Visiting Blowing Rock, North Carolina is one of the most enjoyable stops on the Blue Ridge Parkway. After many visits, we’re sharing the ultimate three day itinerary for a long weekend in Blowing Rock, NC including stunning hikes, beautiful sunset views, and delicious food.
Blowing Rock is one of the best mountains towns in the Blue Ridge Mountains, maybe the best. We’ve visited many, many times over the past 20 years and we want to share what we’ve learned to be the perfect way to spend a few days in Blowing Rock.
There are a lot of amazing things to try and squeeze into any visit to Blowing Rock. Way too much for a single day visit.
In reality, one visit isn’t enough to get to everything, but with a few days you can do many of the best things.
Before we get to the itinerary we are going to cover:
- When to visit
- How many days to stay
- Where to stay
- Where you can park in Blowing Rock
- What you can look forward to when you visit Blowing Rock
When to visit Blowing Rock
Most people visit Blowing Rock in fall. And it’s understandable because incredible fall colors blanket the mountains and forests for miles and miles around the small beautiful town.
There are other places along the Blue Ridge Parkway where you can see amazing fall colors but few are as impressive as Blowing Rock.
If you are going to visit in fall, you’ll see the best colors typically in the second and third week of October.
This is also when crowding is at its worst – especially on weekends.
The Blue Ridge Parkway is a big part of visiting Blowing Rock. Before you visit check to see if there are any major closures or projects underway. If there is an ongoing closure in the area it may be best to try and reschedule your visit.
Visiting outside of fall
While fall is the most beautiful time around Blowing Rock it isn’t the only beautiful time to visit. Late spring (the last week of May and first two weeks of June) is another amazing time to visit.
The mountains around Blowing Rock are covered in mountain laurel and rhododendrons. These two flowering bushes explode with pink and white flowers. This is perhaps the best time for hikers to visit. It is still really beautiful and you can visit some of the more popular hikes around Blowing Rock and find solitude.
Summer is another great time to visit because you can escape the heat. People that live in the lower elevation areas in the Blue Ridge area are familiar with the oppressive heat in late summer. Around Blowing Rock the high mountains can be as much as 15 degrees cooler on a summer day.
Visiting in winter wouldn’t be our first choice. A lot of the best things to do around Blowing Rock are on the Blue Ridge Parkway and it closes frequently for long periods of time in winter. Snow sports aren’t our thing, but for those of you that here is a list of slopes and resorts near Blowing Rock.
How many days to stay in Blowing Rock
With so much to do in the area and with so many of those things being really amazing, we think three days is the perfect amount of time. If you can’t swing three days you can still have a great visit with only two days, you may just have to skip a few things.
There are so many things to do that one visit to Blowing Rock won’t be enough to see everything. We’ve been visiting for years and still find new things to fall in love with.
Where to Stay during your Blowing Rock Visit
There are a lot of places to stay in and around Blowing Rock and, depending on when you visit, it can be very easy or very difficult to book a room.
In our opinion camping at Julian Price Campground is, weather permitting, the best place to stay. It is inexpensive, beautiful, and – if you know the right spots – private.
Camping may not be for you. Here are some things you may want to think about before booking your stay.
- Do you want to stay in Blowing Rock?
- Does it need to be kid-friendly?
- Are you on a tight budget?
- Are you visiting around peak fall colors?
- Do you plan on visiting on a weekend?
We’ll break down some different options below.
Budget options for staying in Blowing Rock
If you are answering yes to all of the questions above you need to book your stay now, like right now. Places are going to be gone faster than you realize.
The suggestions below are based on price during peak season. If you are visiting in the spring, summer, or winter there will be more options.
Your best budget options are:
- Azalea Garden Inn – Azalea Garden Inn is a small but pretty motel. Besides the standard motel amenities, like wifi and a coffee maker in the room, they also have a beautiful garden and some outdoor seating.
- Alpine Village Inn – Alpine Village Inn has been operating for more than 30 years and has recently renovated their rooms. It is also one of the most central places to stay in Blowing Rock.
- Blowing Rock Inn – Blowing Rock Inn is an old school motel and there’s nothing wrong with that. The decorations are a little dated and nothing is fancy, but it has everything you need.
