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I come to you today with a full recap of my recent trip to Blowing Rock, North Carolina! My husband and I were celebrating our wedding anniversary and his birthday, which are two days apart. Neither of us had visited Blowing Rock before, and we absolutely LOVED it, it's the perfect road-trippable town for a fall getaway!
Sunday
We got into Boone around 1:00 on Sunday, which was our anniversary! It's about a 4.5 hour drive for us, and we loved the scenery along the way. We passed through a ton of Christmas tree farms and enjoyed watching the foliage change as we got higher in elevation.
We were a bit early to check into where we were staying, so we walked around downtown Boone for a while which is a cute place full of shops and restaurants in a bustling college town. Kenny had forgotten to pack his button down shirts, and found a really nice one in a vintage shop!
Cheers to 11 years - 6 married!
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After Boone, we decided to head to THE Blowing Rock! Yes, it's an actual rock, and it has a rich history both geologically and in Native American folklore. It was $12 per person to visit which I didn't realize, but it was definitely worth it. There is a network of trails around the area that you can explore, and there is a nice museum on site too, as well as a café and gift shop.
Arguably best of all, there were a few different cats that we met along the way! We saw the beautiful calico, Gigi, as soon as we stepped out of the car and knew we were gonna love it there. 😍
By the time we wrapped up at the Blowing Rock, our room was ready for check in. We stayed at the Victorian Inn and we absolutely LOVED it, I cannot recommend it enough. It's right downtown and within walking distance to all of the shops and restaurants. It's a bit of a unique property and has pros and cons depending on the type of trip you're planning, but for a romantic getaway it's the PERFECT spot to stay.
The inn has four different rooms that are each unique, plus a small cottage in the back. We planned our trip relatively last minute given that October is a peak time for tourism in Blowing Rock, so we weren't able to reserve the same room for all four nights we were in town. I reserved the garden room for one night, and the balcony room for the next three nights. It was only a small inconvenience to switch rooms, and we enjoyed being able to experience both rooms. The garden room is downstairs and opens up to the outside, facing the back of the house. The balcony room technically opens to the outside too, but you go straight upstairs so it doesn't feel exposed. The balcony room is slightly larger and has a balcony (of course!) and a table with two chairs to sit at. It has a slightly larger bathroom (though both have plenty of space) but no bathtub. The only thing I missed about the garden room when we switched rooms was the bathroom heater - I couldn't get it to work in the balcony room, and I thoroughly enjoyed stepping out of the shower into a warm bathroom in the garden room!
The inn has contactless check-in, and there is not always staff on property, but the managers are very communicative and easy to get in touch with, so I never felt a lack of service. They have a housekeeper named Karen who is on site most mornings, and she is an absolute DELIGHT, I felt like we were friends by the time we checked out! She was so beyond friendly and kind, and truly went out of her way to make sure that we had the best stay. She even let us see the other two rooms at the inn, the veranda room and the turret room. It was cool to be able to see all four rooms - the turret room is Karen's favorite so we're going to stay there next time!
While I'm talking about Karen I have to interrupt myself to say that I absolutely adored the people in Blowing Rock. Everyone was SO friendly and kind, and we had so many great conversations with strangers! People-wise, it was probably the nicest place I've ever visited.
The inn is adults-only and there are no pets allowed, so that's something to keep in mind if you're traveling with kids or pets. Blowing Rock as a whole is very kid- and pet-friendly, but the inn is more of a place for couples only.
The bathroom in the garden room had a tub! I'm not a bath taker, but definitely a plus if you are. 😍
All of the rooms have electric fireplaces - this was in the garden room. The balcony room had it at the foot of the bed under the TV, which I preferred. The rooms are all equipped with a fridge, microwave, Keurig, mugs, wine glasses, and a corkscrew, along with coffee, cream, sugar, and baggies of cookies!
Once we got settled at the inn, we set out to explore downtown. There is a park right in the middle of everything with the most BEAUTIFULLY maintained flower gardens! Dahlias are my favorite flowers and I couldn't get enough, they had so many unique varieties. Some were bigger than my hand! They also had anemones which are another favorite. 😍
This guy cracked me up - I've never seen a mini pumpkin carved before!
I took this pic for future decor inspo - how pretty??
