Blue Ridge Explorer

Free Fun Stuff to do in the Blue Ridge National Heritage Area

If there's one thing folks in the Blue Ridge National Heritage Area know and love, it's music and dancing.  In the summer, free concerts, dances, and festivals abound throughout the region.

Magic Comes to the Forest

Few people may know that modern forest conservation got its start right here in Western North Carolina, at a forestry school started by Dr. Carl Schenck, forest manager for George Vanderbilt's estate.  In 1898 Schenk started Biltmore Forest School, the nation’s first school of forestry.  It is now known as the Cradle of Forestry in America.

Flowers, Festivals and Fun: It's May in the Mountains

Great news for travelers! Just in time to see springtime's flowery show, the stretch of Interstate 40 in Western North Carolina near the Tennessee border that has been closed by a rockslide since October reopened this week.

Hats and Horses and Springtime Fun!

Springtime is particularly beautiful in mid-April in the Western North Carolina mountains and foothills.  Dogwoods are just beginning to show their shy faces, red bud trees blush along roadsides, and showy azaleas greet travelers with waves of vivid purples, pinks, reds and whites.

Spring is in the Air!

Looking for a place for your family to celebrate spring and our mountain heritage? Take them to the 20th Annual Johnson Farm Festival in Hendersonville on Saturday, April 24, where over 20 old-time crafts and living history skills will be exhibited, and live music and entertainment will be on the main stage and boarding house porch throughout the day.

Music in the Mountains Warms Up Winter!

The weather outside may be frosty and snow-laced, but inside the many music venues in the Blue Ridge National Heritage Area, music heats up the night.

Winter's Magical Beauty in Western North Carolina

As stunning as the scenery is in warm weather in the North Carolina mountains, winter has its own special beauty.

Holiday Greetings from the Blue Ridge National Heritage Area!

Take advantage of cozy winter nights by the fireside, the perfect time to plan your next visit to the Blue Ridge National Heritage Area!  We encompass 11,000 square miles of the mountains and foothills of Western North Carolina, with scenery unsurpassed anywhere.

Enjoy a Truly Authentic Blue Ridge Holiday!

Throughout the mountains and foothills of North Carolina, small communities celebrate the season in a style reminiscent of a Norman Rockwell painting or the movie It's a Wonderful Life.

Come Celebrate a Special Anniversary!

America's Favorite Drive Turns 75!  Few visitors to the Blue Ridge National Heritage Area miss the opportunity to travel at least a portion of the Blue Ridge Parkway, “America’s Favorite Drive.” The 469-mile-long Parkway stretches from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park to Shenandoah National Park and is the most popular unit of the National Park Service.

Blue Ridge Explorer Visitor E-Newsletter Oct. 2009

Discover October gold in the North Carolina mountains as fall colors blaze from the highest mountain peaks to the deep river valleys!