None of these places are going to pamper you, but you will have what you need for a good visit. And if you follow our itinerary you aren’t going to be spending that much time in your room.
Luxury Options for staying in Blowing Rock
These options will be more expensive but will provide high-end amenities. You can expect to pay significantly more at some of these, especially during October.
If you are visiting outside of fall you may find that some options are much more affordable.
- The Inn at Ragged Gardens – The Inn at Ragged Gardens has rooms, suites, and cottages. All are beautifully decorated and right in the middle of downtown. You can also enjoy live music on the lawn if you are staying on a Friday evening.
- The Victorian Inn – The Victorian Inn is what you would expect – a beautiful Victorian home with just a few bright, stunning rooms. The inn is downtown and while you aren’t exploring Blowing Rock you can rest in their English Garden.
- Gideon Ridge Inn – Gideon Ridge Inn is outside of Blowing Rock on a mountain terrace, overlooking the beautiful nearby mountains. This is THE place to stay if you want to wake up to an amazing view. Gideon Ridge also features a fine dining restaurant that was just recently nominated for a James Beard Award.
One major benefit of staying in Blowing Rock is that you don’t have to worry about finding parking.
Parking in Blowing Rock
Parking in Blowing Rock can be really easy or really difficult. We’ve found parking to be quick and easy when visiting off peak season. Parking during October while the fall colors are peaking is a lot different.
On the positive side, all public parking lots are free.
Note: Parking at Blowing Rock School is limited to weekends during the school year and parking at the First Baptist Church is Monday – Saturday only.
You may also be able to find street parking. Pay attention to parking restrictions if you park on the street, most spaces are limited to between 15 minutes and 2 hours.
What makes Blowing Rock so Special
The mountains around Blowing Rock cap out at just under 6000 feet, making this one of the highest elevation areas in the Eastern US. The natural beauty, high mountains, and thriving tourism industry combine to make visits to the area incredible.
Along the Blue Ridge Parkway, you’ll find mountain views that stretch to the horizon, hikes to sheer cliffs, and, see some of the best spots for sunrise and sunset on the Blue Ridge Parkway.
The Town of Blowing Rock is small but there are a lot of places to eat and shop downtown along with some interesting historical places to explore. That’s all really nice, but the real magic is in the mountains surrounding Blowing Rock.
3 Day Itinerary for an amazing visit to Blowing Rock
When we put this Itinerary together we tried to think of all the things that make visiting Blowing Rock special. There are breath-taking hikes, incredible sunrises and sunsets, and enough time in town so you can relax.
Day 1 Morning
The first day of the trip begins with one of the best things in the area – hiking Rough Ridge.
It might seem curious that we would start an itinerary for Blowing Rock with hiking outside of Blowing Rock, but the view and experience are that good!
Most of the hike is through thick forest, so it won’t be until you’re near the top that it opens up. The views of the surrounding mountains and ledges are stunning.
The hike is moderately strenuous so make sure you bring plenty of water and your 10 Essentials.
It will take most people 2-3 hours to complete the hike and should take you into late morning or early afternoon.
Day 1 Afternoon
Once you’ve finished it’s time to head into Blowing Rock for lunch. There are a lot of great restaurants in town. Some of our favorites include:
- The Town Tavern – You’ll find delicious pub fare at The Town Tavern as well as great outdoor seating and a kids menu. You can also enjoy live music most Friday evenings.
- Blowing Rock Brewing Company – Blowing Rock Brewing Company is a microbrewery, restaurant, and inn. The menu is small, but everything is really, really tasty. There are a few benches for outdoor seating so it may be best to stop by for late lunches or early dinners if you want to sit outside.
- Hellbender Bed and Beverage – Hellbender Bed and Beverage specializes in high end pub food. The outdoor seating is a bit larger than at Blowing Rock Brewing Company and is another spot where you can find a room for your stay.
- Storie Street Grille – Storie Street Grille is a popular spot to eat because of the large menu and great food. They have both patio and indoor seating and this is one of the best options for people with food allergies.
- Mellow Mushroom – Mellow Mushroom has a lot of seating and great pizza. It’s true, Mellow Mushroom is a chain, but the food is great, the prices are fair, and most people can find something they’ll love.
This isn’t an exhaustive list, almost any place you go will be delicious.
