Things to Do & See Around Boone, NC?
 

Dear Fodorites,

I have an opportunity to home exchange with some folks who have a vacation home in Boone, NC which appears to be in the "mountains" near the TN border. I would go during peak fall colors and they tell me that would be about the 2nd week in Oct. Is that correct?

Also, it looks like Ashville is close enough for a day trip. Any other things to see and do besides hiking? I'm a little concerned that a week will be too long for me in the mountains.

I've never been to the area before and might consider combining this with a few days in Charleston and Savannah to make it worthwhile.

Suggestions and comments? Thanks in advance!

Oh good, its time for payback! You helped me with my Park City plans. Welcome to North Carolina. It is a gorgeous time to visit and there will be a great deal to do (and quite a few people here doing it!). Asheville, Black Mountain and that area will be easily reached in a day. You can also visit Blowing Rock and Banner Elk during your stay in Boone (home of Appalachian State University...where football is KING). Or you could take a day trip to Old Salem, in Winston Salem, NC . This is a marvelous restoration (as opposed to reconstruction) of an early American town. It is most extraordinary and worth a trip. www.oldsalem.org for more information.
Welcome to North Carolina, Dayle!

Dayle, do you enjoy cycling? There is a wonderful trail between Fleetwood and Todd, all paved, very flat and quite scenic (except where the offensive new houses are being built). The Todd General Store is worth a visit!
Of course cycling the Blue Ridge is very popular, but I am an off road cyclist...big chicken here....so my recos are all with little or no car traffic.

cmcfong,

Bless you! I gathered from other NC posts that you are from there.

I do like riding, but only where the cars can't get me. So we agree there too! These other sight seeing ops you mention are small towns? Not too tacky touristy? I'll resarch them.

Winston-Salem would definitely be of interest. I really enjoy history and architecture, outdoor activities and photography.

So far I've checked and can't find any non-stops between SLC and Charlotte. Should I consider a larger airport and would it be worth the drive?

You might enjoy a drive to Valle Crucis, visit the original Mast General Store, drive the back roads up through Banner Elk to Beech Mountain. We also enjoyed driving the Blue Ridge Parkway, visiting/hiking by Grandfather Mountain. Don't miss walking around Blowing Rock, & a wonderful restaurant in Blowing Rock called Bistro Roca - ask for an outdoor table; they have these wonderful heating elements between tables so you can enjoy the brisk mountain air without freezing. Don't miss the fig appetizer on the menu!

Winston Salem is about 2 hours from Boone, a straight shot on 421. If your passions are architecture and history, Old Salem is the place for you. It would be the perfect day trip for you. And if you want a bit of excercise on the same day, add a loop around Salem Lake. You could park at Old Salem, ride the greenway through a gorgeous park to the lake and then back. 13 miles, all off road which is just spectacular in the fall.

The other little towns, like Valle Crucis are not terribly touristy, but fall is a premium season for visitors to our mountains. They are pretty lovely that time of year. Many, many good restaurant choices.

Are you on Facebook by any chance? I have posted some pictures of Salem Lake there. Also you can write to me there, I am in the Fodors group.

USAIR and DELTA have the most flights to CLT, but I don't see either of them currently offering a non stop from SLC. That's a change, I think. You might have better luck with RDU but that would be a longer drive to Boone (4 hours est) however it would go right past Winston Salem and you could do your first night there at the Brookstown Inn.

Good thought cmcfong,

Since Winston Salem is a 2 hr drive one way, maybe I'll do it on the way in or out. Considering the price of gas!

I'm doing some research and it does look like I could do a week in the area.

Is the second week of Oct normally peak colors?

You can't really plan for peak colors in the area. Aim for a date and you may or may not hit it. ;)

Tweetsie Railroad has the Ghost Train on weekends in October.
http://www.tweetsie.com/special_events/

If you have any interest in railroad history, I can point you to other places in the area.

