The Area Guide
Things to do in the North Carolina High Country
This is the honest rundown of Avery and Watauga counties: where to ski, ride, hike, listen, and eat, from the ski slopes of Beech Mountain to the breweries of Boone. Every section links to the official source so you can check conditions, hours, and tickets before you go.
New on the Guide
Easy dog-friendly walks on Beech Mountain and in Banner Elk: the paved Greenway, the Emerald Outback's easiest trails, and the Banner Elk Greenway, with distances, leash rules, and parking.
No. 01 · Beech Mountain
Skiing, snowboarding, and winter sports
Beech Mountain Resort is the highest ski area in the eastern United States, with a summit at 5,506 feet and an 830-foot vertical drop. Its 17 trails across 95 skiable acres are served by nine lifts, with 100 percent snowmaking, two terrain parks, and snow tubing lanes. The Beech Tree Village base area has fire pits, dining, shopping, and a brewery taproom, and the 5506' Sky Bar sits at the top of the chairlift.
In town, winter means sledding, cross-country skiing, and snowshoeing on quiet residential streets. In summer the resort flips to scenic lift rides, disc golf, yoga, and the concert series below.
Beech Mountain ResortNo. 02 · Beech Mountain
The Emerald Outback
A roughly seven-mile trail network run by the Town of Beech Mountain near the summit, at about 5,000 to 5,400 feet. It is billed as the highest mountain-bike trail system east of the Rockies, and it is free. Expect singletrack through rhododendron and hardwoods, with named trails like OZ Forest Run, Jackalopes Mile, Backbone, and Overlook spanning green to double-black difficulty.
Open year-round when weather allows for mountain biking, hiking, trail running, and e-bikes, with summit parking, a kiosk, and a bike repair station. The system has twice hosted the USA Cycling collegiate mountain bike national championships.
Emerald Outback trail guide
No. 03 · Beech Mountain
Summer concerts at 5,506 feet
The Beech Mountain Resort Summer Concert Series runs June through August at the base of the ski slope, with past headliners including Jason Isbell, The Red Clay Strays, Lake Street Dive, and Charley Crockett. Shows are all-ages, with food trucks, local craft vendors, and the Beech Mountain Brewing Co. taproom on site.
For a free version, catch Live Music at 5,506' on summer Saturdays from 2:30 to 5:30 p.m. at the top of the scenic chairlift, or the Food Truck Rodeo at 5,506'. Locals Day Thursdays offer half-price summer activity tickets for residents of Avery, Watauga, Ashe, Mitchell, Alleghany, Wilkes, Carter, and Johnson counties.
Resort events calendarNo. 04 · Banner Elk & Sugar Mountain
Banner Elk and Sugar Mountain
Banner Elk is the small town at the foot of Beech and Sugar, home to the Woolly Worm Festival every third weekend of October and a tidy main street of restaurants and shops. Sugar Mountain Resort, nearby, is North Carolina's largest ski area: a 1,200-foot vertical drop, roughly 125 acres across about 20 trails, eight lifts including the Summit Express six-passenger chair, night skiing, snow tubing, and ice skating in winter.
In summer, Sugar runs scenic chairlift rides to the 5,300-foot summit, a downhill bike park, an 18-hole golf course, tennis, and an Oktoberfest each fall.
No. 05 · Watauga County
Boone, the college town
Boone is the biggest town in the High Country, home to Appalachian State University and a walkable downtown on King Street with the historic Mast General Store, local shops, and coffee spots. When the weather is good, the whole town spills outdoors.
- Boone Greenway: a flat, paved, accessible trail that follows the river through town. Free and leashed dogs welcome.
- Howard Knob County Park: a mountaintop park at 4,396 feet with panoramic views over the town and ridges.
- Elk Knob State Park: free entry near Todd, with a summit hike and views of the northern High Country. Dogs welcome on a six-foot leash.
No. 06 · Avery & Watauga
Grandfather Mountain
The Mile High Swinging Bridge spans a gorge at about 5,280 feet on Linville Peak, and at 228 feet long it is billed as America's highest suspension footbridge. The views are a full 360 degrees over the Blue Ridge. The mountain's highest point, Calloway Peak, rises to 5,946 feet.
The bridge sits inside the Grandfather Mountain attraction, which charges admission and also includes wildlife habitats and a nature museum. Grandfather Mountain State Park is a separate, free public park on the same mountain, with backcountry access via the Profile Trail and Daniel Boone Scout Trail for hiking, backpacking, and camping, no bridge and no drive-up amenities.
