Accolades & Media Coverage

We welcome your inquiries about Blowing Rock and are happy to provide you with information, interviews, high resolution photographs, b-roll and contacts to help with your stories.

For more information, please contact Amanda Lugenbell, 828-295-4636 or amanda@visitblowingrock.com

Accolades

Voted First Runner Up: Top Tiny Town for Adventure by readers of Blue Ridge Outdoors Magazine, November 2024

Voted Best Small Town in NC in The Best Small Town in Every Southern State by readers of Southern Living, March 2024

Blue Ridge Outdoors’ 2024 Best of the Blue Ridge Award Winners: Best Kid-Friendly Adventure- Sky Valley Zip Tours; Best Lodging- Chetola Resort, January 2024

Restaurant at Gideon Ridge Inn named a 2024 James Beard Award Semifinalist in Outstanding Restaurant category, January 2024

Voted Best Mountain Getaway AND Best Downtown in NC by followers of NC Tripping, December 2023

Named Coziest Winter Town in NC in 110 Coziest Winter Towns in America For a Magical Getaway by New York Travel Guides, December 2023

Voted Top Tiny Town for Adventure by readers of Blue Ridge Outdoors Magazine, November 2023

Named Most Romantic Small Town in NC in 140 Most Romantic Small Towns in America by New York Travel Guides, October 2023

Restaurant at Gideon Ridge named #2 Top Date Night Restaurant and #3 Best Fine Dining Restaurant in US in Trip Advisor’s Best of the Best Travelers Choice Awards, September 2023

Named Best Mountain Town in South’s Best Places to Retire by Southern Living Magazine, September 2023

Voted Best Walkable Town, Best Main-Street Local Shopping Town & more by readers of Blue Ridge Country Magazine, July 2023.

Voted Best Small Town in NC in 50 Best Small Towns in the South by readers of Southern Living, April 2023

Restaurant at Gideon Ridge named #1 Top Date Night Restaurant and #2 Best Fine Dining Restaurant in US in Trip Advisor’s Best of the Best Travelers Choice Awards in 2022

One of The South’s 10 Best Mountain Towns by readers of Southern Living in 2022

Voted One of 15 Friendliest Small Towns in the US by readers of Travel Awaits in 2021

Blowing Rock Art & History Museum named Finest Museum by readers of Carolina Country in 2020

One of The South’s 10 Best Mountain Towns by readers of Southern Living in 2020

One of 10Best Small Towns for Adventure in USA Today’s 10 Best poll in 2019

Named Best Small Town in NC by readers of Southern Living in 2018

Voted Best Main Street-Local Shopping by readers of Blue Ridge Country Magazine in 2018

Rated One of America’s 25 Best Small Towns by Expedia in 2018

One of 10Best Small Towns for Adventure in USA Today’s 10Best poll in 2018

Mountainaire Inn and Log Cabins Rated #1 Best Bargain Hotel in US by TripAdvisor;
TripAdvisor Also Ranks Mountainaire #4 in the World, 2018

Gamekeeper Restaurant one of Open Table’s 100 Most Romantic Restaurants in America, 2018

Westglow Resort & Spa voted among Travel+Leisure’s 2018 Top 10 Domestic Destination Spas

Voted 3rd of 10Best Southern Small Towns by USA Today’s 10Best poll in 2017

Gideon Ridge one of Open Table’s 100 Most Scenic Restaurants in America in 2017

Westglow Resort & Spa Voted Travel+Leisure’s 2017 Top Domestic Destination Spa

Named Happiest Town in the Blue Ridge by readers of Blue Ridge Magazine in 2016

Named a Top Destination on the Rise by Trip Advisor in 2015

Voted among Best Small Towns, Best Retirement Towns by Readers of Blue Ridge Country Magazine in 2015

Green Park Inn named Best Small Hotel by the Historic Hotels of America Organization in 2015

Named among Best Main Streets, Best Shopping, and Best Arts Towns by readers of Blue Ridge Country in 2014

Listed among Best Motorcycle Trips in USA Today in 2014.

Blowing Rock Charity Horse Show designated a Heritage Competition by US Equestrian Federation in 2014.

Blowing Rock’s WinterFest chosen as a Top Pick event by AAA Magazine in 2014.