Barter Theater in Abingdon, Va., for a show. www.bartertheater.com

Bike the Virginia Creeper Trail from White Top Mountain, Va., to Damascus, Va. (near Abingdon). It's strictly a biking/hiking trail, no cars.
http://www.thebike-station.com/ for rentals and shuttle.

Shop and stroll in Blowing Rock, NC.

Drive the Blue Ridge Parkway and stop at all the overlooks. :) Visit the Moses Cone Manor on the Parkway, it's beautiful.

And cmcfong, I agree about the "offensive" homes on the way to Todd! They look way out of place. My dad and I had lunch at the Todd General Store earlier this year and while the location is unique, I thought the lunch was WAY overpriced. River Girl Outfitters in Todd rents bikes and does fly fishing trips and rafting/float trips.

Dayle, I have to ditto xrae on the fall color prediction. It will be pretty if not peak. It is so hard to guess when the color will peak in that area.
Her suggestion about Abingdon is great. I did a trip up there about two weeks ago and posted a report about my ride on the Virginia Creeper if you want to check that out. Loved it!
The Craft shop in the Moses Cone park is lovely. Asheville has some very nice high quality crafts as well.
Another little town with some appeal is Weaverville. If you like spa treatments they have a very good one, the Secret Garden (www.secretgardennc.com) Excellent treatments in a lovely Arts and Crafts building. Two good restaurants, Stoney Knob and Welbread Cafe (recommended to me by LeahinSC on this board). You will definitely not run out of things to do!

Just have to second the Blue Ridge Parkway. Especially for photography. Linn Cove Viaduct and Linville Falls come to mind immediately in that area near Grandfather Mountain. You do have to pay to get into Grandfather Mountain park, but there are some great views there. There is also a short trail by a small picnic area with some great views that goes past a small outdoor chapel type place inside the park.

We also found a trail, not well marked at the time, that led up to a deck with fantastic views of the mountains and the viaduct. When we stopped at the visitor center near the viaduct they said that it was new and they were trying to keep it a secret because people were trampling on the foliage in the area. This was a couple of years ago -- so not sure what it is called now, but really worth seeing.

Chimney Rock State Park is also worth seeing -- watch Last of the Mohicans before you go. Also, is Biltmore Estate in your plans?

Thanks for the recommendations! Yes, Biltmore was the one thing I knew of in the area.

Now that I've made the decision, I'm getting excited. I just love going new places and researching a trip! Turns out one of my co-workers/carpool buddies has family in Banner Elk and so she has lots of recommendations too.

I can pick my week in Oct. Should I go later rather than earlier? I know fall colors can vary. Maybe they do so more in the East than in the Rockies, I don't know....on the other hand, having nice hiking and bike riding weather sounds good too!

Fresco churches in Glendale and West Jefferson.

Charlotte'a a pretty good sized airport!! And a hub for USAir. You could check for connections to Asheville but Charlotte is an easy 2 hour drive to Boone.
second and third week of October is a good target or the foliage. It will at least be changing at the higher elevations.

Check to see if Appalachian State is playing. Last year they beat Michigan at home!

My family likes a little pool hall in Foscoe for hotdogs. There is no smoking and it is very family oriented.

Dayle, please keep me in the loop as your plans develop. I would love to buy you lunch at Old Salem if I will be in town the same time as you.

You could also easily hit some wineries 'en route' from CLT. www.visitncwine.com.

Its been a while, help me out here. What about Cades Cove self driving tour. Where is that exactly, CMCFong?

cheryl,Cades Cove is in the Great Smokies. www.cadescove.net

Very pretty spot, Dayle!

check out if the Wooly Worm Festival will be in Banner Elk when you are there.

Hiking to Linville Falls is lovely (take the longer hike to the lower falls)

Linville Caverns, Tweetsie Railroad, tons of hikes/beautiful spots for picnics along the Blue Ridge Parkway, of course Blowing Rock is lovely (outlet shopping there is decent), Valle Crucis.

