged-gardens.com/blowing-rock-restaurant
Extensive current menu selections at www.zuzda.com/menu