Main Street Blowing Rock named a “Great Place in NC” by American Planning Association-NC in 2013.

Blowing Rock in the Media

America’s 35 Best Small Towns in the Mountains, Far & Wide, July 2020

Glen Burney Trail in Blowing Rock, NC Tripping, July 2020

The Most Beautiful Main Street in Every State, Insider, July 2020

3 Reasons to Head to Blowing Rock When We Can Travel Again, AAA Go Magazine, May 2020

Small Businesses in Blowing Rock Start Reopening, Spectrum News, May 2020

The Top 20 Blue Ridge Mountain Towns in GA & NC, Blue Ridge Mountains Travel Guide, February 2020

Little-Known Boone: A Blue Ridge Carolina Vacation Treasure, Forbes, January 2020

15 Best Things to Do in Blowing Rock, VacationIdeas.com, January 2020

The Best Things To Do in Blowing Rock NC, Wine and Weekends, December 2019

Here’s the Best Small Town in Every State, MSN.com Travel, November 2019

Blowing Rock: Endless Family-Friendly Fun, Little Prince Leopold, October 2019

36 Hours In Boone, N.C. (and Environs), New York Times, October 2019

20 Things to See, Do, and Eat in Blowing Rock, NC, Charlotte Agenda, October 2019

11 Mountain Girlfriend Getaways to Take This Fall, Southern Living Magazine, September 2019

Tweetsie Railroad, Carolina Weekend (video), July 2019

Blowing Rock, NC, Bill on the Road, May 2019

Carolina Meeting Resorts, Small Market Meetings Magazine, May 2019

Must Eat Blowing Rock Restaurants, NC Tripping, May 2019

Blowing Rock Prayer Garden Draws Thousands, Spectrum News (video), May 2019

Savor Blowing Rock On the Way, WBTV News (video), April 2019

Why Blowing Rock is the Perfect Mountain Town Escape, Southern Living Magazine, March 2019

Ski Season Winding Down, Long Time Instructor Honored, WBTV News (video), March 2019

Green Park Inn in Blowing Rock: Why We’ll Be Back, NC Tripping, March 2019

15 of North Carolina’s Coziest Spots to Eat & Drink, Visit NC, February 2019

Dream Destinations: 25 Places to Retire, Relocate, Relax, Our State Magazine, February 2019

A Taste of Place, Our State Magazine, February 2019

Appalachian Adventures: Need More Icy Plunging? Blowing Rock’s WinterFest is just the place for you, Bristol Herald Courier, January 2019

US Small Towns That Are Even Cuter in Winter, Fodor’s Travel, January 2019

Here’s the Best Small Town in Every US State, Business Insider Australia, December 2018

25 Best Day Trips in North Carolina , Dream Vacation Magazine, November 2018

 11 Most Charming Southern Small Towns, Trips to Discover, November 2018

The Ultimate Guide to Blowing Rock, NC, Sand Sun and Messy Buns, October 2018

NC Primer: On the Rocks, Our State Magazine, October 2018

11 of the Best Places for Foliage in and Around Georgia, Atlanta Journal Constitution, September 2018

Labor Day Marks Unofficial End of Summer, WBTV 3 News, September 2018

Fall Hiking Trails in North Carolina, NC Tripping, September 2018

Why Blowing Rock is the Perfect Mountain Town Escape, Southern Living, August 2018

Where to Eat, Play, and Stay in Blowing Rock, NC, Making Thyme for Health, July 2018

Dog-Friendly Things to Do in Blowing Rock, NC, Backroad Ramblers, July 2018

10 Hotels in NC that We Love, Travel Through Life, July 2018

A NC Roadtrip: Waynesville to Blowing Rock, Forbes Magazine, July 2018

The Sky’s the Limit in the Carolinas, Group Travel Leader, May 2018

Speckled Trout Restaurant & Bottle Shop profiled on NC Weekend, April 5, 2018

Blowing Rock Travel Guide, I’m Fixin’ To, April 2018

The Must See Under-the-Radar City in Each State, The Active Times, Spring 2018

Chestnut Grille featured on NC Weekend, March 1, 2018

6 Most Charming Downtown Areas in NC, Trips to Discover, March 2018

Insight: Family & Friends, Capital at Play Magazine, February 2018