asdaven

Hi-


I plan on vacationing in Blowing Rock in July for a week. We are mostly into the outdoors and hiking. Any suggestions on what to do? Things and places that look interesting are:




The Blowing Rock


Places along the Blue Ridge Parkway such as:


Grandfather Mountain


Moses Cone Park


Linn Cove Viaduct


Linville Falls


Mount Mitchell


Craggy Gardens




Chimney Rock


Roan Mountain


Gem Mining (what is the best place in the area?)




So, I guess the farthest place would be Chimney Rock? Which of these are worth seeing? And is there anything I should add? I ve already been to Asheville and the Biltmore Estate as well as the Smoky Mountains areas. So, im trying to focus on seeing the mountains north of Asheville along with Chimney Rock.


Thanks-

Gretchen

Some of those are pretty far. You would enjoy visiting Linville Gorge. Maybe go to the Mast Store and sign up for some fly fishing lessons. I think the Appalachian Angler is still there--or find the Orvis shop and ask. Just outside Asheville is the Park for hiking. and the Appalachian craft center if you want a nice souvenir. Go up to Banner Elk and Beech Mountain. At Beech you can see the ugliest condo building in the world illustrating what happens whe developers "win" and we lose by not protecting the ridge tops from commercial building!!
There is plenty to do in the area without striking out for a distance.
Roan Mountain is beautiful--at one specific time in June when the rhododendron are in bloom.

starrs

It sounds like a great week. I'd pick up a book with local hikes and set out on a different hike a day (or find a similar resource online).

I love the original Mast General Store in Valle Crucis, so plan to stop by there and wander around a bit.
http://www.mastgeneralstore.com/

I love Valle Crucis in general. The restaurant at the Mast Farm Inn is VERY good and if you are planning a nice dinner, I'd go there -
http://www.mastfarminn.com/dining/index.html

Also in Valle Crucis is http://www.vcfarm.com/HorsebackRiding.html
We took a sleigh ride there one winter. Check them out if you are interested in horseback riding.

For old fashioned, home cooking check out the Danl Boone Inn in Boone -
http://www.danlbooneinn.com/

Spend a day (or two) driving on the Blue Ridge Parkway and stopping to take in the views or hikes. I'm glad to see the Linn Cove Viaduct on your list - I think it's the prettiest stretch of the BRP.

The interactive map helps you pick out things to see and do that may be of interest to you -
http://www.blueridgeparkway.org/v.php?pg=5

Enjoy your trip! It's a great place to be in July.

starrs

Hey, if you are on Facebook "like" the Mast Farm Inn. They have regular updates on things going on in the area and it often includes musical events. There will probably be something going on while you are up there. They do a lot of bluegrass and Doc Watson was there not so long ago. Anyway, good music in a beautiful valley in a casual setting. Some good stuff going on and worth knowing about.

asdaven

Chimney Rock looks really cool but is also the farthest of the places, but dunno if its worth the drive. Mt Mitchell is a must for me since it is the highest mountain in the Appalachians. And I might as well see Craggy Gardens if im down there. Any place else that I should consider?
Thanks-

starrs

asdaven, with a week you'd have time but I'd wait to see how the week unfolds. I make a list of things I really want to do and have back-ups of things to do if there's time. You may be so into relaxing or hiking, etc. you won't want to drive 2 hours to see something. But then again...

If you want to see "Mayberry" drive over to Mt. Airy, NC -
http://www.visitmayberry.com/mayberr...ctions_13.aspx

The next time I go I'm going to take a tour in a squad car

panchodog

I would skip Chimney Rock, personally. It's way too far out of the way for me to consider. (And I think it was you that posted about the best way to get from DC to Boone? I-81, definitely. Don't even think of coming thru Greensboro and W-S.) Why don't you leave it until the later part of your week and see if you think you still need to see it after visiting Grandfather Mt and elsewhere near Blowing Rock.

There are oodles and oodles of hikes to consider. Are you interested in backpacking and backcountry hikes or more interested in shorter day hikes? There's zip lines, and rafting, rock climbing, fishing, cave tours, etc. What part of "outdoors" are you interested in?

Mount Mitchell and Craggy Gardens are a good ways down the parkway from Blowing rock, but definitely doable in a day.

I think Grandfather is more impressive, personally. It has a more imposing presence than Mt Mitchell and the early explorers (Michaux?) actually thought it was the highest mountain in the region before they were able to measure it accurately. If you're up for adventure you can climb Grandfather. I would mark it as moderate to strenuous, meaning you don't have to be a real mountain climber with specialized gear, but it's a considerable vertical gain and there are tricky passages at times relying on a series of ladders. Of course there's a wonderful view at the top. It's definitely doable in a day, but you'll be tired afterwards. There is at least one primitive campsite on the mountain, too.

The gem mining is fun for kids, but basically not much to it. Part tourist trap, part rock hunt. There are tons of places and as far as I know they're all about the same. Definitely nothing to plan your day around, but I'm sure you can squeeze a visit in somewhere.

The Mast General Store is well worth a visit. Grab you and RC Cola and Moon Pie. It'll be packed in July, but it's worth a stop. It's a genuine antique!

You can go over the viaduct as you travel the Blue Ridge Parkway around Grandfather. There are several overlooks if you want to stop to take a picture. I think you can hike down into Linn Cove, but I've never done that. There are several places you can hike to on Grandfather that offer spectacular views.

Linville Falls is an easy hike on a paved trail most of the way, but it's worth doing, IMO. The falls are very nice. People aren't supposed to swim in the river, but I've usually seen folks doing it along the way anyway. Not near the falls, though.

I've never actually done the Blowing Rock! It's privately owned with an entrance fee.

Moses Cone Park is nice for a family outing. It offers plenty of easy hikes. You can also stroll around Bass Lake. The craft gallery at Moses Cone is nice, too. You can hike to Flat Top Observation Tower for a more moderate hike. I think it's about 5 miles round trip. You can climb an old fire tower and get a great view.

Blowing Rock is a cute touristy little town with some good restaurants and lots of shopping. The whole "high country" area of the NC mts is pretty laid back. There's plenty to do, just depends on what you wanna do. You can also kick back on the porch and just listen to the creek go by.

babsdancer

Just went to Blowing Rock last summer with college girlfriends. We drove from FL and stayed in Boone but it was a 15-20 minute drive to Blowing Rock. We drove along the Blue Ridge and picked some random hikes but also did Linville Falls. We did Grandfather mountain for a day as well. All very reasonable as we are all teachers. LOVE LOVE LOVE Blowing Rock and wish we could've stayed in a cabin there but the down is adorable. Must go to Kilwin's on the main street. We also drove about an hour and a half away to do a White Water Rafting excursion which was great.