Boone / Blowing Rock
Stroll: Boone’s Greenway is an almost backcountry enclave tucked below green summits beside a branch of the New River. You can almost forget you’re in a town of about 20,000 people. Start at Clawson-Burnley Park where the paved wheelchair-accessible path has signs interpreting riverside flora and fauna. Map: www.townofboone.net (click “Town Parks & Greenways”).
Shop: Small town downtowns and handcrafted fine art are the shopping draw in the High Country. Boone’s King Street is home to longstanding craft guilds Hands Gallery and Doe Ridge Pottery. Hands (www.handsgallery.org), a co-op of 20 diverse artists, celebrates a 40th anniversary this year. Doe Ridge (www.doeridgepottery.homestead.com) features owner Bob Meier’s amazing stoneware and the work of 14 other local potters. The Shoppes at Farmer’s Hardware (www.shoppesatfarmers.com) collects 100 mini-craft and gift shops under one roof on the corner of King and Depot streets. Main Street in Blowing Rock is lined with intriguing storefronts, but make time for the nearby Parkway Craft Center in the Moses Cone Manor House at Milepost 294 on the Blue Ridge Parkway. This is an outlet for the juried 300-member organization the Southern Highland Craft Guild, which harkens to the earliest days of the Appalachian craft movement. It’s open through Nov. 30. Details: www.southernhighlandguild.org (click “Shops and Fairs”).
Hike: Thanks to artful trailhead signs that offer free site-specific brochures, the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation’s innovative TRACK Trail program is turning easy paths across the country into educational, family-oriented nature hikes. Five of them are in the Boone area. Learn about lakes on the Parkway’s Price Lake Trail near Blowing Rock (or bring your boat: there’s a paddler’s TRACK Trail, too). Another TRACK Trail starts in the Price Park picnic ground. Area state parks all have these trails, including Grandfather Mountain, Elk Knob, and New River, as does Mount Jefferson State Natural Area. Details: www.kidsinparks.com (type “Boone” in the search window).
Bike: Boone’s rugged, aptly named Rocky Knob Bike Park has become a regional draw. An eight-mile network of artfully banked, intermediate- to expert-rated mountain biking trails tempt more advanced riders and include four dedicated “skills learning” areas. You can also hike the trails – and there’s a rustic adventure playground for kids. Even beginners can enjoy the park’s Pump Track, an undulating roller-coaster loop. This is one of the first TRACK Trails for cycling – so it nicely teaches the skills necessary to pump the path without pedaling. Details: www.rockyknob.wordpress.com.
Randy Johnson
Eat
Some great places in the High Country close for winter, but fall is a colorful last chance to sample Blowing Rock’s The Village Cafe (www.thevillagecafe.com). Scrumptious brunch, lunch and early dinner fare is hiding just off of Main Street down a rhododendron-sheltered sidewalk. If the weather is nice, sit on the patio under towering trees. The eatery closes in mid-November.
Linville’s bark-shingled masterpiece, the Eseeola Lodge (www.eseeola.com) is a distinctive place to spend the night, but even leaf-lookers just passing by should not miss this upscale inn’s legendary Thursday night seafood buffet. Lump crab, smoked salmon, lobster tails, sushi, roast beef and beyond is temptingly served in a chestnut-paneled dining room. The 2015 season ends Oct. 25.
Sip
At Grandfather Vineyard and Winery in Foscoe, the Watauga River rushes under the gaze of Grandfather Mountain’s profile (www.grandfathervineyard.com). Linville Falls Winery, near the Parkway’s famous waterfall, sits among vineyard draped hillsides (www.linvillefallswinery.com). Beech Mountain’s “Hike and Wine Package” (through Nov. 8; www.beechmtn.com/lodging/packages) makes it easy to explore that cool, colorful summit and enjoy a tasting at the Banner Elk Winery.
Or just grab a brew. In Boone, Appalachian Mountain Brewery (www.appalachianmountainbrewery.com) and Lost Province Brewing Company (www.lostprovince.com) have many fans. In Blowing Rock, the Blowing Rock Ale House and Inn (www.blowingrockalehouseandinn.com) is just steps from the town park.
This story was originally published September 29, 2015 at 1:40 PM with the headline "Boone / Blowing Rock."