We had a while until our dinner reservations, so we wanted to find somewhere to grab a drink and kill some time. We tried just about everywhere downtown and everywhere was packed, so we ended up with a spot at the bar at Mellow Mushroom - I was a little disappointed, not because I don't love Mellow Mushroom but because we have them all over Virginia and I wanted to try somewhere new. We ended up having a GREAT time and I was so glad that's where we landed! I got some prosecco to sip on while Kenny watched some football, and we got a small white pizza because we needed a little snack but didn't want to spoil our dinner.
For our anniversary dinner, we had reservations at Best Cellar. It's an upscale restaurant that's part of an inn, and it's super romantic. It reminded me of the inn where Kenny and I had our wedding reception! The service was wonderful, we loved our server, Caroline!
To start, we split the lobster bisque and the seafood platter. The bisque was pretty good, and the seafood platter was too. It had cocktail shrimp, oysters Rockefeller, and crab cakes. I'm not obsessed with any of those things, but I have to say, the crab cakes were the best I've ever had!
I got the ricotta-lemon ravioli which was light and fresh. It came with pearl peppers which was unexpected but yummy! I also got roasted beets as my side.
Kenny got the seared tuna, alongside mashed potatoes and a zucchini boat. Everything was yummy!
For dessert, our server treated us to a piece of banana cream pie, and that had to be our favorite part of the whole meal! Banana cream pie isn't something I'd usually order, but it was 10/10 delicious.
Monday
Monday got off to a bit of a rough start. 😂 We switched rooms from the garden room to the balcony room which was seamless, and got a chance to talk to Karen, the housekeeper. She asked us what we had planned for the day and we told her about a couple of hikes we had in mind. She insisted we try one called Rough Ridge which we did do, so more on that later!
Now for the rough part... When we got ready to leave, Kenny's car wouldn't start! Luckily, Karen was more than willing to help us jump the battery. I cannot sing her praises enough, she treated us like family all week long! I truly think she would've leant us her car if we needed it. 😂
Once we got the car running, we went straight to an auto parts store that Karen recommended. We got the battery tested and the guy said it was good, and that it was probably a key fob battery issue, so Kenny got that battery changed and we were back on the road.
Our first hike of the trip was Hawksbill Trail!
Even though it was relatively early in the season, the colors were already sooo beautiful! It was crazy how quickly the colors would change with the change in elevation even on a quick car ride up the parkway.
So much beautiful mountain laurel in North Carolina - I would love to see it in the spring when it's blooming!
A couple we were hiking alongside told us that funny peak behind me is called "table rock mountain."
Our first overlook hike of the trip! Hawksbill was really beautiful and a great hike to start off our trip. The summit was expansive and had lots of places to explore. There were a fair number of other groups there at the same time as us, but it didn't feel incredibly crowded.
A bit of evidence leftover from the Hurricane Helene wreckage - an uprooted tree! After a year, there were still places where the effects of the hurricane were still very much evident.
Next, we headed to Linville Falls, which is an area with a network of short hikes. The three-tiered falls are referred to as the "Grand Canyon of the Southern Appalachians" and I can see why! The "canyon" is way bigger than it looks in photos, and you can really see where the earth has been carved through by the river.
Our last hike of the day was Rough Ridge, per Karen's recommendation - it ended up being my favorite hike of the whole trip! It was increasingly foggy as we ascended, but the colors were breathtaking. It had a view of the Linn Cove viaduct, which I didn't get any great photos of but is a feat of engineering - a road that follows the contours of Grandfather Mountain and provides the most amazing views. We rode over it several times on our trip and just had to stop and take it in every time!
The hike included a series of boardwalks which was fun - they protect the delicate root systems of the plants below that grow right on the rocks.
As usual, photos don't even begin to do the scenery justice!
After our hikes I was hoping to hit a local winery, but we were running out of time before our dinner reservation! Next time for sure. 😉
For dinner that night, we had reservations at The Speckled Trout, which came highly recommended. Although we had a reservation, we had to wait over 20 minutes for our table which was a little annoying. They have a walk-up bar so you can order drinks while you wait, but it was pretty hectic holding a drink and standing around with everyone waiting else for their table! The atmosphere in the restaurant was not great - it had overly bright overhead LED lighting ("big" light haters, you get it) and it was LOUD. We were seated in the middle of a few different tables that all had restless, noisy children which I know wouldn't always be the experience there, but it was still not enjoyable. 😂
Although we didn't love the vibe in there, the food was good. We got cheese curds as an app which were delicious!
