• Food
    • Recipes
    • Restaurants
    • Supper Club
    • A Taste of Our State
  • Travel
    • Tar Heel Towns
    • Travel Guides
    • Murphy to Manteo
    • Quirky Detours
    • Carolina Calendar
    • Our State Trips & Events
  • Living in NC
    • From Elizabeth Hudson
    • Ramblin’ Man
    • Photo Essay
    • Features
    • Arts & Culture
    • Home & Garden
    • History
    • Quiz
    • NC Icons
  • Videos
    • Supper Club
    • North Carolina, Naturally
    • North Carolina, Noted
    • Hidden History
    • Book Club With Wiley Cash
    • Storytellers Podcast
    • NC Icons
    • Best of Our State on PBS NC
  • Newsletters
  • Store
subscribe
  • Manage My Account
  • Our State Trips
  • Carolina Calendar
  • Contests & Promotions
  • Our State Archives
Skip to content
  • Food
    • Recipes
    • Restaurants
    • Supper Club
    • A Taste of Our State
  • Travel
    • Tar Heel Towns
    • Travel Guides
    • Murphy to Manteo
    • Quirky Detours
    • Carolina Calendar
    • Our State Trips & Events
  • Living in NC
    • From Elizabeth Hudson
    • Ramblin’ Man
    • Photo Essay
    • Features
    • Arts & Culture
    • Home & Garden
    • History
    • Quiz
    • NC Icons
  • Videos
    • Supper Club
    • North Carolina, Naturally
    • North Carolina, Noted
    • Hidden History
    • Book Club With Wiley Cash
    • Storytellers Podcast
    • NC Icons
    • Best of Our State on PBS NC
  • Newsletters
  • Store
subscribe

appalachian mountains

Travel

From Ranch to Retreat in Burnsville

A big-city photographer had a vision to transform a storied Burnsville property into a space for contemplation and reflection — a healing place.

by Michael Kruse
Travel

NC Icons: Mountain Primer

Find out what makes our ancient Appalachian Mountains so magnificent in this primer on our peaks.

by Our State Staff
Travel Guides

A Guide to Downtown Franklin

This small town is a destination for gem enthusiasts, history buffs, and Appalachian Trail thru-hikers, which gives residents plenty of chances to share their beloved mountain home.

by Katie King
Restaurants

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.

by Susan Stafford Kelly
History

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.

by Graham Averill
Photo Essay

Mileposts & Memories: A Stop-by-Stop Guide to Exploring the Blue Ridge Parkway

We followed the Blue Ridge Parkway down through North Carolina, from Cumberland Knob just below the Virginia state line all the way to Cherokee, compiling our favorite vistas along the way.

by Katie Saintsing
Photo Essay

The Snows of Appalachia: A Photo Essay

In the west, where the landscape rises to meet the sky, winter arrives early and puts on a show, softening our rugged peaks with a blanket of snow.

by Katie Saintsing
Quiz

Quiz: How Much Do You Know About North Carolina’s Christmas Tree Farms?

Thanks to the hard work of our farmers, North Carolina is the second-largest Christmas tree producer in the nation, filling our homes with the fresh smell of the season.

by Alan Hodge
Quiz

Quiz: How Much Do You Know About the Blue Ridge Parkway?

Nothing showcases our hazy mountains and fall foliage quite like this legendary road.

by Alan Hodge
  • «
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • »

Subscribe
Our State Travel Club

Get our most popular weekly newsletter: This is NC

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
SEE ALL OUR NEWSLETTERS >

subscribe MANAGE MY ACCOUNT
FOLLOW US
  • Videos
  • Podcasts
  • Playlists
  • Sponsored Content
  • Tar Heel Towns
  • Newsletters
  • Contests & Promotions
  • Our State Archives
  • Our State Store
  • Our State Trips & Events
  • Best of Our State on PBS NC
  • Magazine Finder
  • The Story of Our State
  • Contact Us
  • Careers
  • Advertise With Our State
  • Ad Specs
  • Submit an Event
  • Letter to the Editor
  • Reader Comments
  • Contributor Guidelines
  • Reprint / Reuse Policy
  • Privacy Policy

© Our State Magazine 2025, All rights reserved. | Website by Web Publisher PRO