Avery County: Ski Holiday with Sugar Mountain and Grandfather Mountain

Avery County combines a documented ski offering with mountain scenery, hiking trails, and cultural attractions. The most important winter destination is Sugar Mountain Resort, with 125 acres of ski terrain, 20 slopes, and 14 illuminated slopes for night skiing and snowboarding. At the same time, Grandfather Mountain and other named attractions offer alternatives for days when not all travelers want to ski. However, you should consider the individual destinations separately when choosing your accommodation: Accommodation in the county is not automatically located by a lift or slope.

The winter offerings at Sugar Mountain

Sugar Mountain Resort offers a clearly described range of slopes for a ski holiday. Of the 20 slopes in total, 14 are illuminated for night skiing and snowboarding. This makes the resort one of the specific destinations in Avery County to consider if, in addition to skiing, you also want to take into account the documented option of skiing in the evening. In addition, tubing sessions are offered when conditions permit, each lasting 1 hour and 45 minutes. Tubing is therefore a separate winter activity alongside the range of slopes, not simply another descent on skis.

Grandfather Mountain: Hiking Trails, Wildlife, and Bridge

Grandfather Mountain State Park is located in Avery, Caldwell, and [Watauga](Watauga) counties. The park offers free access to more than 13 miles of hiking trails, and its trails connect with the 0.4-mile-long Asutsi Trail. The park is home to more than 70 rare, threatened, and endangered plant and animal species. The Profile Trail passes through seven different natural communities and intersects the Grandfather Trail at Calloway Gap on the summit of Grandfather. A notable destination is the Mile-High Swinging Bridge. The suspension bridge is 228 feet long and hangs 80 feet above the ground. It is accessible by elevator; a paved, 50-yard-long path leads from the Top Shop to the bridge. Grandfather Mountain's Wildlife Habitats are home to, among others, cougars, black bears, bald eagles, otters, and elk. The Wilson Center for Nature Discovery complements this natural area with interactive exhibits on the natural history, flora, fauna, geology, and weather of Grandfather Mountain.

Excursions away from the slopes

For shared days with different interests, Avery County offers several other destinations. The hiking trails at Linville Falls pass through the remnants of an old-growth hemlock forest. The trail to Linville Gorge begins at the visitor center and is 1.4 miles long round trip. The curving Linn Cove Viaduct was completed in Avery County as part of the Blue Ridge Parkway, spans 1,243 feet, and runs along an ecologically sensitive area of Grandfather Mountain. History and crafts are also represented. Crossnore Weavers was founded to preserve the Appalachian art of hand weaving. Visitors can explore the living museum, meet the women in the weaving room, and shop. The Heritage Arts Program offers public workshops on Appalachian mountain weaving and other art techniques. The Avery County Historical Museum, located in the original county jail, focuses on local railroads, military history, medical and educational development, as well as mountain music and mountain dancing. The museum also preserves research materials on local history and family genealogies.

Choose accommodation based on your preferred daily itinerary

The various offerings do not constitute a single, uniformly described ski area. If slopes and night skiing are your main priorities, Sugar Mountain Resort is the specific winter destination. If you would like to combine your stay with nature, wildlife observation, hiking trails, or culture, additional destinations come into consideration. The annual Woolly Worm Festival in [Banner Elk](Banner Elk) is jointly hosted by the Avery County Chamber of Commerce and the Banner Elk Kiwanis Club and also includes food vendors. The Grandfather Mountain Highland Games in Avery County feature competitions in athletics, bagpiping, drumming, and dancing. The facts described here do not specify distances between accommodations, lifts, and slopes and do not establish that any accommodation is directly beside a slope. Therefore, when choosing a ski hotel, check the exact address and base your choice on your most important daily destination. For historical interests, the Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail via Yellow Mountain and its crossing with the Appalachian National Scenic Trail in Pisgah National Forest add to the selection of excursion destinations.

For the overarching travel overview: North Carolina.

More destinations

More places within the same destination:

Haywood County.