One of the interesting things people don’t tell you about taking a Blue Ridge Parkway road trip is how remarkably un-commercialized this 469-mile slice of Appalachian Americana is. In our experience, you can drive the BRP for 100+ miles and never see any mountain resorts, hotels, restaurants, gas stations, or other signs of development. It’s … Read more
Sugar Mountain is a sweet little mountain village located at an altitude of 5,236 ft in the High Country of North Carolina. It’s a perfect place for year-round outdoor adventures, offering gorgeous waterfall hikes in the Summer, awesome leaf-peeping in the Fall, and snow skiing and snow tubing in the Winter. Nestled in the heart of Pisgah … Read more
We love history, and one of my favorite things about exploring the Blue Ridge Mountains is getting a chance to learn how my Scots-Irish ancestors lived when they settled the region 250+ years ago. Though survival for those early Appalachian settlers was undoubtedly difficult, there’s something we find intrinsically appealing about their simpler way of … Read more
What makes a particular mountain town great? From walkable downtown areas with great shops and restaurants to a wealth of natural beauty and outdoor adventures, everyone has their own qualifying traits. But, for us, historic sites and cultural attractions are two major X factors that elevate our favorite Blue Ridge Mountain towns above the pack. … Read more
If you visit Bedford VA (located about 28 miles east of Roanoke), you won’t get far before you realize how much of an impact World War II had on this charming small town. Bordered by the Blue Ridge Mountains to the north and Smith Mountain Lake to the south, the town dates back more than … Read more
The Blue Ridge Parkway (and the surrounding Blue Ridge Mountain towns) is heaving with options for amazing outdoor adventures. But whether it’s a rainy day, unseasonably cold, or a brutally hot scorcher, sometimes you just want to be inside for a few hours. There are countless museums along the Parkway and in neighboring towns that … Read more
Now in its twentieth year, this popular event was originally held in Blairsville GA, where it was known as the Blairsville Scottish Festival and Highland Games. Every year hundreds of bagpipers, drummers, Clan representatives, athletes, artisans, and food vendors would gather in beautiful Meeks Park for a weekend-long celebration of traditional Scots-Irish culture and sport. … Read more
Hayesville NC is a tiny mountain town (0.64 sq miles, population under 500) located near the northern shores of Lake Chatuge, which straddles the NC/GA border. Established in the 1860s, the town was named after 19th-century politician George Hayes, who helped the Cherokee people resist deportation and enabled some Cherokee communities to remain after the … Read more
The North Carolina High Country has been a tourist destination for centuries, and one of its earliest attractions was the famous “Blowing Rock.” That unique geological feature is the namesake for the wildly popular town of Blowing Rock, which makes a fantastic base for the exploring the NC High Country. In addition to the Blue … Read more
Transylvania County NC is justifiably known as “the Land of Waterfalls.” There are more than 250 waterfalls in the area surrounding Brevard to check off your list, but in our experience Rainbow Falls in Gorges State Park is easily among the most magical. When my husband Jonathon and I lived in Brevard and visited Gorges … Read more
