Jonathon Engels 
The 469-mile Blue Ridge Parkway is roughly split evenly between North Carolina and Virginia, linking two of the most beloved US National Parks– Great Smoky Mountains National Park and Shenandoah National Park. Along the world-renowned scenic route, there are many fantastic places for hiking, biking, camping, swimming, and further exploring one of the prettiest regions … Read more
Blue Ridge Mountain resorts come in all shapes and sizes. Some upscale luxury resorts in the Blue Ridge Mountains focus on foodie-friendly restaurants, outstanding golf courses, and top-notch spas. My favorite mountain resorts go all-in on the rustic feel, offering breathtaking scenic vistas, hiking trails and/or waterfalls. Of course, there are also Blue Ridge Mountain ski resorts for … Read more
After recovering relatively quickly from Hurricane Helene, the North Carolina mountain town of Murphy (and surrounding Cherokee County) is making the most of the holiday season. Inspired in part by their Cherokee County Holiday Itinerary Guide for this Winter, we’ve decided to put together our own guide for celebrating Christmas in Murphy NC. This slice of … Read more
After Hurricane Helene wreaked havoc throughout Western NC in late September 2024, it was a wonderful thing to see so many small towns able to reopen to visitors for Christmas. Located about an hour north of Asheville in Yancey County, the town of Burnsville NC was one of those places that faced a seemingly insurmountable … Read more
You can’t swing a stick in Western NC without hitting a wonderful place to celebrate Christmas. But you’d be hard-pressed to find one more splendid than Bryson City NC! This little town in the Great Smoky Mountains has it all– great restaurants and shopping, weekly holiday events, and even the beloved Polar Express Christmas train … Read more
Although things in Western North Carolina haven’t exactly returned to normal for Christmas 2024, those NC mountain towns that have recovered enough are set to celebrate the holiday season full steam ahead. These towns DESPERATELY need visitors to help make up for the millions in lost revenue Hurricane Helene caused during their peak Fall leaf-peeping … Read more
In my 7 years of living in Western North Carolina, I’ve survived two 100-year storms (see: 10 inches of rain in less than a day), a 5.1-magnitude earthquake, and a 20-inch snow blizzard. With each new dramatic weather phenomenon, I’m brought back to what a local excavator operator said as he stared at our new, … Read more
Shenandoah National Park attracts nearly 2 million visitors a year, encompasses nearly 200,000 acres of Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains, and is home to the impressively scenic, 105-mile Skyline Drive. It’s a marvelous place with amazing overlooks of the surrounding wilderness. Some of the exposed rocks in Shenandoah National Park date back a billion years. Looming … Read more
Boone NC is one of our favorite mountain towns. And since my wife Emma and I live about an hour north (right off the Blue Ridge Parkway), we usually visit Boone every month or so. Downtown Boone has a great vibe, with good restaurants, cool shops, and fantastic walking routes. We also love the fact … Read more
Much like pumpkin patches and apple picking, visiting corn mazes in NC makes us feel like the glorious days of Autumn have officially arrived. The state of North Carolina has more than its fair share of vast corn fields. So it’s an ideal place to seek out kid-friendly corn mazes, as well as massive adult-sized challenges … Read more
