Its the Location!

Best for the kids, in the rain, during Covid!

1. Bass Lake (5 mins away)

   Right in Blowing Rock. Even in the rain its a great place to take a walk. Wide gravel hiking trails that are level so shouldn’t get too muddy. Easy walk for the kids. About a mile around the entire lake.  

   Directions: Bass Lake

2. LINVILLE CAVERNS (30 mins Away)

   See inside a mountain...NC's only show cave. Half-hour guided tours into a natural limestone cavern featuring stalactite and stalagmite formations and an underground stream. Open daily from March through November and open weekends from December through February.

   More info: Linville Caverns

3. Silvervale Falls (10 mins away)

   There are lots of waterfalls in the area, but one that is really easy to get to (best bang for your buck) where you can literally park your car next to the base of the falls is Sivervale Falls, just South of Blowing Rock. Others on the list are good too, but this one is great if little legs can’t make it down a long trail to see such beautiful sites.

   More Info: Area Waterfalls

4. Gem Mining (5-15 Mins away)

   There are plenty of places for the kids to find treasures while mining gems. You’ll find a few along 321 toward Boone and 105 toward Banner Elk from Boone. The closest one is Doc’s Rocks, located next to Mystery Hill, just five minutes from the cabin.

   More Info: Doc’s Rock’s

5. MYSTERY HILL (5 MINS)

   Mystery Hill offers a one-of-a-kind look into Appalachian culture and history! Blending family fun, science, and history, your visit will be anything but boring. Nine unique experiences, including the famous gravitational anomaly, the second-largest private Native American artifacts collection in the world, Bubblerama, gem mining, our dinosaur and fossil museum, old time photos, tomahawk throwing, and more. 

   More info: Mystery Hill

6. FLAT TOP MANOR AT MOSES CONE PARK

   Part museum, part craft store, part parkway gift shop, this late-1800s mountaintop mansion was home to an early denim manufacturer whose surrounding land became Parkway property. The striking structure houses an outlet for the Southern Highland Craft Guild where artisans demonstrate their crafts. There's a Parkway information desk, and a book/gift shop. Weekend tours explore the once off-limits upstairs quarters of Moses and Bertha Cone. The easy Figure-Eight interpretive trail is just outside.

   More info: Moses Cone Park

7. GRANDFATHER MOUNTAIN (30 MINS)

   Even in the rain this a good spot to hit. You can park right near the swing bridge, and on the property is a Wildlife Habitat and Nature Museum. Grandfather Mountain, one of the highest peaks in the Blue Ridge Mountain range (elevation 5,946 ft.), just off the Blue Ridge Parkway. ... Grandfather Mountainis a globally-recognized nature preserve and home to the famous Mile-High Swinging Bridge.

   More info: Grandfather Mountain

8. APPLE HILL Alpaca FARM (30 MINS)

   Indoor and Outdoor areas. Kids will love visiting the farm. A unique mountaintop alpaca farm and store. See a real farm experience with nine types of animals, including goats, horses, chickens and of course the stars of the farm, the alpacas. Offering tours of the farm all year long.  

   More info: Apple Hill Farm

9. MAST GENERAL STORE (25 MINS)

   The Original Mast General Store opened in 1883 in the rural community of Valle Crucis, North Carolina. Storekeepers tried to have everything the community needed… from cradles to caskets. Mast Store offers a variety of goods from fashion to fried chicken cookbooks and toffee to tents. Check out the Annex in the back for sale items.

   More info: Mast General Store

10. The Blowing Rock (10 Mins)

    Great views, indoor gift shop/history museum. The Blowing Rock is an immense cliff 4,000 feet above sea level, overhanging Johns River Gorge 3,000 feet below. The phenomenon is so called because the rocky walls of the gorge form a flume through which the northwest wind sweeps with such force that it returns light objects cast over the void.

    The current of air flowing upward from The Rock prompted the Ripley’s “Believe-It-Or-Not” cartoon about “the only place in the world where snow falls upside down.” Visible from “The Rock” down the gorge to the southwest are Hawksbill Mountain and Table Rock. To the west are Grandfather Mountain (the highest peak in the Blue Ridge chain) and Mount Mitchell (the highest peak east of the Mississippi).

    More Info: The Blowing Rock