g Polk County

Tryon Arts & Crafts School.

Polk County

TRYON | SALUDA | COLUMBUS

Touted as the “First Peak of the Blue Ridge,” Polk County ranges in elevation from 300 feet to 3,200 feet above sea level. Each foot seems to offer visitors something different.

Most of Polk’s 20,000 residents live in or near the county’s three main towns — Columbus, Saluda, and Tryon. Each community has long welcomed visitors to enjoy a community rich with history, culture, crafts, vast natural areas, and exciting culinary traditions.

The Tryon area has long been known as a hotspot for equestrian activities. Each April there’s the Block House Steeplechase, a day of races that’s the longest running steeplechase in North Carolina. The event is sponsored by the Tryon Riding and Hunt Club, which also 2021 SALES stages horse shows throughout the year. The Foothills Equestrian Nature Polk County Center also offers regular equestrian MEDIAN events at its 400-acre facility in Tryon. PRICE ........

The Tryon International Equestrian Center — which opened in 2014 — hosted the 2018 FEI World Equestrian Games, which drew nearly 500,000 people from more than 70 countries.

Tryon is proud of the legacy of its most famous native, the late jazz and soul great Nina Simone, who was born there in 1933. The heart of downtown features Nina Simone Plaza, home to a striking bronze sculpture of Simone playing piano keys suspended in midair. Simone was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2018, and her childhood Tryon home has

$350,000 AVERAGE DAYS ON MARKET............. 44 PERCENT OF LISTING PRICE......... 99% NUMBER OF UNITS ............. 452

“With many studios forced to close doors during the pandemic, finding a place to practice yoga near Saluda was a challenge. So, I was so grateful when I found Yoga at the Treehouse in Tryon, where Lori Corda has transformed her deck into a beautiful outdoor studio. She offers in-person, as well as live streaming and on-demand online, classes.”

— Misty Proctor, Hendersonville office

been designated a National Treasure by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Saluda is nestled in the mountains in the southeastern corner of the county. The town sits atop the Saluda Grade, once the steepest railroad grade in the United States. Saluda is known for its town center, featuring a main street lined with restaurants, shops, art galleries, and historic buildings like the M.A. Pace General Store, a hub of local commerce and community.

Saluda is also home to The Gorge, a linked series of 11 zip lines — four of them 1,000 feet long — that drop 1,100 feet from beginning to end.

Polk County is home to dozens of parks and recreation areas. The Green River Cove Recreation Area offers access points for fishing, tubing, kayaking, canoeing, and hiking. Tryon’s 50-acre public park, Harmon Field, features wading areas, a playground, tennis courts, a walking track, sports fields, and horse rings. There are scores of hiking trails, ranging from easy to strenuous, in Polk County, which is noted for its numerous summer camps.

May brings the Saluda Arts and Music Festival. The Art Trek Tryon Studio Tours, held each July, showcase the town’s many artists, as does the Tryon Arts and Crafts Fall Festival in October. Each June, Tryon hosts the Blue Ridge BBQ Festival. The event includes the state barbecue championship, featuring some 90 competing teams.

Polk County is also home to Adawehi Wellness Village, a community that offers a healing center, a health food store, and holistic health practitioners. n MORE AT BEVERLY-HANKS.COM Are you ready for a thrill? Then, this is the destination you seek! Explore five ways to enjoy the outdoors in Polk County at beverly-hanks.com/ blog/polk-county-outdoors.

Hunter competition at the Tryon International Equestrian Center.

COURTESY OF TIEC

Connecting community | TRYON COFFEEHOUSE CO-OP & GREENLIFE INN

What started out as frustration towards Old Man Winter has turned into one couple’s unrelenting passion for a small mountain town in Polk County.

“My wife and I both grew up in northeastern Ohio,” said Kevin Parker. “We were done with the long winters and never-ending lake effect snow. So, we packed up everything and bought a farm down south, loaded up the truck, and started a new life.”

After they initially found themselves running a farm in South Carolina, Kevin and Mary Parker eventually crossed the state line and landed in Western North Carolina. By 2018, they’d not only become co-managers of the beloved Tryon Coffeehouse Co-Op, the duo had also opened the GreenLife Inn at The Mimosa just down the road.

“The coffeehouse is the social hub of Tryon, the weigh station for everyone who either lives here or passes through,” Kevin said. “You’ll see the police chief, fire chief, mayor, town manager — everybody goes there.”

Opened in 1998, the coffeehouse is well known for its food and beverage offerings, alongside community events and gatherings aimed at fostering a deep sense of camaraderie at the heart of any small town.

“And Tryon itself has evolved so much in the past five years or so,” Kevin said. “Besides people just wanting to live in this beautiful place, the nearby Tryon International Equestrian Center has become a huge economic boon for the area — riders and visitors from all over the world come here.”

In 2015, the Parkers took over an old home that had seen better years but had the potential to be a beacon for those seeking respite from the organized chaos of life. Two years later, the GreenLife Inn rented its first room in the picturesque boutique bed and breakfast.

“This isn’t your grandmother’s type of bed and breakfast, filled with antique furniture and with the feel of a museum — it’s about comfort and relaxation,” Kevin said. “We want people to walk in and feel at home, to look out the big picture window, to see the mountain right in front of you and the gigantic magnolia tree.”

And the Parkers are more than happy to open their home to any and all in search of the natural beauty and rich culture permeating this rolling landscape of high peaks and low valleys.

“You want people to feel special when they stay here,” Kevin said. “You’re extracting them from the stresses of their daily lives and craziness of wherever they’re traveling from. It’s impossible to have high blood pressure when you’re in these mountains.”

Musing over the long and rollicking journey taken since leaving the Midwest for the Southeast those many years ago, what remains is a true sense of joyous fate and sincere gratitude felt as the Parkers awaken each morning into their ever-evolving existence in Western North Carolina.

“Although this is a very tight-knit community, we’ve been overwhelmingly received here, and I think that has to do with being genuine in your intent — of who you are and what you want to do,” Kevin said. “Tryon is a place where your friends are your neighbors, you host each other for dinner, and help each other out in a time of need — that’s what community is all about.” n