Boone

A fast-growing college town, Boone is home to Appalachian State University and its 16,000 students. Suburban sprawl has arrived, especially along U.S. 321 with its clusters of fast-food restaurants, chain motels, and a small mall, the only enclosed mall in the High Country. Closer to ASU, however, you get more of the college-town vibe, with organic-food stores and boutiques. The town was named for frontiersman Daniel Boone, whose family moved to the area when Daniel was 15.