High on Toxaway Mountain, one of the state’s best-kept secrets unfolds like a fairytale. Southern Highlands Reserve is a native plant arboretum, a research center, a living laboratory. Most of all, it’s a place of unparalleled beauty.
The Town that Backpacks Built
Muddy boots are a welcome sight in this postcard-perfect spot in the Smokies. Whether you hike in on the Appalachian Trail or drive in for a weekend visit, Hot Springs offers every traveler a special kind of trail magic.
A Most Hospitable Spot: Engadine Inn and Cabins
At this stately spot in Candler, there’s only one set of rules that really matters: Relax. Recharge. Enjoy.
Downtown: Gastonia
This rapidly growing city is attracting new fans, who are weaving together past and present in former mills and old theaters.
A Perfect Winter Weekend in Beech Mountain
The highest town east of the Rockies draws some 10,000 people during the winter months — to ski, snowboard, snowshoe, sled, tube, and cap it all off with a beer in a bar in the sky.
5 Western Destinations Create Heartfelt and Handwoven Textiles
North Carolina’s textile traditions are alive and well in the mountains, where handloom weavers and fiber mills add new stories to the warp and weft.
McDowell Local Dishes Up a Foothills Feast
In McDowell County, there’s a cardinal rule of eating local: Food should always be fun.
London on the Pamlico: The Hackney
Farm-to-fork dining gets a posh polish in a historic bank building in Washington.
Filling Station Turned Five-Star Restaurant: Star Diner
In tiny Marshall, a new bright spot has appeared on the Blue Ridge Mountains dining scene: Star Diner. Located in a former gas station, this acclaimed restaurant is one of many local businesses reinventing retro spaces.