Charleston/Savannah are too far away. You could easily spend a week there in my opinion.

Where exactly is the vacation home (is it really in Boone?)

Thanks for all the great ideas Fodorites! cmcfong, I'll let you know what week I plan. Lunch would be really great!

Yikes! OUTLET MALLS in Blowing Rock??? May have to skip that town. I consider our own Outlet Mall a plague on the mountains!
Definitely not a shopper here, especially on vacation.

Thanks all!

PS - I just got another exchange offer for Venice at Christmas. Very tempting! Too bad the real world limits vacation time.....

the outlets are just outside of town and you should def not skip Blowing rock. you can avoid the tackyness easily.

Dayle....MouseRD pretty much suggested everything I was going to suggest! lol

I live in Asheville, and it's a nice town to walk around for a day. Nice shops, restaurants, etc, and at night you can usually find a nice bar/pub with a live band. Asheville is known for it's ecclectic musical talent. If you were to do that, I recommend Jack of the Wood. It's on Patton Avenue, right there in downtown. The downtown area is the best place to just walk around and find things to do.

I ditto the comment on not skipping Blowing Rock. The outlets are small and outside of town. Go to downtown Blowing Rock, grab some ice cream at Kilwins and then walk across the street to the park and just people watch. I went to college at ASU in Boone. It is such a fun area. You might also check out Howard's Knob. Drive all the way to the top and you get great views of Boone. Watauga Lake just over the TN border os so gorgeous at sunset. Banner Elk is a quaint little town. Have a blast.

Thanks so much everyone for all the great recommendations. Personal comments always mean so much more than guidebooks. Although, now Fodor's is quoting lots of us in their books!

I haven't googled the exact location of the cabin/home, but it does look to be up in the forest and not right in town. Anything is fine with me, this will be a whole new adventure.

It's fun listening to you "locals" talk about the area like I talk about all the small towns and details of UT. We know our homes so well, but first time visitors really don't know anything! Just goes to show you have to go somewhere yourself to really form an opinion.

Now, if I could just find a non-stop from SLC to Charlotte. Seems the days of quick and esay air travel really have ended. I'm seriously considering shipping my 1 bag through Fed Ex. At least I get a guarantee for my money.

Happy travels

Dayle, today's edition of the Winston Salem Journal features an article on expected fall color this year. The writer says the best color is likely to be right around Boone, Blowing Rock. Looks like you are in for a treat.

cmcfong,

Thanks! That's good to hear, although I'm not going until next Oct. Our own leaves are turning fast and a little early. Very brilliant this year, I think due to the big snow year we had.

My geraniums didn't make it last night. Lows got down to 33...the basil plant spent the night indoors - still lots of pesto and caprese to come!

Oh goodness, I thought you were coming next month, not 2009! Looks like I will be in Park City before you get here.

I have brown crunchy leaves in my yard today! We are an hour from Boone. I will try to pay attention to the color in higher elevations this week and give y'all a report.

This weekend is the Autumn at Oz festival in Beech Mountain, near Boone.

In the early 70's, there was a small Land of Oz theme park on the top of Beech Mountain. I have home movies somewhere of my only visit. The theme park died around 1980 and eventually some really nice homes were built right where the park used to be since it's great mountain real estate with some wonderful views.

Every year at the site there's a gathering of people who used to work at or just love the park. There are some remnants of the park like the Yellow Brick Road, which has mostly been restored, and some of the buildings. My husband and I explored the area a few years ago on a whim and found it in better shape than we expected.

http://www.emeraldmtn.com/LandofOz/oz.htm for info on this weekend's festival.

Cades Cove is beautiful...just do all you can to avoid Pigeon Forge and its evil twin Gatlinburg.

www.hereinfranklin.wordpress.com

Cades Cove is at least three hours from Boone, probably more as there are many two-lane roads between the two.