I had never had trout before but ended up eating a lot of it over the course of our trip! I couldn't stop thinking of the camping scene near the end of The Parent Trap when Meredith won't eat the trout. 😂 I got the almond and cornmeal crusted trout with creamed corn and pesto potatoes, and Kenny got the hickory smoked trout with hoppin' John and smoked gouda grits. The smoked trout was one of our favorite things we ate all week, and definitely our favorite trout we tried!
Our server asked if we were celebrating anything and we said it was our anniversary, and we got kind of duped into ordering dessert which she told us would be on the house, but we ended up getting charged for. 😂 It was still delicious! Flourless chocolate torte - yum.
Tuesday
Tuesday was Kenny's birthday and there was only ONE thing he wanted to do - visit Grandfather Mountain to hike McCrae Peak. Grandfather Mountain is a great place to visit if you have kids - they have a really nice nature discovery center that has a wildlife habitat where you can see native animals like bears and elk. There were multiple elementary school field trips happening while we were there. It was more expensive than I expected! Pricing is dynamic, but we visited on a "peak" day so it was $32 per adult - I didn't research ahead of time but I assumed entry would be charged per vehicle like it is at Shenandoah National Park, but that's on me!
All hikes leave from near the same parking lot, so if you're planning to hike you have to park there and fill out a form with your information. Hikers are required to return to their cars by 5:00pm (there are tons of signs reminding you!) and if you're gone too long past that, they will send out a search team for you. I've never seen anything like that!
Before the hike we visited the "mile high" swinging bridge. It's positioned a mile above sea level, but only about 80 feed above the ground below. I say "only" - it still feels high if heights make you nervous! I'm funny with heights - things like this bridge or rollercoasters don't bother me much because I feel secure, but things like going out to the edge of overlooks on hikes where my own balance is the only thing protecting me from a gravitational disaster make my knees shake.
As you can see, it was a very foggy and gloomy day! I couldn't help but think about Twilight and Forks, Washington. 😂
The McCrae Peak hike itself isn't very long, around two miles round trip, but it took us a few hours to complete. What makes it strenuous is that there are several areas where there are cables or ladders screwed into the rocks because that's the only way to ascend or descend. I was SO NERVOUS for those parts, and seeing them in person did not make me feel any better! I felt SO shaky at some points because I was so afraid just to drop off the side of the mountain! It was incredibly foggy which honestly helped me because I couldn't see as far down at points where I was afraid of heights. 😂
Sorry, but I don't wanna die!!!!
Kenny was having the time of his life and clearly not afraid at all... And it's a good thing because I definitely needed the support. 😂 Do NOT do this hike if you are afraid of heights!!
When we made it to the summit, Kenny wasted no time scaling the final rock. Look how small he looks up there cloaked in fog! From the photos and videos Kenny has showed me, this is a TOTALLY different hike on a clear day. Although we missed out on the views, Kenny loves a gloomy hike so I'm glad he got his ideal weather on his birthday. We got plenty of amazing views throughout the rest of the week!
FAKER ALERT! 🚨 I did NOT ascend the final ladder onto the peak - I was seriously so burnt out from losing my mind over every ladder at that point that I couldn't climb the rock with Kenny. I couldn't see past the top of the ladder and I was too afraid to try! Kenny validated me by saying that final climb even felt a little sketchy for him, but in hindsight I do feel like a loser that I didn't just go. 😂 But in the moment, I seriously couldn't have!
When it was time to head back down, Kenny blessed me with the information that there was another route back to the trailhead didn't have quite as many ladders and cables as the way up did. That was the best thing he could've possibly told me in that moment. Well, other than telling me there was a secret elevator back to the bottom. I swear I love hiking, but this one was just not for me. 😂
After the hike, we headed back to the bridge. The fog had cleared out significantly so we wanted to see if we could get a better view - and we could! I feel there is a noticeable shift in my demeanor between the earlier bridge photos and these. 😂 I was seriously so friggin nervous for that hike!!
