Are you planning to spend your Christmas Holiday in Blowing Rock? The Christmas week is a great time for family celebration in Blowing Rock. Go skiing or ice skating at Appalachian Ski Mountain, enjoy small town charm in the village, stay in a unique inn or cabin, and take in the crisp winter air and scenes.
A few restaurants in Blowing Rock will be open on Thanksgiving Day, and they are ready to welcome you! Reservations are required. Follow the links provided for more information on each restaurant.
As the temperatures drop and the Holiday Season draws near, what could be better than enjoying a cocktail and a meal next to a toasty fire? We’ve made a list of restaurants that offer fireside drinks or dinner that are sure to entice you to brave the cold.
We love our Main Street, however, there are some fantastic businesses located all around town that you might have missed simply because they are located off the beaten path. Take note of these eight hidden gems so that you can get the most out of your time in Blowing Rock!
Welcome to The Speckled Trout Restaurant and Bottle Shop. While the name is a Blowing Rock throwback, this restaurant is a new venture led by two sisters. It opened in May 2017 after extensive renovation and reinvention. With a hyper-focus on local ingredients, the restaurant features a selection of food and drink that’s truly reflective of the community it serves. Whether it’s an artisan cocktail made with home-grown herbs and a regional spirit, or hoecakes with molasses butter (a must-try side), it’s all good! The Bottle Shop is a unique addition to the restaurant, and offers a place to kick back and chill or pick up great craft beers and approachable wines for your weekend. Owners Emily and Erica say that one of the best things about having a business in Blowing Rock is welcoming so many happy people- beautiful mountains and cooler temperatures encourage everyone to relax, unwind, and leave their worries elsewhere. The Speckled Trout is a great place to do just that!
Welcome to Blowing Rock Brewing Co., our downtown artisan brewery! The local brewing facility on Sunset Drive was completed in 2013, along with the renovation and opening of the Blowing Rock Ale House & Inn. The Inn has 5 beautiful guest rooms, and the Ale House has become known for delicious, seasonally-focused dishes. Twelve taps offer plenty of brews to go with lunch or dinner. Owners Jeff and Todd believe that clean mountain water, unique ingredients, and the local community together create craft beers like no others. The small-batch facility in Blowing Rock creates some truly special seasonal brews with ingredients like huckleberries, juniper berries, and peaches. One of the most recent beers was made as a fundraiser for the Middle Fork Greenway project, an IPA for “Improving People’s Access.” Some of these seasonal creations can only be found at the Blowing Rock Ale House, and are served alongside their Legacy and Elevation Series. Blowing Rock Brewing has expanded into Hickory as well, and now produces 26 styles of locally made craft beer.
Located in the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains, Hellbender Bed & Beverage has everything you need for a mountain getaway! A Hellbender is a large endangered amphibian found in the Blue Ridge Mountains, living mostly in clear and fast flowing mountain streams. One of the establishment’s goals is to bring more awareness to this beautiful local species, hence the name: Hellbender. Originally opening October of 2020 in downtown Blowing Rock, Hellbender is the perfect place for locals and travelers alike. Guests have the ability to eat great food, drink tasty cocktails, and snooze upstairs in one of the eight hotel rooms, with minimal effort!We were able to catch up with Abby Carson, a manager at Hellbender. Abby stated the motivation for the restaurant being ‘(…) quick service, great food, almost like a pit stop, to get back outside and explore the beautiful outdoors that surround us’. Owners of Gideon Ridge, Bistro Roca & Antler’s Bar, and now Hellbender, Cindy and Cobb Milner have figured out the secret to success in the service industry: Experience!No reservations for the restaurant, but you can book yourself a hotel room at www.hellbender.bar Hours include:Restaurant: Tues.-Sat. 11:30pm-9:00pmBar: Tues.-Sat. 11:30am-9:30pm Stop by 239 Sunset Dr. Blowing Rock, North Carolina to explore and experience it all for yourself.: @hellbenderbedbev: @hellbenderbedbev
