| Both young and old find excitement and adventure in the High Country. Take a ride on the Tweetsie Railroad — a real live steam engine that meanders through our beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains. See cowboys and Indians, enjoy live entertainment, gem mining, the deer park, and amusement rides and more! Open Fri., Sat., Sun., in May. Seven days a week from Memorial Day through mid-August. Fri., Sat., Sun., from mid-August through October, 9 AM to 6 PM. Enjoy the highest peak in the Blue Ridge and a nature preserve of global importance at Grandfather Mountain. Take a heart-pounding walk across the famous Mile High Swinging Bridge, photograph bears, otters, and other wildlife in natural habitats, and hike some of the South’s best trails. Grandfather Mountain also features a nature museum, nature movies, restaurant, gift shops and picnic areas. Located on US 221 and the Blue Ridge Parkway (at milepost 305). Open all year — weather permitting in winter. Visit Linville Caverns and see inside a mountain! Take a half-hour guided tour into this natural limestone cavern featuring stalactite and stalagmite formations and an underground stream. Open daily from March through November and open weekends from December through February. Mystery Hill is a mysterious place indeed! Explore the relationship of science, optical illusion and natural phenomena in a hands-on entertainment center. Don’t miss the Mystery House, the Appalachian Heritage Museum, and the Native American Artifacts Museum all at the same location. Once known for selling everything from “cradles to caskets,” the Mast General Store still carries nearly everything else you’d need for life in the past century and most of this one. The Original Mast General Store, established in 1883, is situated along the Mission Crossing (Hwy. 194) Scenic Byway in Historic Valle Crucis. Don’t miss Mast’s Old Boone Mercantile (c.1910), a turn of the century department store in historic downtown Boone. Both stores are open daily. These are just a few of the exciting things that await you — we’ve got it all. Fantastic shopping at local boutiques and galleries, unbelievable restaurants and cafes, antiques, and endless outdoor recreational activities to boot! |
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The Tweetsie Railroad |
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Grandfather Mountain |
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Linville Caverns |
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Mystery Hill |
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Mast General Store |
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