=
Directly on the Parkway
|
|  -
Handicapped accessible (call for level of accessibility) It is
always a good idea to make advanced arrangements prior to your visit to these
sites.
$-
Admission Charged
FREE-
No admission charged
|
| YEARLY
FESTIVALS
& EVENTS |
The
Rhododendron Festival
June
Come and bring the whole
family to celebrate mountain music, crafts and scenery during the time of year
when the rhododendron graces the mountainside. Held in Bakersville
800-227-3912
www.mitchell-county.com
The Mineral &
Gem Festival
August
The rich mining heritage
of Mitchell County is celebrated in this festival featuring minerals, gems, food
& fun!
800-227-3912
www.mitchell-county.com
Overmountain Victory
Celebration
September
Remember the battle that was the turning point in the
Revolutionary War with the aid of the "overmountain" men. Featuring re-enactments.
800-227-3912
www.mitchell-county.com
Fall Celebration
of the Arts
October
Featuring arts and crafts by area artists, demonstrations,
food, music & great fun.
800-227-3912
www.mitchell-county.com
|
|
|
Points
of Interest |
|
| Chestoa View Trail
& Overlook - Great view from Humpback Mountain. 30 minute
loop, .63 miles, Easy. | |
| The Orchard at Altapass
- 1 hr to 3 hrs. -
Milepost 328.3 at Orchard Road near
Spruce Pine. Offering Orchard Storyrides on the haywagon, live "front porch"
music and butterfly gardens. The Orchard Shop features homemade fudge, cider,
apple butter, mountain honey, heritage apples, and locally made crafts, fine arts
and Much, Much More! Short orders and sandwiches prepared for you at The Orchard
daily. Great for families and groups. Packages available. Daily June-October.
Mon-Sat 10-6 and Sun 12-6. Live music on Saturday and Sunday afternoons from 1:30
to 4:00. 888-765-9531 (toll free) www.altapassorchard.com/ |
|
| Emerald Village
- 1.5 to 3 hrs.
- 2.5 miles West of Milepost 331 just off Hwy. 226. Pan for gems, visit the North
Carolina Mining Museum and see actual mines that once thrived. Located at the
Big McKinney and Bon Ami Mines in Little Switzerland. 828-765-6463.
www.mitchell-county.com |
|
| Museum of NC Minerals
- 30 min. -
At the junction of Milepost 331 and NC 226. Visitor Center exhibits
featuring minerals found in NC. Restrooms. Open daily year around. 800-227-3912
or www.mitchell-county.com/ |
|
| Overmountain
Victory Trail - The entire trail follows the route of the Kings Mountain
Campaign in which local farmers & citizens joined forces for this one battle--which
was the turning point of the Revolutionary War. The
trail is 220 miles long and part of that trail, including the spot at Gillespie
Gap, where troops camped on September 29, 1780, is in Mitchell County. 800-227-3912
or www.mitchell-county.com/ |
|
| Penland
School of Crafts- Miss Lucy Morgan began Penland in 1923 with three looms
and an abundance of determination. Her goals were to revive the craft of handweaving
and help provide a way for women in the area to make money. Soon after, Miss Lucy
established Penland Weavers and soon other crafts including pottery, spinning,
and other traditional arts were added. Today, Penland is still a recognized school
that promotes the crafts of pottery, sculpture, drawing, glassblowing, metalwork,
photography, printmaking, weaving and woodworking. From MP 331, take 226 to Hwy.
19E. Turn left onto 19E about 5 miles until you get to Penland Rd. Turn right
and then right again (still Penland Rd) and the about 4 miles. Bear left and drive
about .5 mile to the Penland Information Center. 800-227-3912
or www.mitchell-county.com/ |
|
| Roan
Mountain - 1 hr to 3 hrs Located
on the NC/Tennessee line, Roan Mountain hugs the town of Bakersville. Offering
spectacular views, beautiful rhododendron gardens and great folklore, Roan Mountain
is a defiinite must-see. |
|
| Crabtree
Meadows - MP 339.5. 250 acre park
featuring hiking trails, comfort station, picnic area. 40 minute hike to Crabtree
Falls. 2 miles, strenuous. |
|
| Area Name Origins |
| Altapass - Named so because it marked
the highest (alta) point crossed by the Clinchfield Railroad before it began its
decent down the Blue Ridge. |
| Bandana
- Supposedly derives its name from the decision of a brakeman who
was told to find a suitable location for a station, and marked the spot with his
bandana. | | Estatoe
- Owes its name to a Native American version of the Romeo & Juliet
story. According to the story, a brave from one of the tribes fell in love with
a princess from a rival tribe. The princess' family killed the brave, and she
lept off a cliff into the river. The Toe River is actually a contraction of this
name as well. | | Huntdale
- Is said to derive its name from a man, whose wife, Dale, often
ran away. When she disappeared, her husband set off around the community to "hunt
Dale." | | Ledger
- Received its name after residents of the community, trying
to substantiate their need for a post office, mailed the ledger that held their
mail tallies into Washington, DC. The authorities agreed that a post office was
needed, and named it "Ledger." |
| Loafer's
Glory - Reputedly coined by the women of the community who took
a dim view of the men's habit of "lollygaging" on the porch of the community store
rather thaan working, making the community a real "loafer's glory." |
| Relief
- Short for "Hart's Relief" a popular medicine whose principal
ingredient was alcohol. The medicine was sold at Squire Peterson's Store in this
community around 1870. |
| Roan
Mountain - May have earned its name in one of several ways. One
explanation is that famed pioneer Daniel Boone's roan horse became exhausted on
one of his trips across the mountain, so he left it there to graze on the mountain's
lush grasses. When he returned several months later, the horse was there and fully
recovered. Another explanation comes from the roan color of the mountain itself. |
|
| Facts
& Folklore |
| Did
You Know that Mitchell County is home to four of North Carolina's "Living Treasures?"