After lunch you’ll be spending some time exploring downtown Blowing Rock. There are plenty of places to shop and take in some of the local history, all within easy walking distance along Main Street.
At the top of the list of places that you have to stop by are the Blowing Rock Art and History Museum and the 1888 Museum.
Both the Blowing Rock Art and History Museum and the 1888 Museum are free to visit.
Even if art isn’t your thing, you will enjoy looking at all the photos of historic Blowing Rock from the past 150 years at the Art and History Museum.
The 1888 Museum sits right on the edge of Broyhill Park, if you have kids with you they will definitely want to spend some time running around the park.
Along Main Steet between visiting The Blowing Rock Art and History Museum and the 1888 Museum, there are many small and unique shops. You’ll find everything from funny socks to impressive antiques within the few blocks between the two museums.
Expect to spend several hours exploring downtown, between the shops and the museums and parks.
If hiking Rough Ridge didn’t leave you exhausted, you can even hike to Glen Burney Falls from downtown. The hike is a little more than 3 miles and has around 600 feet of elevation gain.
Day 1 Evening
We suggest you try to catch a beautiful sunset on your first day. Amazing sunsets are elusive – often the clouds are in the wrong place or it’s overcast or there are no clouds at all.
Plan on getting an early dinner, or very late after sunset.
You need to consider making reservations for dinner. It can be really tough to find a seat at the popular restaurants in Blowing Rock.
For the best sunset spots you’ll be heading to Raven Rocks on the Blue Ridge Parkway.
The view from Raven Rocks is on a rocky cliff that stands dramatically over the lower valley. Most people consider it to be the best spot to see sunset in the area.
I’m really torn on if Raven Rocks is a better spot for sunset than Thunder Hill Overlook. The sunset view from Thunder Hill is across the Blue Ridge Parkway and looks over a farm with the mountains far in the distance.
The good thing is that the overlooks are one mile apart so you can see sunset from both easily.
Pro Tip: Head to Raven Rocks first and plan on getting there about 30 – 45 minutes before sunset so you can get a parking spot.
Thunder Hill has a much larger parking area so you shouldn’t have any issue finding parking and the sun dips behind the mountains a couple minutes later at Thunder Hill.
By the end of day 1 you will have seen some of the best views of the mountains and, hopefully, an amazing sunset as well as had time to relax and shop in Blowing Rock.
Day 2 Morning
The morning of day 2 wake up early so you can catch sunrise. You’ll want to head to either Thunder Hill or Grandview Overlook.
Both of these are excellent spots to catch an incredible sunrise. The layers and layers of mountains blend together in the early morning light and make for some truly breathtaking views.
Once you’ve enjoyed sunrise and had breakfast, your next stop is The Blowing Rock.
This is a really unusual place. Because of the shape of the valley below and the way wind passes through, things blow up rather than down – thus the name “The Blowing Rock”.
Sometimes in winter snow falls up at The Blowing Rock. The view from the overlook area is beautiful, if sometimes crowded. By visiting early you can cut down on some of the crowds.
While you visit The Blowing Rock make sure you walk some of the paths. There are many other views from the paths and the walking is easy, plus if you happen to visit on a day when it is busy you can find some measure of solitude by walking to other overlooks.
Your visit to The Blowing Rock will take between an hour and an hour and half if you walk the paths.
Once you finish at The Blowing Rock, your next stop is Moses H Cone Memorial Park.
Moses H Cone Memorial Park is one of the best stops in the area. There are awesome views, history, tours, and more than 25 miles of trails.
When you visit make sure you visit Flat Top Manor, the brilliantly white home built by Moses H Cone. The home is beautiful as is the view from the front porch.
There are ranger led tours available that take you through the home and provide the history of the home and the Cone family. History buffs will love the tours, kids may not be up for it though – there is a lot more standing and listening then walking.
While kids won’t love the tour, they probably will like doing the Jr. Ranger Program. Moses H Cone Memorial Park is one of the visitor centers where you can participate in the Jr. Ranger Program.
The Jr. Ranger Program on the Blue Ridge Parkway is a little different than at other national parks. Because the Blue Ridge Parkway is so large, there are 10 separate segments that make up the Jr. Ranger Program. You can get a Jr. Range badge for completing the activity sheet at Moses H Cone Memorial Park, and there are additional rewards for completing more segments.
