Places To Go - Blue Ridge National Heritage Area

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Chattooga River Gorge

The Chattooga River Gorge, which begins near Cashiers, NC,...

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classic car downtown Elkin, NC

Elkin

The confluence of the Yadkin River and Big Elkin...

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Cullasaja Falls

Cullasaja River Gorge

The Cullasaja River Gorge offers a spectacular scenic drive...

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Street Performers in Waynesville

Waynesville

Waynesville is the largest city west of Asheville. It...

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North Wilkesboro

North Wilkesboro

Early History North Wilkesboro began with a simple transaction...

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Gilda & Becky Cole marbling at Wilkes Art Gallery

Wilkes Art Gallery

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John C. Campbell Folk School

John C. Campbell Folk School

It may be higher learning but this folk school...

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Crossnore Weavers Gallery & Museum

Crossnore Weavers and Gallery

Source of gorgeous woven goods across a century of...

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Cherokee Dancers

Unto These Hills Outdoor Drama

For over 50 years, Cherokee players have performed Unto...

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Rockford

Established in 1789, the town of Rockford served as...

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Fort Defiance, Lenoir

Fort Defiance

Fort Defiance, near Lenoir, is a historic home built...

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Rocky Bluff Recreation Area

Rocky Bluff Recreation Area, near Hot Springs, North Carolina,...

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Blowing Rock downtown

Blowing Rock

Blowing Rock is a quintessential mountain village with beautiful...

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Roan Mountain

Roan Mountain, near Bakersville, is famous for its spectacular...

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Gallery 86

The streets of Waynesville are lined with galleries and...

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Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Great Smoky Mountains National Park

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is the most...

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Historic Flat Rock

The Village of Flat Rock, considered “the Little Charleston...

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Featured Destination

Haywood County barn quilt

Haywood Quilt Trails

Trace colorful quilt patterns along scenic country roads Quilt...

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Main Street Gallery in Blowing Rock

Blowing Rock Main Street Gallery

An energetic cooperative featuring lively work for almost four...

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South Mountains State Park

South Mountains State Park

Located at the edge of the Piedmont, South Mountains...

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Allison Deaver House

Allison-Deaver House

The Allison-Deaver House is the oldest standing frame house...

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log cabin at Mountain Gateway

Mountain Gateway Museum

The Mountain Gateway Museum and Heritage Center, located in...

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Basilica of St. Lawrence

Basilica of Saint Lawrence

The striking Basilica of Saint Lawrence in Asheville features...

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Fly Fishing Museum of the Southern Appalachians

The rivers and streams of the NC mountains and...

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Blue Ridge Parkway Visitor Center

Blue Ridge Parkway Visitor Center

The Blue Ridge Parkway Visitor Center in Asheville, North...

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Earle Theatre, Mount Airy

Mount Airy

Before there was a state of North Carolina, indeed...

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Museum of North Carolina Minerals

The mountains near Spruce Pine, North Carolina are among...

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Wheels Through Time Museum

Wheels Through Time Museum

Wheels Through Time Museum in Maggie Valley is...

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Alleghany Arts and Crafts

Appreciate art in land of “beautiful stream” The fifth...

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Mount Hardy

Mount Hardy rises to 6,110 feet in the Great...

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Ben Long Fresco Trail

Benjamin Long Frescoes

The luminous, life-size Ben Long Frescoes created by world-famous...

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Franklin Gem & Mineral Museum

Franklin Gem and Mineral Museum

Gems & Minerals from the N.C. Mountains and around...

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North Carolina Glass Center in the River Arts District

North Carolina Glass Center

Hottest ticket in our mountain world of craft A...

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Pisgah National Forest

Pisgah National Forest

The half-million+ acres of Pisgah National Forest drape like...

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Zachary-Tolbert House, Cashiers

Zachary-Tolbert House

Open for strolling, a wedding gift from 1852 Virtually...

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House of Flags Museum

House of Flags Museum

This unique educational museum was opened in 2001, fulfilling...

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Polk County History Museum

Polk County History Museum

The Polk County History Museum in Columbus, NC, comprises...

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Old Wilkes Jail Museum

Old Wilkes Jail

Hang down your head, Tom Dooley… Tom Dula, the...

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Featured Destination

Southern Highlands Reserve

Southern Highlands Reserve

A private arboretum featuring native plants near Lake Toxaway,...