Ironworker Bea Hensley operates a traditional
forge where he and his son, Mike, create wrought iron chandeliers, fireplace equipment,
railings, candleabras, and wall sconces. Harvey Littleton, founder of the Studio
Glass movement, began his career as a potter and a teacher, but by the early 1960s,
he was teaching glass workshops across the country. Living Treasure Billie Ruth
Sudduth creates baskets that are in the collections of the Smithsonian Institute,
the American Craft Museum, and the Mint Museum of Art in Charlotte, NC. The fourth
Living Treasure, Arval Woody, is a fifth generation woodworker who assembles chairs
without nails or glue. |
The Legend of Frankie Silver
In 1831, one of the most sensational murders
in NC state history took place near Kona in a cabin in the Deyton Bend of Toe
River. Frankie Silver murdered her husband, Charlie in a fit of jealous rage,
chopped up his body and tried to burn it. She was convicted, escaped and was finally
recaptured and hanged. From the scaffold, Frankie read a 60-line poem referring
to, “the jealous thought that first gave strife to make me take my husband’s
life.” Although there is no trace of the cabin in Kona where the grisly
murder took place, the legend of Frankie still lives in the folklore of Mitchell
County. |
The Cloudland Hotel
In the late 1800’s the Cloudland
Hotel was a thriving mountain getaway on top of Roan Mountain. Sold and abandoned
in 1903, the heirs to the hotel sold off the beautiful rhododendron that graced
the landscape to shrubbery dealers. The rhododendron were rooted up and hauled
off, all but stripping the land. But the next summer, the rhododendron came back
in the same orderly, landscaped clumps. It is also at Cloudland that locals and
visitors claim to hear strange “mountain music,” echoeing through
the mountains. |
Home of The Purest Quartz
Did you know that the mines in the Spruce Pine Mining District yielded
a larger variety of minerals and gems than any other spot in the continental United
States? The quartz in the area is so pure that the mirror in the Mount Palomar
Telescope, the largest telescope in the world, was ground from quartz mined at
the Chestnut Flat Mine. |
| Wildflowers
You Might Spot From MP 318-340 |
| Mayapple
- Mar-Apr | | Serviceberry
Sarvis - Mar-May | | Buttercups
- Mar-June | | Wild
Strawberry - Mar-June | | Soloman's
Seal - Apr-May | | Golden
Groundsel - Apr-May | | Trillium
- Apr-May | | Foam
Flower- Apr-Jun | | Large
Flowered Trillium Apr-Jun | | Small's
Groundsel - May-June | | Pinkshell
- May-June | | Flame
Azalea - May-June | | Fire
Pink - May-June | | Allegheny
Blackberry - May-June | | New
Jersey Tea - May-June | | Catawba
Rhododendron - June | | Goat's
Beard - June | | Beard
Tongue - Jun-Jul | | American
Elder - Jun-Jul | | Fragrant
Thimbleberry - Jun-Jul | | Mountain
Laurel - June-July | | Sourwood
- Jun-July | | Boneset
- Aug | | Joe-Pye
Weed - Aug | | Pokeberry
- Aug | | Virgins
Bower - Aug | | Angelica
- Aug-Sept | | Witch
Hazel - Late Sept-Oct |
| Birds
You Might Spot From MP 318-340 |
| Snow
Bunting (Roan Mtn.) | | Red-eyed
Vireos | | Rose-breated
Grosbeaks | | Canada
Warbler | | Red-breasted
Nuthatch | | |