This is a good time to plug one of my favorite websites, I can't believe it didn't occur to me until now.

http://www.highcountrywebcams.com/ has webcams from all over the Boone - Blowing Rock - Grandfather Mountain area. I use it for ski and snow info, but you can also click the different webcams to check out the leaves (during the day, of course ;) ).

Thanks for more you wonderful people. I'll keep checking all this out, since I do have plenty of time.

Our leaves are right a peak this weekend, but they are predicting a foot of snow that will quickly remove them from the trees.

The leaves have been amazingly brilliant this year and we've had super weather all month.

Dayle,

It's just turned midnight on October 19th in Boone. Some miscellaneous comments from a resident:

The colors are peaking just about now. If you're not here yet, you may well miss them. The Wooly Worm Festival is/was this weekend in Banner Elk. Though you have to get a permit (not hard to do), there are some great hiking trails on Grandfather Mt., of varying difficulty. You HAVE to go up on the Grandfather anyway; it's worth it. The Linville Viaduct on the Parkway is also worth seeing, but beware of hiking in Linville Gorge. It's very rough; people get lost there regularly.

Depending on how long you plan to be in the Boone/Blowing Rock area, I wouldn't spend too much time driving to other areas. Asheville is great, but at least two hours away in each direction. Unless there were some very special occasion, I wouldn't go for a day. (Although I know some people who go to see movies, as Boone is movie-deprived for independent films, about the only complaint I have.)

If you like off-road hiking and/or biking, you might try the new Elk Mt. State Park off Hwy. 194 between Boone and West Jefferson. Ask for directions.

Re the Tanger Outlets outside Blowing Rock: Yes, they are outside of the town, but actually are the least tacky outlets I've seen anywhere. They work hard to give it an upscale atmosphere. Blowing Rock, as mentioned, is an old-time tourist town which is enjoyable, though a litte snooty. Knight's on Main is a good casual dining spot where locals (as opposed to tourists) eat. However, I personally prefer downtown Boone, if you can find parking. Since it's both a college and a tourist town, it's a lot funkier. Hands Gallery, on W. King St. is great. And try Cha Da Thai (yes, a Thai restaurant) a bit further west and one block south on Howard St. It's very good.

A Boonie

I meant to say "Linn Cove Viaduct," as per the previous poster, but it's late!

Again, Dayle, if you're not on your way or here already, here's my take on flights: You're not likely to find non-stops to any airport in N.C. Hence, since Charlotte is a lot closer than RDU, a 1-stop on Northwest through either Detroit or Minneapolis, is probably your best bet. (I prefer RDU as an airport, but why double your drive time?)

Another choice might be the Piedmont Triad Airport (GSO), which is between Greensboro and Winston-Salem. It's probably the easiest drive. They also have 1-stop flights on Northwest, but the flight schedules do not appear to be nearly as good as those for Charlotte.

oldbutonthego,

Thanks for your additional info! I'll check the other airport too. I'm actually doing this trip in October 2009, so I have plenty of time.

I already had plans for this October so when we agreed on the home exchange, we made it for next year. I'm so glad the airfare has come down from what they were showing a month ago!

You have some really good suggestions here- IF you were able to make it the first week in October next year- the Brushy Mountain Apple Festival is always held the first Saturday in October in Wilkesboro. (just at the foot of the boone mountains). You do not say what state you are in- but if you like the mountains- you will find plenty to do in the Boone area. Personally- I would not be too interested in Winston Salem- considering how much there is to do around Boone.
The Ashe mountains- the area of Boone- the beautiful Blue Ridge Parkway- rather than thinking of W Salem- I would opt for Cashiers area- lots of waterfalls- and the area of cades cove etc- I like Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg- but they are touristy and busy places. Yet if you have never seen them- I would give them consideration. The Nanahala River is not such a far ride and great scenic area and popular river rafting area-although I would say too cold in October for rafting.
You should have a great time in Boone for a week- I spent 53 years in the area- and have never tired of it yet!! Have fun.