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Appalachian Trail hiker

Appalachian Trail

Eighty-eight miles of the Appalachian Trail run through the...

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Hands Gallery in Boone

Hands Gallery

All hands on deck in this storefront partnership Some...

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Elk in Cataloochee Valley

Cataloochee Valley

The picturesque Cataloochee Valley in the Great Smoky Mountains...

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Blue Ridge Artisan Center

Marketplace for crafts, local food, in downtown Wilkesboro A...

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Museum of the Cherokee Indian

Learning about the heart and soul of a civilization...

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Francis Grist Mill

Francis Grist Mill

The Francis Grist Mill, located just outside of Waynesville,...

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Mount Jefferson State Natural Area

Mount Jefferson, rising to more than 1,600 feet above...

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The Foothills Arts Council is in a Victorian home in Elkin.

Foothills Arts Council

Elkin showcases craft in a lovingly restored Victorian home ...

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Stone Mountain State Park

Stone Mountain State Park, located off the Blue Ridge...

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Nantahala National Forest

The Nantahala National Forest anchors the far southwestern corner...

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The Toe River Arts Council runs the Burnsville Gallery

Toe River Arts Burnsville Gallery

Featuring the finest crafts created in the Toe River...

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Nantahala River Bogs

The Nantahala River Bogs Natural Area in the Nantahala...

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Doughton Park

Winter weather conditions can force temporary and fast-changing closures,...

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Transylvania Heritage Museum

Transylvania Heritage Museum

The Transylvania Heritage Museum in Brevard showcases heirlooms, artifacts,...

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Haywood Community College Professional Craft Program

State-of-the-art studio program nurtures next generation of crafters The...

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McDowell County Arts Council Association features craft shows in Marion.

McDowell Arts Council Association

Sharing a rich artistic legacy with the community In...

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Transylvania County Arts Council in downtown Brevard

Transylvania County Arts Council

A waterfall of exhibitions, a river of outreach to...

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Pink Beds stream

Pink Beds

Named for the profusion of pink wildflowers, including mountain...

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Historic Johnson Farm

Historic Johnson Farm

Go back in time to a rural retreat for...

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Price Lake fall folliage

Julian Price Memorial Park

Julian Price Memorial Park is a popular stop on...

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The Bascom campus near Highlands

The Bascom: A Center for Visual Arts

Center salvaged from historic barns shares the snyergy of...

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Ashe County Arts Council and Arts Center

WPA stone building home to cultural center, gallery The...

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Fire on the Mountain features blacksmiths at work in Spruce Pine

Fire on the Mountain

Blacksmiths bring hammers and anvils to Spruce Pine It’s...

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Fontana Dam and Visitor Center

The tallest dam east of the Rockies at 480...

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The Museum of Ashe County History

The Museum of Ashe County History

Housed in the restored 1904 Courthouse building on Main...

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Burke County Arts Council

Burke County Arts Council

Reclaiming an old jail to free the imagination In...

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Cherokee Heritage Festival dancing

Cherokee Homestead Exhibit

Revisit life in a reconstructed Cherokee summer and winter...

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Thomas Wolfe Memorial

Thomas Wolfe Memorial

The Thomas Wolfe Memorial in downtown Asheville preserves the...

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Lake James State Park

Lake James State Park

Spanning 6,510 acres with more than 150 miles of...

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Vance Birthplace cabin in snow

Vance Birthplace

The Vance Birthplace, near Weaverville, NC, preserves and interprets...

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Tryon Fine Arts Center

Tryon Fine Arts Center

Providing a home for the arts in Polk County...

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Green River Gorge

Green River Gorge

The Green River Gorge is a rugged landscape of...

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Cherokee Beadwork

Oconaluftee Indian Village

Step back in time into 18th century Cherokee village...

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Rotunda Gallery

Picture-pretty courthouse showcases local crafts in Sylva With 107 steps...

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Featured Destination

Cowee School Arts and Heritage Center

Historic rock school resurrected as craft destination In the...

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Highlands

The town of Highlands was supposed to become a...

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Scottish Tartans Museum

Scottish Tartans Museum

The hundreds of Highland Scots who immigrated to the...

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Rutherford Visual Arts Center

Find art where mountains meet the foothills An hour...

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Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest

I think that I shall never see A poem...

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Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center

A short-lived college in the mountains, profound in influence,...

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Bat Cave Preserve

Bat Cave Preserve

Bat Cave is the largest known granite fissure cave...

