Area Attractions

 

The Bear Den is just minutes from hiking, great shopping in Boone or Blowing Rock, central to ski basins, Grandfather Mountain, golfing, fishing, horseback riding, waterfalls, and restaurants. A few convenient regional events are also nearby such as Merlfest, Valle Country Fair, Wooly Worm Festival, and Grandfather Mountain Highland Games.

 

Horn in the West: Horn in the West, by Kermit Hunter, is an outdoor drama produced every summer since 1952 in the Daniel Boone Amphitheatre in Boone, North Carolina. The show, the oldest revolutionary war drama in the United States, was about the life and times of the first people to settle the mountains of western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee. http://www.horninthewest.com/

 

Sky Valley Zip Tours: Each three hour tour takes you on a thrilling and educational journey through the trees. Begin your trip with an off-road ATV ride through the river and up the mountain! http://www.skyvalleyziptours.com/

 

Linville Falls: Linville Falls is a beautiful series of dramatic waterfalls that drop into a deep gorge, accessed by a trail lined with rare virgin stands of white pine and hemlock. The area around the Falls is one of the few places in these mountains where the rosebay, Catawba, and Carolina rhododendron grow side by side. http://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/nfsnc/specialplaces/?cid=stelprdb5188440

 

Linville Caverns: Located at the base of Humpback Mountain in the beautiful Linville Valley lies a natural wonder, Linville Caverns. After remaining a mysterious secret forLinville Falls and Linville Caverns centuries, the caverns are open for safe and convenient public touring. http://www.linvillecaverns.com/

 

Grandfather Mountain & Park: The highest peak in the Blue Ridge Mountains. http://www.grandfather.com/

 

Blue Ridge Parkway: Wildlife is a delight to see along the Parkway. Here you will find wild woodchucks, chipmunks, squirrels, skunks, bobcats, foxes, opossums, and raccoons. Whitetail deer and black bears also inhabit this area. Look for them in early morning or evening. More than 100 bird species can be seen during the spring migration season.

 

Mast General Store: A place Charles Kuralt calls, "a destination." That place is the Mast General Store in the rural historic district of Valle Crucis. https://www.mastgeneralstore.com/

 

Skiing: 
Appalachian Ski Mountain: Your first resort for family fun! 
Sugar Mountain Resort: Skiing, snowboarding, tubing, ice skating, showshoeing. Celebrating 40 years. 
Beech Mountain Resort: The highest ski resort in Eastern North America, at 5506 ft. above sea level.

Tweetsie Railroad Amusement Park: Tweetsie Railroad was designed to entertain and delight families with very young children (ages 3-10)… and of course all adults who remain young at heart. http://tweetsie.com/

 

Highland Games: Grandfather Mountain Highland Games and Gathering Scottish Clans fosters and restores interest in traditional dancing, piping, athletic achievement and Gaelic culture. They create and establish scholarship funds to assist students from Avery County High School to study at American colleges and universities.

 

Appalachian State University Summer Events: Music, art, dance, theatre, and more. http://appsummer.org/

 

RiverGirl Fishing Company: A full-service fishing and rental shop located in the historic crossroads community of Todd, NC, where Elk Creek flows into the South Fork of the New River. Our goal is to help our customers enjoy the river by providing quality education, equipment, and guidance. http://www.rivergirlfishing.com/