After the hike, we headed back to the inn to shower and rest a bit before dinner. We had had two and a half long days at that point and it felt so good to rest!
We had reservations at Twigs for dinner. We felt like the youngest people there by at least 30 years, but I loved the vibes. Everything we had there was great! I ordered trout and Kenny ordered salmon, but we ended up trading because he preferred the trout and I liked both. We also ordered a cheese board that was yummy but nothing special.
For dessert, I served Kenny a very fancy and well-thought-out cardboard tray of seasonal cookie dough with a single candle - his favorite! 😂
On Wednesday, we walked to Bald Guy Brew where I got a delicious whole milk latte. I feel like plain lattes are like cheese pizza in that a pizza place has to do plain cheese pizza well in order for the rest of their pizza to be good. In the same way, coffee places have to do simple drinks well in order for their more intricate drinks to be good. This was among the best lattes I've ever had!
Kenny's more of a soda drinker than a coffee drinker, so we made several trips to Blowing Rock Market during our trip for drinks for him. I also got a couple of bottles of wine to bring home. They had really nice tee shirts too, but I need another tee shirt like I need a hole in the head, so I held off. 😂
There's a falls hike called Glen Burney trail that's unique because it's right in downtown Blowing Rock, so we had to check it out!
The asters were sooo beautiful during our trip!!
I saw these flowers that I was unfamiliar with throughout our trip - I sent a picture to my mom and the told me they're called blue bottle gentians! They look like buds but this is how they bloom. My mom also told me that bumblebees will push their way inside them to get to the nectar, which we saw and it was so cute!
The falls have a few different stops along the way, and plenty of places to dip your feet in. Kenny loves a good swimming hole, I know he wished it had been warmer so he could've really swam!
Each stop along the falls was more beautiful than the last. 😍 The trek up was fairly strenuous - just over a mile and a half and about 600 feet of elevation gain and it's fairly rooty and rocky. It would've felt rougher if it had been hot outside!
After the hike, we went back to the inn and freshened up and then had some designated shopping time downtown. There are tons of cute shops - my favorite was Blowing Rock Estate Jewelry and Antiques! I LOVE estate jewelry and they had stunningly beautiful and unique pieces. I could've spent $20,000 there easily! I also loved Finley House, they had a drool-worthy collection of pre-loved luxury pieces.
We stopped at Blue Deer Cookies for an afternoon pick-me-up - Kenny and I split a snickerdoodle ice cream sandwich with pumpkin ice cream. 😍 The sweet girl serving us said that was her favorite combo, and it was absolutely delicious! The cookie sandwiches are made to order and you can choose any combo you want - you can even choose two different cookies!
After we had our fill of shopping, we had more time to kill before dinner so we decided to drive the Blue Ridge Parkway. We could not get enough of the fall colors!
We stopped at Beacon Heights overlook and a couple who was stopped there too told us there was a short hike nearby that we should do... so we did! It was only about a half mile round trip but the overlook was sooo peaceful and gorgeous. There was one other couple there with a little girl and we heard her asking her parents if it would echo if she screamed. Kenny told her to let 'er rip and it really did make a crazy echo. 😂 The overlook would've made a great sunset hike since it was short, but we had to get going to catch dinner!
We made reservations at Bistro Roca and it was our favorite dinner of the trip! It had dark and cozy cabin vibes, the perfect spot for a romantic fall dinner, especially in the fall and winter. We got calamari to start which was tasty but strange because the calamari was in strips rather than rings like most places serve - the texture was kind of off-putting but the flavor and the sauces were good.
I got wood fired TROUT yet again and it was delicious! It was served skin-on but the skin peeled off easily and in one piece. It was served with potatoes and Brussels sprouts. Kenny got a fish special served with grits and succotash which he loved - I forget what kind of fish it was, maybe grouper.
Before we left, I went to the bathroom and Kenny looked around the bar while he waited for me. The whole space is filled with pet portraits and they were SO cute!! Apparently they host events every year where you can bring your pet for portraits, I wish we could bring Roxy!
After dinner, we stopped into Six Pence Pub on a whim because we had seen a sign outside earlier in the day that they had bread pudding and that's Kenny's favorite dessert. We had so much fun there! The bartender was this super interesting guy from Las Vegas who moved to Blowing Rock with his wife to be a ski instructor before retirement. It was funny to experience the weeknight bar scene with locals and tourists alike.