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Dogwood Crafters in Dillsboro

Dogwood Crafters

Showcasing mountain gifts alongside Dillsboro’s railroad tracks Dogwood Crafters showcases handmade...

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Arval Woody comes from a family of chairmakers

Woody’s Chair Shop

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Tryon Arts and Crafts School

Tryon Arts and Crafts School

From artist colony to thriving craft destination Tryon Arts...

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Smith-McDowell House

The Smith-McDowell House

The restored Smith-McDowell House is the oldest surviving house...

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Panthertown Valley

Panthertown Valley, near Cashiers, has been called the Yosemite...

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Museum of North Carolina Handicrafts

A distinguished farmhouse chock full of heritage pieces. Two...

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Historic Carson House, McDowell County, NC

Historic Carson House

The Historic Carson House, located in Pleasant Gardens, just...

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Grandfather Mountain swinging bridge

Grandfather Mountain

Grandfather Mountain, near Linville, is famous for its “Mile...

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Blue Ridge Parkway

The Blue Ridge Parkway is America’s most visited National...

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Glassblowing at Nantahala School for the Arts

Nantahala School for the Arts

A deeply-embedded heritage arts program with a gallery to...

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Stecoah Drive-About Tour

Drive around ancient Cherokee lands to see new crafts...

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Biltmore Estate

The Biltmore Estate: Explore Historical North Carolina The historic...

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Caldwell Heritage Museum

Caldwell Heritage Museum

The Caldwell Heritage Museum opened in 1991 and is...

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Featured Destination

Tryon Rocking Horse in downtown Tryon

Tryon

Tour a small town with big personalities and welcoming...

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Chimney Rock State Park

Some of the Best Views in the North Carolina...

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Looking Glass Rock

The sheer face of Looking Glass Rock, located in...

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Linville Gorge hiker at sunset

Linville Gorge and Falls

Linville Gorge is the deepest and perhaps most rugged...

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Hickory Nut Gorge

Hickory Nut Gorge

Rushing waters, rocky cliffs, a giant waterfall, and pristine...

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River Arts District studio strolll

Asheville River Arts District

See new artists create on banks of world’s oldest...

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Saint John's Episcopal Church

Saint John’s Episcopal Church

Saint John’s Episcopal Church in Rutherfordton is one of...

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Forest City christmas lights

Forest City

Forest City began as a crossroads on the Shelby-Rutherfordton...

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Prince House, Highlands Historic Village

Highlands Historic Village

Highlands Historic Village, home to the Highlands Historical Society,...

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Mast General Store, Valle Crucis

Valle Crucis

The tiny village of Valle Crucis is perched in...

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Florence Thomas Art School

An school of excellence founded by a renowned Appalachian...

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Mountain Farm Museum

Mountain Farm Museum

Logs of chestnut, gardens of squash The Mountain Farm...

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Wilkes Heritage Museum

Wilkes Heritage Museum

The Wilkes Heritage Museum offers an eclectic array of...

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McDowell County Quilt Trail

A self-guided drive through rural countryside in search of...

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Hendsonson County Courthouse

Hendersonville

Until the 1785 Treaty of Hopewell, present-day Henderson County...

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McGaha Chapel

The historic McGaha Chapel was finished in 1872 during...

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Penland School of Crafts

Penland School of Crafts

From weaving school to world-renowned craft designation Penland School...

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Blue Ridge ArtSpace

Blue Ridge ArtSpace

Yarn circles to violin lessons, and wild imaginings in...

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Avery County Historical Museum

The Avery County Historical Museum, in Newland, North Carolina,...

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Mountain Dance and Folk Festival

Mountain Dance and Folk Festival

‘Along About Sundown’ at the nation’s oldest folk festival...

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Heritage Weavers preserve fiber arts at Historic Johnson Farm.

Heritage Weavers & Fiber Artists

Learn firsthand the arts of spinning, weaving, knitting, rug-hooking...

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Bennett Classics Antique Auto Museum

Bennett Classics Antique Auto Museum

Bennett Classics Antique Auto Museum houses around 70 vehicles...

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Lansing NC downtown

Lansing

Nestled in the High Country in the Blue Ridge...

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Jones House serves as a cultural center in Boone

Jones House

An ongoing legacy of community, jam sessions and art...

