A Trip Through The High Country Newland
Linville
Boone Grandfather Mountain Seven Devils Sugar Mountain Blowing Rock Banner Elk Sugar Grove Beech Mountain
The High Country name was the result of a marketing effort in the early 1980s aimed at pulling the area together and creating an identity for locals and visitors alike to embrace. The area’s Watauga and Avery counties are home to the heart of the High Country -- and the towns of Boone, Blowing and Banner Elk. It stretches from Mitchell county in the west over to Ashe, Alleghany and Wilkes counties in the east.
AVERY COUNTY
A
very County was the last of North Carolina’s 100 counties to be formed in 1911. It was named for Waightstill Avery, a colonel in the American Revolution. The county has a total area of 247 square miles and is extremely rural and mountainous, with all of the county’s terrain located within the Appalachian Mountains range. The county contains local attractions such as Grandfather Mountain, Grandfather Mountain State Park, Linville Gorge Wilderness, Linville Falls, Pisgah National Forest and the Blue Ridge Parkway, all of which attract large numbers of visitors. In October, the annual “Woolly Worm” festival at the old school in downtown Banner Elk draws visitors from around the world. The Grandfather Mountain Highland Games is held each year the
W
WATAUGA COUNTY
atauga County was formed in 1849 and named for its Watauga River. It is said that the name originates from a Native American word, various translations of which include “beautiful water,” whispering waters,” “village of many springs” and “river of islands,” to name a few. With a total of 313 square miles, Watauga County is extremely mountainous. All of its terrain is located within the Appalachian Mountains and its highest point is Grandfather Mountain’s Calloway Peak. It’s county seat and largest 8
first full weekend after July 4 and is one of the largest Scottish gatherings outside of Scotland. Ski Resorts are immensely popular tourist destinations in the cold winter months when snowfall and manmade snow create ideal skiing conditions. Second homes, condominiums, rental properties, hotel-motel lodging, bed and breakfasts, campgrounds and real estate in general are critically important sources of jobs, income and tax revenue. The brilliant fall colors and foliage of the surrounding mountains, winter sports, mountain bicycling, hiking, horseback riding, warm weather camping, hiking, wildlife viewing, hunting and searching for geological finds all make for a yearround tourism-generated and regular real estate market.
VISITOR’S GUIDE SUMMER 2021
community, the Town of Boone, sits at 3,333 feet above sea level — the highest elevation of any city in the Eastern United States with a population more than 10,000. Boone is home to Appalachian State University, which is one of 16 schools in the University of North Carolina system. It is nationally recognized for offering high quality education at a great value to its students, as well as for its commitment to sustainablity. Its comprehensive degree offerings served more than 18,000 students last year.
