Opening

Quiz: Follow the River

North Carolina’s mountain landscapes are shaped by flowing water. Our western rivers, streams, and creeks are steadfast, always leading us home.

Welcome Home

A Guide to Downtown Lenoir

This mountain town earned a reputation for shipping furniture around the world. Today, an artistic couple and a talented group of creators keep Lenoir’s legacy of fine craftsmanship alive.

The Asheville Bucket List

The mountain city known for its art, music, outdoor adventures, and beer provides plenty of opportunities for fun and learning. An Asheville devotee compiled some of the best experiences in her new guidebook.

Recipes

“Killed” Lettuce

In this Appalachian recipe, fresh lettuce is tossed with hot bacon grease, vinegar, and green onions, causing the lettuce to wilt and “killing” it.

Apple Dumplings

These Granny Smith apples are wrapped in a buttery dough, baked in a cinnamon-brown sugar syrup, and topped off with vanilla ice cream.

Features

Eternally Halloween

How kids celebrate All Hallows Eve has evolved from generation to generation, but some traditions are timeless. So don your witch hat, light your jack-o’-lantern, and get ready to celebrate the creepiest, ickiest, and sugariest holiday of them all.

Village Voices

Dozens of families once called the cottages surrounding the textile factory on the banks of the Henry River home. Today, the humble tract of houses near Hickory has found new purpose and a promising future.

The Blue Ridge Parkway

The Blue Ridge Parkway: A Monumental Drive

In the mid-1930s, President Franklin D. Roosevelt launched a massive program to cut a 469-mile road through the North Carolina and Virginia mountains. More than 80 years later, the Blue Ridge Parkway remains the most popular scenic byway in the country.

The Bluffs Offers Second Helpings

For more than 60 years before it closed, the first restaurant on the Blue Ridge Parkway was a beloved stop for hungry motorists, weary hikers, and local families. Now, The Bluffs is dishing up fried chicken and cathead biscuits once again.

Mother’s Daughter

Camping along the Blue Ridge Parkway brings together two generations of women to share memories and to learn more about each other than either ever knew.

21 Artists of the Parkway

The scenic drive from Cherokee to the Virginia state line guarantees beauty in more ways than one. Take a detour off the Blue Ridge Parkway to meet some of the artists inspired by our majestic mountains, wild landscapes, and natural diversity — and to appreciate a different sort of view.

A Road’s Refrain

On fall break from college in the early 1980s, a writer and his loyal English setter took a road trip from Watauga County to the Qualla Boundary, accompanied by the sweet sounds of fiddles, banjos, and high-lonesome harmonies.

History

The Perfect Season

In the era before integration, Ridgeview High School’s football team was the pride of Hickory, breaking state records left and right. Today, the remaining players are seeing to it that their legacy is not forgotten.