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Brevard Music Center

Brevard Music Center

Founded in 1936, the Brevard Music Center is one...

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Pearson’s Falls

The remarkable botanical diversity and beautiful waterfall in this...

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Skiing Sugar Mountain

Winter Skiing

Do you enjoy skiing or snowboarding? Or are you...

Featured Destination

Elk Knob State Park in snow

Elk Knob State Park

Elk Knob State Park is located in the Meat...

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waterfall at Gorges State Park

Gorges State Park

Plunging waterfalls, rugged river gorges, sheer rock walls and...

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Swannanoa Valley Museum

Swannanoa Valley Museum

The Swannanoa Valley Museum in Black Mountain has been...

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Black Mountain Arts Center

Black Mountain Center for the Arts

A beehive of exhibits, performances and workshops cooking with...

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Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail

Thomas Jefferson called the victory of American patriots over...

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Canton Area Historical Museum

The Canton Area Historical Museum in Canton, North Carolina,...

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Banner House Museum

Banner House Museum

One of Banner Elk’s founding families, Samuel Henry Banner,...

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Turchin Center for the Visual Arts

Stunning art, critical thinking and a world of workshops,...

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Waterfall at Graveyard Fields

Graveyard Fields

Stunning waterfalls and a distinctive landscape make Graveyard Fields...

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Cradle of Forestry

Cradle of Forestry

The Cradle of Forestry Historic Site near Brevard commemorates...

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Big Ivy Historical Park

The Big Ivy Historical Society has developed the Big...

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cabin at Hickory Ridge Living History Museum

Hickory Ridge Living History Museum

Hickory Ridge Living History Museum is located on the...

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Old Time Music Heritage Hall

Old Time Music Heritage Hall

The Old-Time Music Heritage Hall provides an opportunity for...

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Mars Hill gazebo with spring flowers

Mars Hill

A Town Born From Education Before 1856, when no...

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Blowing Rock Art and History Museum

Blowing Rock Art and History Museum

A museum of native stone, a mountain of native...

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Bluff Mountain Nature Preserve

One of the most beautiful and ecologically significant natural...

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Valleytown Cultural Center, Andrews, NC

Valleytown Cultural Arts and Historical Society

The small town of Andrews welcomes you to its...

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Caldwell Arts Council in Lenoir

Caldwell Arts Council

Celebrating modern sculptures with annual festival The Caldwell Arts...

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Mountain Heritage Center

The fibers of an inspirational heritage The galleries of...

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Clay County Historical and Arts Museum

Clay County Historical and Arts Museum

Preserving the legacy of Clay County’s long history The...

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Bardo Art Center at Western Carolina University.

Western Carolina University Fine Art Museum

Western Carolina University opened its Fine Art Museum in 2005 in...

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The History Museum of Burke County

The History Museum of Burke County

The History Museum of Burke County is dedicated to...

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Center for Craft Creativity and Design

Center for Craft, Creativity and Design

Evocative exhibits and conferences footed in the American craft...

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Stuart Nye Hand Wrought Jewelry

The great beauty of mountain leaves and flowers, hammered...

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Western North Carolina Nature Center

Voted “best place to take kids” in the region,...

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Horn in the West drama

Horn in the West

Horn in the West, the nation’s longest-running Revolutionary War...

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Little Tennessee River

The Little Tennessee River, which can be accessed on...

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Linville Caverns

Some of the most fascinating geological formations in the...

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Folk Art Center

Folk Art Center

A diverse gallery of contemporary and traditional crafts in...

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Mount Mitchell State Park

Lofty Mount Mitchell, near Burnsville, North Carolina, rises to...

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Saluda, NC downtown street scene

Saluda

First a mere crossroads for traders and drovers after...

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Richland Balsam

Richland Balsam, a mountain near Waynesville, rises to 6,410...

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North Carolina Arboretum

The North Carolina Arboretum

More than 400 acres of groomed gardens and trails...

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Brevard White Squirrel

Brevard

The historic small town of Brevard is the county...

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Carl Sandburg home

Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site

The Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site in Flat...

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Christmas Parade in Black Mountain

Black Mountain

Black Mountain, originally called “Grey Eagle,” was a tiny...

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Moses Cone Memorial on the Blue Ridge Parkway

Moses Cone Memorial Park

Come See Mountain Crafts in a Gilded Age Mansion...

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Wilkesboro Open Air Fest

Wilkesboro

Nestled in the rolling foothills of northwestern North Carolina,...

