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THE MOUNTAIN TIMES AUTUMN GUIDE
2009
What Keeps Us Coming Back? In one form or another, people have been coming to enjoy the wonders of the High Country since the advent of easy transportation. With so many exciting attractions, natural and otherwise, it is easy to see why. It comes as no surprise that tourism here is perpetually on the rise. “When I was growing up there were only about 300 residents in Blowing Rock with about 2,000 to 3,000 in the summer season,” said Jerry Burns, lifelong resident and former editor of the Blowing Rocket. “Now there are 4,000 or 5,000 residents with 15,000-20,000 in the summers.” The heart of High Country tourism has always been the stunning natural beauty of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The Blue Ridge Parkway has been drawing crowds since it neared completion in 1967. The portion of its 469 miles that cuts through the area also includes the famed viaduct bridge, which has snaked around the backside of Grandfather Mountain since 1983. But perhaps an even bigger draw is the wide array of activities that can be found off of the road. The High Country claims some of the best places for summertime outdoor activities in the Southeast, including horseback riding, bouldering, mountain biking, kayaking and of course hiking. In fact, alongside Durango, Colo; Bend, Ore.;
and North Vancouver, British Columbia; Boone was named one of the four premier multi-sports destinations on the continent by Adventure Sports Magazine in 2005. As more people have discovered the wonders of the High Country more have decided to stay. “It used to be people would only come for a day or two or at most a weekend, but in the last 20 years we’ve seen more and more permanent residents” Burns said, “there’s been a real shift from strictly vacationing to owning. More people are filling up resort communities that are largely new, and lately there’s been a real push towards owning actual houses, rather than staying in multi-family dwellings like condos.” Apart from the mountains themselves, the High Country’s oldest attraction is the famed Blowing Rock, which was once touted by Ripley’s Believe-it-or-Not as the only place on Earth where it snows upside down. It has been a crowd-pleaser since it first opened to the public in 1933. Only six years later, the High Country’s next oldest draw opened, the only public cave in North Carolina, the aweinspiring Linville Caverns. Perhaps the biggest natural attraction though is Grandfather Mountain. Though there were roads providing access to the cliffs at the
peak from the early 1900s on, it was not really transformed into an easily accessible destination until the building of the Mile High Swinging Bridge in 1952. Since then, attractions have continually been added to the internationally recognized biosphere preserve, and it now offers a wide range of activities, from museums and trails to the area’s only zoo. Natural attractions are far from the only entertainment offered in the High Country. From cultural festivals to beautiful golf courses and rich gem mines, opportunities abound for family fun. Since 1957, tourists have been flocking to Tweetsie Railroad for a trip back to times of yore. The train itself ran in Watauga County from 1919 until 1950, where it got its name for the “tweet, tweet” sound that echoed through the hills. The park, now listed in the National Register of Historic Places, will undoubtedly continue to be a favorite for as long as people enjoy the novelty of riding on a coal-powered train. Another longstanding area attraction is the Revolutionary War-era drama “Horn in the West.” Staged every summer since 1952 in the much acclaimed outdoor Daniel Boone Theater, Dr..