Mystery Hill celebrates 75 years

BY JORDYN DANIELS

In May of 1948 Mystery Hill opened its doors to the people of the High Country. Located just outside of Boone, Mystery Hill is open all summer long for family fun.

This tourist attraction has grown around a mysterious gravitation anomaly, where water flows up hills and dizzying attractions are ready to be experienced. A plethora of indoor and outdoor attractions are available 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily.

“Most locals think of (Mystery Hill) as the place to bring guests when they are in town. That’s why we do annual passes, we get a lot of local folks who have annual passes because they bring visitors in with them,” CEO Matthew Underwood said, “For $10 more than the regular ticket you can get a ticket to get you access all year long. Plus discounts off of guests, discounts off of food, and discounts off of merchandise.”

Mystery Hill offers so much to explore, including a tomahawk hill, bull riding, period costume photos, shopping and more. Located along the Middlefork Greenway, rental pedal cars are available for people to use. Eventually the rental pedal cars can be taken all the way to the Boone Greenway and Blowing Rock when the greenway is expanded.

An escape room is coming to Mystery Hill by late summer, or early fall. The escape room will be based on theories of aliens that some have speculated due to the gravitational anomaly. Full details will be available later into the season.

At Prospector Hill Gem Mining, people of all ages can purchase a bucket of up to four pounds of gems and gravel to hand sort. An option of purchasing a bucket with 10 pounds of real fossils is also available. A dig site is available for children to live out big dreams of becoming an archeologist. Children are given tools to brush away sand to find arrowheads, that they can keep.

The largest selection of old fashioned sodas are available year round — up to 168 options for those looking for a classic syrupy sweet beverage. If it is too hard to choose, purchasing a a mix and match six pack is an alternative. For those who need more than a beverage can pick up lunch at Front Porch Eats, the onsite restaurant with a variety of options, including mason jar milkshakes, soft baked pretzels, nachos, and more.

There are four retail sites on the grounds. There is a main gift shop with a multitude of items with more than souvenirs available. The gift shop at Prospector Hill Gem Mine has earth science gifts and the museum has a gift shop that has historical related gifts. Finally for the bull riding area, there is a western theme gift shop available.

For more information visit Mystery Hill’s website at mysteryhill.com or call (828) 264-2792