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Orchard at Altapass

The Orchard at Altapass

Early History Perched on the crest of the Blue...

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M. Rathsack demonstrates raku pottery firing at Art on Main in Henderson County.

Arts Council of Henderson County

A vibrant art scene in a landscape of natural...

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Linville

The town of Linville, located near the Blue Ridge...

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Railroad in snow in West Jefferson

West Jefferson

Nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains in the northwestern...

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Pilot Mountain State Park

Rising 1,400 feet above a rolling plain, Pilot Mountain,...

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South Mountain Arts Co-op near Morganton

South Mountain Art Co-op

Explore ancient native villages and new crafts in Burke...

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Craft Fair of the Southern Highlands

Craft Fair of the Southern Highlands

A twice-a-year gathering of makers and lovers of craft...

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Yadkin Cultural Arts Center

Vibrant center in foothills beckons with exhibits, food, performances...

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Nolichucky River

The Nolichucky River, near Spruce Pine, North Carolina, is...

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French Broad river near Marshall

French Broad River

North Carolina’s French Broad River is the third oldest...

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Devil's Courthouse

Devil’s Courthouse

A prominent landmark of legend on the Blue Ridge...

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Craggy Gardens Rhododendron

Craggy Gardens

Craggy Gardens, just north of Asheville, is one of...

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Stecoah Valley Arts Center

Stecoah Valley Cultural Arts Center

Built of native rock, a historic schoolhouse offering native crafts...

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Cherokee County Historical Museum

Cherokee County Historical Museum

Celebrating Cherokee traditions and pioneer days The Cherokee County...

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Marshall

The community of Marshall hugs the banks of the...

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Burnsville Heritage Day

Yancey History Association and Rush Wray Musuem

Rush Wray Museum The museum is located in...

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cyclists in Rutherfordton

Rutherfordton

As the county seat of one of Western North...

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Hot Springs

People have been visiting Hot Springs, a tiny village...

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Waldensian Heritage Museum

Waldensian Heritage Museum

The Waldensian Heritage Museum preserves and interprets the history...

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Lenoir

The original settlement of Lenoir was first known as...

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From This Day Forward

From This Day Forward is an outdoor drama that...

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World Methodist Museum

World Methodist Museum

The World Methodist Museum in Lake Junaluska, North Carolina...

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Marshall High Studios, once a high school, now home to artists

Marshall High Studios

Find studios with working artists on an island in...

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Whitewater Falls

Upper Whitewater Falls, near Cashiers, drops over 411 feet...

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New River State Park

The New River, the centerpiece of the more than...

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Mount Airy Museum of Regional History

A fierce desire for independence led rugged 18th century...

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Monteith Farmstead

Appalachian Women’s Museum features the home arts The sprawling...

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Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education

Located in the Pisgah National Forest near Brevard, the...

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Ashe County Studio Tour

Ashe County Studio Tour

See the High County on a two-day studio tour ...

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Wayah Bald Tower

Wayah Bald

Wayah Bald, near Franklin, is a popular destination for...

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Waldensian Church

Valdese

On May 29, 1893 Southern Railway’s “Number 11” deposited...

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Whiteside Mountain

The sparkling white cliffs of Whiteside Mountain, in the...

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Asheville Area Arts Council

One of the country’s oldest arts councils invites you...

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The Murphy Art Center sponsors a monthly Art Walk downtown.

Murphy Art Center

Take an Art Walk in state’s westernmost town The...

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Linn Cove Viaduct

Linn Cove Viaduct

Construction of the Blue Ridge Parkway began in 1935,...

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Asheville Art Museum

This innovative small city museum focuses on 20th century...

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Featured Destination

Toe River Arts Studio Tour

Toe River Studio Tour

Toe River boasts one of nation’s oldest studio tours...

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Homespun Museum at Grovewood Village, Asheville

Homespun Museum

Visit the original home for the finest handwoven wool...

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YMI Cultural Center

YMI Cultural Center

The YMI Cultural Center in Asheville, North Carolina features...

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Qualla Arts and Crafts

Sample crafts at nation’s oldest Native American cooperative Brought...

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Southern Appalachian Radio Museum

Southern Appalachian Radio Museum

The Southern Appalachian Radio Museum in Asheville traces the...

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Gallery of the Mountains

Handmade pieces in a shop surrounded by Arts and...

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