No. 07 · Avery County
Linville Gorge and Linville Falls
Linville Gorge is the wild heart of Avery County, a deep river-cut wilderness of cliffs, old forest, and waterfalls. Linville Falls, at Blue Ridge Parkway Milepost 316, is the easy introduction: the Erwin's View Trail and the Linville Gorge Trail lead to overlooks of the three-tiered falls. It is free, and leashed dogs are welcome on the trails.
Some gorge trails have been closed since Hurricane Helene, so check the National Park Service page for current conditions before you drive out.
Linville Falls trail status, NPS
No. 08 · Free
The Blue Ridge Parkway
The parkway runs 469 miles from Shenandoah to the Great Smoky Mountains, and it is free to drive with no entrance fee. The sections closest to Beech Mountain pack in the best of the High Country: Moses H. Cone Memorial Park at Milepost 294 with its carriage trails, Price Lake at 296.7 with a roughly 2.4-mile loop, Rough Ridge Overlook at 302.8 with boardwalk views on the Tanawha Trail, and Linville Falls at Milepost 316.
In fall, the parkway is the front-row seat for peak color, which usually lands in mid-October at these elevations.
Blue Ridge Parkway, NPSNo. 09 · Local
Food and breweries
Real places we send our own guests to. Hours change with the seasons, so check before you go.
On the mountain, Beech Mountain Brewing Co. pours at the Beech Tree Village base area, and the Steakhouse at Alpen Inn serves dinner with mountain views and live music. In Banner Elk, Stonewalls Restaurant, Banner Elk Cafe & Tavern, The Pedalin' Pig, and Bella's cover everything from tavern food to Italian. In Boone, the brewery scene runs from Appalachian Mountain Brewery to Lost Province Brewing Co., Booneshine Brewing Company, SouthEnd Brewing Co., and Goofy Foot Taproom, with Blowing Rock Brewing Company down the road in Blowing Rock.
Featured · Banner Elk
Luna Thai & Sushi
On the Banner Elk side of NC-105, Luna Thai & Sushi is our go-to for a real Thai meal after a day on the trails. The menu runs from classic curries and pad thai to a full sushi list, with vegetarian and vegan options throughout. It is open seven days a week for lunch and dinner, and beer and wine are on the table.
The best seats are outside: the patio overlooks the valley with mountain views, and dogs are welcome right at the table. Order the vegetarian pho, a big bowl of broth with tofu, carrots, cilantro, and bean sprouts, with lime and sriracha on the side. It is exactly the kind of meal that fixes a cold mountain afternoon.
- 3990 NC-105 South, Banner Elk, NC
- (828) 783-9284
- Open 7 days a week, lunch and dinner
- Dogs welcome at the outdoor tables
Featured · Beech Mountain
Steakhouse at Alpen Inn
The Steakhouse at Alpen Inn sits on Beech Mountain Parkway at the European-style Alpen Inn, and it is the mountain's proper dinner night out. The dining room is spacious, with heavy wooden beams overhead, large windows, and tables set with white tablecloths. Along the windows, bar-height seating looks straight out over the ridges, so the scenic mountain views stay with you through the whole meal.
Live music is part of the scene: musicians play in the adjoining room while the dining room fills, and the menu leans on steaks and prime rib, the kind of meal that fits a cold mountain evening. It is a short drive from the cabin, which makes it an easy pick after a day on the slopes or the trails.
- 700 Beech Mountain Parkway, Beech Mountain, NC
- (828) 387-2252
- Scenic mountain views from the window seats
- Live music in the adjoining room
Featured · Banner Elk
Nguyen's Asian Grill
Nguyen's Asian Grill is Banner Elk's Asian dining option, a casual spot on Tynecastle Highway serving sushi and Asian grill plates. The sushi bar turns out generous rolls like the ones pictured below: tuna-topped pieces with spicy sauce, rolls finished with a spicy orange sauce and jalapeños, and a creamy reddish-orange sauce with an orchid garnish.
Beyond sushi, the menu covers Asian grill favorites, and the drink list runs from beers and wines to sake and mixed drinks, so there is something for everyone at the table after a day on Beech or Sugar.
- 2015 Tynecastle Hwy, Suite B, Banner Elk, NC
- (828) 783-9311
- Sushi and Asian grill plates
- Beers, wines, sake, and mixed drinks
Plan Around It
Base yourself on Beech Mountain
The Heart of Beech Retreat sits minutes from the resort base, the Emerald Outback, and the parkway access, with Banner Elk and Boone a short drive away. Book it and the whole region is your backyard.