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Things To Do & Places To Visit
The High Country has many unique places to visit. Whether your idea of fun is driving the Blue Ridge Parkway, shopping til you drop, outdoor adventure, skiing, or tasting downhome mountain vittles, there is something for you in the High Country.
The Mast General Store Open year round, Valle Crucis...828-963-6511...allow one hour. Established in 1883, the MAST General Store is listed on the National Register Of Historic Places. In the old days, they carried everything the community needed, from cradles to caskets, and is still the place the people of Valle Crucis stop every day to pick up their mail. The main store carries an eclectic array of items for the mountain home and has one of the best shoe stores in the High Country. The ANNEX has a wonderful selection of casual clothing and The Candy Barrel...an adventure for the eyes with hundreds and hundreds of colorful candies sold by the pound with many retro candies (like Pez) to bring out the child in everyone. Behind the main store is the Little Red School House, a restored school building housing a pottery shop. No admission charged.
Daniel Boone Native Gardens May - September, and October weekends,Boone. Unique native planting maintained by the Garden Club of North Carolina. On the grounds of Horn In The West.
Roan Mountain Rhododendron Garden Bakersville, NC...828-682-3303...1 hour. At 6,315 feet, Roan Mountain is the South's snowiest peak, a crossing point for the Appalachian trail, and the world's largest natural rhododendron garden. At this elevation, the red Catawba rhododendron bloom mid-June through early July. State park, no admission charged.
Ashe County Frescoes Open year around 24 hours a day Glendale Springs and Beaver Creek, Ashe County...336-982-3076 ...allow ½ hour per church, ½ hour drive time between locations. Less than a mile from the Blue Ridge Parkway, this tiny white clapboard chapel houses some of the most important Fresco art in America. Artist Ben Long used local parishioners as models for the apostles when he painted "The Lord's Supper" on the wall behind the altar at Holy Trinity Episcopal Church in Glendale Springs. Closer to West Jefferson, in the crossroads of Beaver Creek, St. Mary's Episcopal Church is home to Long's "Mary Great With Child," a life-sized Fresco of an expectant Mary, "John the Baptist" and "The Mystery of Faith," a life-sized representation of the spirit of Christ rising from a lifeless body on the cross. Spectacular and very moving. No admission charged.
The Blue Ridge Parkway Open year round, weather permitting in winter. Do not travel on the Parkway when there has been ice or snow. There is no snow removal on the Parkway and no one would be looking for stranded motorists. The Blue Ridge Parkway is a 470-mile National Park linking Shennandoah National Park to Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Grandfather Mountain is located at milepost 305. Asheville Administration Office 828-271-4779 Driving on the Parkway is free of charge. Fees are charged for the use of facilities, such as boat rentals or campsites.