We came to the area to hike to Rough Ridge Overlook. We wanted to start our hike here, but the…read moreparking area was closed. There's a nearby overlook parking where you can walk along the road and get a really nice view of the viaduct. We also hiked from the Stone Rock Parking Area to the visitor center which was nice but didn't have many views. This area is really pretty and visiting in the fall is gorgeous for the changing leaves!

If you're driving the Blue Ridge parkway you must stop near the viaduct to check it out. The views…read moreare amazing and it's even better in the fall.

For fans of The Hunger Games films, this is a must-see!…read more We stopped in on a beautiful spring day. We were given an informative tour by Donavan, who was hilarious and full of knowledge. After the tour, we were free to explore the 78 acres. It's a beautiful place and we had a great time looking at the mill homes and the surrounding terrain. They also offer a military discount which is always appreciated! Great place!

Excellent self guided tour, was very cool to see........however.......there are NO SIGNS stating…read moreit's "more of a museum" and that you have to pay to walk thru. That being said the guy that runs the place was very rude to me and my elderly mother!

While visiting in the area we stopped at the Fort Watauga replica at the Sycamore Shoals State Park…read morein Elizabethton, TN near Johnson City, TN. It is located along the Watauga River. Fort Watauga, more properly Fort Caswell, was an American Revolutionary War fort that once stood at the Sycamore Shoals of the Watauga River in what is now Elizabethton, Tennessee. The fort was originally built in 1775-1776 by the area's frontier government, the Watauga Association, to help defend Watauga settlers from Native American (primarily Cherokee) attacks, which were in part instigated by the British. Fort Watauga was originally named Fort Caswell after North Carolina Governor Richard Caswell Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Watauga Sycamore Shoals State Historic Park 1651 W. Elk Avenue Elizabethton, Tennessee FREE Park. Free to view and tour the Fort Watauga, and FREE to tour the Visitors Center. The visitors center was not open when we stopped there but we did walk around the Fort.

Toured the Carter Mansion today ($7 per person) Tours are not everyday. Call Sycamore Shoals, or…read morecheck their Facebook site for tour days, and time. We got to see every room in the house, except the basement, which has wood floors. A painting over the fireplace was pretty cool. It was painted over with white paint years ago, and while the restoration group was taking paint "samples", they realized something was under the white paint, which turned out to be a painting. Only one piece of furniture was original to the house, which was a chair. We checked out the family cemetery, and walked down to the Watauga river which is actually in front of the house. This is the oldest framed house in Tennessee. Interesting piece of history.

So they give tours about every hour or so. I think it was about 45 minutes. They had 2 tour guides…read morewhile we were there . But our tour guide complained alot about his life. We did joke around about some things, but at least pretend you enjoy your job. They had a couple cute doggos that greet you while you are there. They also have a little store with a lot of different kinds of rocks if that is your thing.

Had great time at this cavern. We were greeted warmly by the staff.. walk inside building and…read moredecent sized gift shop with lots of gemstones and different things to see. We were only ones there at time and we had great conversations with staff before we started our journey into cave. I think we paid 13-15 a person fairly cheap for cave. So our guide took us thru a door down a ramp and into the start of cave tour. Even saw a salamander under some of rocks at start of cave. Lots of walkways and formations to see.. lot of history too. On way back our guide have us each a flashlight and let us see cave our way with lights off. It was so cool! There is different types of tours where you can crawl thru holes in caves and thru water but I just wanted easy walking tour lol.. definitely a must see.. glad we came!

About five miles out from Abingdon and well worth the drive down the country roads to get there,…read moreWhite's Mill and mercantile is a restored/working 18th century water mill that produces the best coarse ground yellow grits I have ever had (my first taste was the White's Mill Grit Cakes served at Abingdon's Bone Fire Smokehouse and I've never looked back/had better since). The goodness of those yellow grits are the main reason I'm writing this review, but the mill itself and the adjacent "mercantile" country store (where you can find said grits available for purchase stored within a chest freezer alongside other White's Mill milled grains (like cornmeal, flour, white grits etc.). I've never seen anyone attending the mill any time I have visited thus I cautiously wander around inside with at least one buddy in tow as the interior looks every bit as old as it's 1790 establish date (the 1866 restoration notwithstanding). From the entrance level there are rooms both upstairs and down, the lover level revealing a cool living room type of space complete with a hearth/fireplace and a lot of huge, aged and complicated-looking gears and other oddly quiet antiquated mechanics in motion. It feels like entering a portal to another time; braving the creaking stairs within the mill is an adventure in and of itself. The mercantile is an old house-turned-store next to the mill stocked windows-to-walls with goods, wears, and--let's be real--junk. If you like being overwhelmed with multiple rooms full of stuff and sifting through troves seeking treasures, get thee to this out-of-the-way country store. Aside from grain, jellies, and jams, you can find all kinds of antiques and other random oddities that only rural bric-a-brac magnets like this place can accrue. As a final testament to the boss quality of White's Mill yellow grits: when I moved to Japan I brought two bags with me that I keep squirreled away in the freezer for days when I have a fever for the flavor. To cook coarse yellow grits: boil 4 parts water and add 1 part grits. Stir every few minutes for about 25 minutes until they reach a naturally creamy consistency. Experiment to find your flavor by adding seasoning, cream/milk/water, cheese, other stuff etc. -or- let them cool and make polenta-like grit cakes :)

Cool little piece of Lenoir history…read more You can go there and walk the grounds for free which I highly recommend. It's a beautiful area. If you pay the fee which was $7/person when we went then you will get a guided tour inside the house and learn about the history of William Lenoir, his family and the house he built. I think it's totally worth it if you are into that. Regardless if you do the tour or not it's definitely worth a quick stop to check it out if you are in the area.

Saw a gun and musket but my son got shot and now he looks like a crinkly raisin thanks to you…read more Pic below has his classic catchphrase

We really enjoyed bringing the kids to tour this cavern! It got flooded out by Helene but is back…read moreup and running, and it's a great spot to cool off on a hot day too! My favorite part of the tour was when they cut the lights off for a moment so you can experience total darkness! You couldn't even see the hand in front of your face! Some good history lessons on the tour as well.

It was something to do on a rainy day, but altogether underwhelming. The pictures below pretty much…read morecapture the experience. It's a small cavern, very small by some standards and I was surprised to have the guide tell us that we were standing in the largest room in the cavern when we were in a small room. I've been to much grander caverns, but as I sid, it was something to do.

Beautiful Serene Calming and if you pick the right time of day or year quiet too. A local said it…read morecan get quite crowded in peak season. You have several routes to choose from we did the shortest which was just a loop around the pond!

Gorgeous views! Wonderful hiking…read more We fished at Trout Lake and enjoyed the 1/2 mile hike from the parking lot to the dam. Next time we'll go all the way around. About 1 mile total.

Our party of 6 did both the rock walls (Boone) and the half day rock climbing adventure in Foscoe…read more Ryan and Jenny run a terrific operation. The climbing wall is a great place to start and very affordable. We all enjoyed it! Carter and Eli were our guides to the REAL thing, they were very experienced, we felt super safe. They pushed us all and made the trip an incredible memory for ages 9-56.

I wanted to take two of my grandsons on an outside top rope climbing experience while we were in…read moreBoone, NC. Andrew was our guide and the experience was better than I could ever had hoped for. Andrew pays close attention to all the safety aspects of climbing yet made it completely fun for them and encouraged them all the way. I have done guided climbs with other climbing outfits, mostly in CA, and this was the best experience I have had over 20+ years. Thank you! I highly recommend Rock Dimensions and their guide Andrew! Darrell K. Danville, CA