The High Country has a wine trail! If you haven’t visited our local wineries, you’re in for a real treat. Great wine and beautiful views combine for a unique experience at each location. Grandfather Mountain Winery is in Foscoe, just to the northwest of Blowing Rock. The vineyards and tasting room are on the slopes of Grandfather Mountain, right on the Watauga River, where you can take a seat and enjoy the sights and sounds of the rushing water. The tasting room has a lovely rustic charm, with friendly folks ready to tell you about the unique wines produced at the winery. Enjoy wines like “Terraced Gold” and “Big Boulder Red” on the spacious patio or by the water’s edge. The Banner Elk Winery in Banner Elk features some of the highest vineyards in the Eastern United States. The vineyards are located on Beech Mountain, which dominates the lovely view from the winery and Inn. Banner Elk Winery is the first commercial winery built in the area, debuting in 2006. The Tuscan-inspired villa on the grounds is an eye-catching centerpiece on the grounds, and offers rooms and overnight packages. Linville Falls Winery is the newest of the three. Family owned and operated, the winery is an elegant attraction that’s easy to find right off Highway 221 in Linville. Riesling and Cabernet Sauvignon are the staple grapes, and blueberries and raspberries are also produced on the 40 acre farm. While you’re taking a trip to the winery, you should stop over at the Linville Falls Wilderness Area to enjoy the falls and hikes. Blowing Rock Food & Wine Tours Do you love pairing excellent food and wine? So does Joanna Reule, Blowing Rock’s resident tour guide. Taste and sip your way through Blowing Rock while also experiencing local art, history, and characters. Let Blowing Rock Food & Wine Tours show you what makes this town so charming with some “healthy” pours and delicious bites. Driving immediately after this tour is not recommended, but grabbing some dinner in town and soaking up some of that wine is absolutely advised. Find out more about the Boone Area Wine Trail (including a video) here: https://www.exploreboone.com/about/travel-itineraries/wine-trail/ See more travel ideas on our Main Itineraries Page!
Our new friends Ingrid and Marcus came to visit Blowing Rock and take a look around in mid-September. Marcus had visited Blowing Rock many years ago, so our town had been on their list for a while. They arrived on a Sunday and stayed two nights. Ingrid and Marcus packed a ton of fun into their three days in town! A Concert in the Park, dining around town, visiting Grandfather Mountain and The Blowing Rock, shopping, and more. Here’s a bit of what Ingrid had to say about their experience: “Let me say from the start that we’ve found another destination that really belongs on everyone’s bucket list and that we hope to visit next year once again as there is so much more for us to do and experience in and around the historic, charming, beautiful mountain town of Blowing Rock. The famous Rock, less than two miles from our hotel, that we visited the next morning, is the oldest tourist attraction in North Carolina and features an immense cliff jutting 4,000 feet above sea level. Blowing Rock is a year round destination, but fall is especially beautiful in the mountains when the leaves are turning, and The Blue Ridge Mountains, with Blue Ridge Parkway access right in Blowing Rock, offer one of the most colorful and longest running fall leaf seasons in the world. One of the reasons is the varied elevations that show prime fall colors for over a month. Lucky us, a little of these famous fall colors were already becoming more noticeable around the Blowing Rock area during our visit in mid September.” “We arrived in town on a blue-skied early Sunday afternoon and fell instantly in love with its beautiful, blooming Main Street…” “We had reservations at the Meadowbrook Inn, a charming 62-room eco retreat surrounded by still blooming gardens and located just a block from all these cute shops, restaurants, and galleries on Blowing Rock’s Main Street. A couple of ducks, who demanded the right of way, welcomed us by the main entrance. They seemed to be on the way to the duck pond which is part of the surrounding ‘Certified Wildlife Habitat by National Wildlife Federation.’” Ingrid shares many more details on her website. Head over to Ingrid’s blog, Escape From Paradise, to see their entire Blowing Rock adventure, and SO MANY more photos: Mind-blowing Blowing Rock and Grandfather Mountain in North Carolina. Looking to recreate Ingrid’s trip? Start at Meadowbrook Inn in downtown Blowing Rock! “I especially liked The Final Touches Home & Garden boutique.” “Sunny Rock Eggs turned out to be a cozy, warm place with a hot breakfast and perfectly basted eggs! Btw our waitress Sheila rocked.” “Little will match the exhilarating feeling of being on top of the world while looking out across views of mountain ridges cascading to the horizon. Here we met other free spirits like us.” “Superb, is an understatement. Timberlake’s at Chetola Resort is a destination restaurant.”
Live music is a great way to let loose and relax during your visit in Blowing Rock. Many restaurants feature talented local artists throughout the week. There is entertainment for all to enjoy- no cover for these regular performances!
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