Thursday
Thursday was our last day in Blowing Rock so we had plans to make the very most of it! We checked out of the inn in the morning (so sad!) and set out to do a couple more hikes, starting with Upper Creek Falls. It was a loop hike which was fun, most of the hikes we do are out-and-back but I enjoy loop hikes because everything is new the whole way.
The falls were huge and beautiful! Do you see how small Kenny looks to the right??
We ran into a Boy Scout troop who were swimming and they showed us there is a natural waterslide along the falls! Kenny had to give it a try - it was was too cold for me but it looked fun!
A good view of the Grandfather Mountain profile!
For our last hike before leaving town, we had to go back to Rough Ridge to see the colors one more time! They were seriously the best views of the trip.
You can sort of see the viaduct way behind my head!
It's crazy how much clearer it was this time than the first time we did the hike - it felt like a totally different view! That rock Kenny is sitting up on was completely enshrouded in fog the first day, you could barely see five feet ahead.
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After hiking, we changed clothes and headed back to downtown Boone to walk around.
Before hitting the road, we grabbed dinner at Basil's. They have homemade pasta and that's one of my favorite things on earth! I got the basil gimlet and the mushroom marsala. Kenny got the pasta rossa and both dishes were delicious!
After dinner, we headed just over an hour up to Abingdon, Virginia for one more night. There's a hike in the area called The Channels that Kenny has always wanted to do, but is a little too far for a day trip from where we live, so he wanted to tack it onto our return trip! I'd been to Abingdon on youth group trips back in high school and it's much cuter than I remembered! We stayed in a motel that was pretty gross. 😂 The beds were clean (I CHECKED) but the rest of the room was a bit questionable for a girly girl like me... luckily we were just sleeping there before heading back out!
Friday
Bonus day! The Channels hike is logistically unique - there are only 10 parking spaces available for the hike and you have to park in a marked spot or you'll be ticketed or towed. When we got to the trailhead, there was a park ranger there making sure that no one parked in an unauthorized spot! There were a couple of other cars waiting for spots so we established our spot in the queue. You have to get to the hike early if you don't want to wait - we arrived just after 10:00am which was definitely late. The people ahead of us in line had been waiting over an hour!
After just over an hour, it was our turn to park! Kenny started his car... or tried... remember Monday when we had car troubles?? The battery was failing again!! Another group who had arrived after us tried to help us jump the battery, but they had a small car with a different battery and it wouldn't take. We let them go ahead and take our spot and had the ranger help us jump the battery, and luckily that time it worked! TWO hours after we had arrived, our turn was finally up to hike. 😂
The Channels is SO cool - definitely ones of the most unique hikes I've ever done. It's a sandstone slot canyon with many twists and turns that makes it almost maze-like. It's SO cool to explore and think about how it was formed! Geology is fascinating to me, and if you love it too then you must try this hike!
I ate more PB&Js on this trip than I have in the past 10+ years. 😂 They're the perfect hike snack!
The hike is fairly long (about 6.5 miles) but doesn't feel quite that long because a large portion of it is along a fire road without too much rough terrain. It is bordered by THOUSANDS of touch-me-not plants which are my favorite. 😍
Once we were done with the hike, we had one last misadventure before we finished our trip home... When we got back to Kenny's car it wouldn't start, again!!! There were still hikers on the trail that could've potentially given us a jump, but most of them were closer to the beginning of the hike and we didn't want to wait around for hours for them to get done. Kenny popped his hood and flagged down the first vehicle that passed by and BY THE GRACE OF GOD the nicest guy stopped and helped us!! It took a long time to get Kenny's battery started up but thankfully it worked! I felt so bad because it was 5:00 on a Friday and I knew the guy was headed home after a long week of work. We tried to give him some money which he declined, but I know he will be paid out karmatically ten times over.
After that, we started our just-under-four-hour drive home, and Kenny did NOT turn his car off the whole time. 😂 He left it running when we made stops and we FINALLY made it home!
All in all, we had an amazing trip to Blowing Rock and we will definitely be returning! I hope you enjoyed this (long!) recap! I can't wait to see what my next trip recap will be! Until then...
xoxx, Laura
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