Bald Guy Brew in Downtown Blowing Rock. Shop my outfit here.

Hey guys! Last weekend we went on a little getaway to the mountains which was much needed! Obviously travel has been super limited this year, and so it was nice to get away and have a change of scenery. I feel like everyone has different levels of what they feel comfortable with regarding travel right now, but anywhere that we can drive to, and ideally stay in an Airbnb feels safe for us. So that’s what we did this past weekend! That being said, I thought I’d do a recap of what we did along with other suggestions you all sent in over IG. In general if you’ve never been to Blowing Rock and/or Boone before, I can’t recommend this area enough! We go at least once a year, and typically during the fall since they have the most beautiful foliage and fall weather! I’m going to break this blog down by where to stay, where to eat, wineries, hiking trails and spas. I’ll list places we’ve personally been to along with the recs you guys sent in (thank you!!) 🙂

Where To Stay:
This time around we stayed an Airbnb. The property that we stayed in has several sister properties in the area, and I don’t think you can go wrong with any of them! We stayed in the Hebron Hollow property (which we originally found on Airbnb) and were super happy with it! It was less than 15 minutes from downtown Blowing Rock, and about 20 minutes from downtown Boone. So really right in between all the main areas that we wanted to visit. It also had a hot tub which we definitely took advantage of with the cooler temps.

Most times when we’ve visiting Blowing Rock in the past, we’ve also stayed in Airbnb’s but we have also stayed at the The Inn at Ragged Gardens which is gorgeous and so cozy! It’s a little more expensive than an Airbnb but it’s nice if you’re wanting to splurge some for a special occasion (we went for Stephen’s birthday one year). It’s also right in downtown Blowing Rock which is nice since you can walk to a lot of the main shops and restaurants.

Where to Eat:
Breakfast
-Melanie’s
-Sunny Rock
-The Village Cafe
-Kaye’s Kitchen
-Boone Bagelry

Lunch/Dinner/Breweries
-Appalachian Mountain Brewery
-Lost Province Brewing Company
-Blowing Rock Brewery
-Booneshine Brewing Company
-Moon Thai Sushi
-CoBo Sushi
-The Cellar
-Bistro Roca
-Game Keeper
-The Table
-Coyote Kitchen
-Black Cat
-Proper
-Vidalia (also a wine bar)
-Eleven80
-Dan’l Boone
-The Local
-Horton Hotel (rooftop bar)
-Town Tavern
-The Cardinal
-The Speckled Trout
-Come Back Shack
-Artisinal
-Woodlands
-Peddler Steak House

Cafes/ Sweets & Desserts
-Stick Boy Bakery
-The Local Lion
-Kilwins
-Bald Guy Brew
-Camp Coffee Roasters
-Our Daily Bread
-Hatchet Coffee
-Blue Deer Cookies

Wineries:
-Banner Elk Winery
-Grandfather Mountain Winery
-Linville Falls Winery

What to Do (Hiking & Spa deets)
-Beacon Heights Overlook trail (fairly easy hike with beautiful views according to our Airbnb host)
-Rough Ridge Lookout (fairly easy hike. took about 15-20 minutes to get to main views. photo above was taken there!)
-Bass lake loop drive (1 mile loop. has path for strollers).
-Profile Trail (good for more experienced hikers– 7 miles roundtrip).
-Blue Ridge Parkway (not hiking per-say but it’s a must to drive on it and see all the foliage if you’re visiting!)
-Westglow Resort & Spa. We went here this past trip and if you go Sunday-Wednesday they have a discount on their services. It was $150 for an hour long service plus access to gym, pool, hot tubs, sauna, and relaxation room for half the day. If you go during COVID, it was incredibly safe! There were only 6 people/guests (including our group of 4) in the entire spa when we were there. They look our temperate upon arriving, had to wear masks during the services, when walking around spa, etc. Balcony photo above is from their outdoor terrace!
-Chetola Resort