Once you are done at Flat Top Manor, you may want to take in one or more of the trails. Bass Lake is the most beautiful in our opinion and the trail is a very easy mile.
If you are hiking Bass Lake, you can drive to the trailhead and it should take around 20 minutes to walk around.
Another options is to hike around Trout Lake. You can find the parking area off of Shulls Mill Rd. The path winds around Trout Lake and is a bit more than 1.5 miles and, like Bass Lake, is very easy. If you hike Trout Lake you can expect to spend between 30 and 45 minutes walking.
Day 2 Afternoon
We recommend packing a picnic so you don’t have to go back to town. You should be able to find a nice spot to enjoy your lunch on the grass.
Blowing Rock is only a few minutes from Moses H Cone so you can head back to town if you don’t want to picnic or would rather eat lunch at Broyhill or Memorial Park.
After lunch you can decide to either do more in nature or have some fun with the kids (or without – adults are allowed to have fun, too) at Tweetsie Railroad. If you are visiting Tweetsie Railroad make sure you check their site for hours and any special events.
Day 2 Afternoon if you aren’t visiting Tweetsie
There are a lot of beautiful places around Blowing Rock and one of our favorites is the view from Beacon Heights. The short hike takes you to two stunning overlooks. The view rivals Rough Ridge and the effort is much, much lower.
You should have plenty of energy left after visiting Beacon Heights and we suggest either visiting Flat Rock Trail (milepost 308) for even more amazing mountain views on an easy trail or head to Linville Falls.
If you decide to visit Linville Falls, there are five different overlooks to see the waterfall and one of them is at the base of the falls.
There are three different trails at Linville Falls: Duggars Creek Falls, Erwin’s Trail, and Plunge Basin Trail. Make sure you read our guide to Linville Falls before you visit so you know what to expect.
Flat Top shouldn’t take more than 45 minutes to complete while hiking Erwin’s Trail at Linville Falls takes around 2 hours.
After Linville Falls, on your drive back to Blowing Rock, we suggest stopping at Yonahlossee Overlook so you can see the Linn Cove Viaduct. The view from the overlook parking area is good, but for the best photo spot, make sure you check out our post on the overlook so you know where to go.
Day 2 Evening
Once you’ve finished, if you have the energy, stay out for sunset. You can head back to Thunder Hill and Raven Rocks or, if you already saw a great sunset, head to Flat Top Manor again to catch the view from the porch.
Day 3 Morning
On your final day in Blowing Rock you will be spending the rest of your time at Grandfather Mountain State Park. It gets busy at Grandfather Mountain so you want to arrive early to avoid the crowds.
On your drive up Grandfather Mountain, make sure you stop at a couple of the overlooks. Half-Moon Overlook at the 0.2 mark is the best for seeing Grandfather Mountain.
Once at the top you can walk across the Mile-High Swinging Bridge. The view from the bridge is amazing, if a little terrifying for those afraid of heights – speaking for myself here. Make sure you spend a little time at the shop and learning about the interesting history of Grandfather Mountain as well.
The view and the shop are great, but the real treat here is all the hiking. Depending on your ability level and the people you have with you there are some incredible hiking adventures waiting.
Our favorite, by far, is the hike along Grandfather Mountain Trail to Calloway Peak. This is not a hike for small children. There are ladders, cables, rock scrambles, and some really amazing views. The hike is just under 5 miles round trip and it will take most hikers close to 5 hours to complete.
If you have kids with you or don’t want to hike Grandfather Mountain Trail you can instead take the Black Rock Trail.
This 2-mile round trip hike is much easier than Grandfather Mountain Trail and has some amazing views of its own. Kids and inexperienced hikers shouldn’t have much difficulty with this hike.
Day 3 Afternoon
Once you have finished at Grandfather Mountain and have grabbed lunch at either Mildred’s Grill at Grandfather Mountain State Park or somewhere else, your final stop is at Price Lake.
If you hiked to Calloway Peak you may not have a lot of energy left for hiking around Price Lake. Luckily you won’t need to walk much to take in the view and relax.
Spend some time exploring the area around the lake and enjoying the view. If you want to kayak, there are rentals available. If that is your plan I would suggest swapping this stop with Moses H Cone Memorial Park. Swapping them keeps you from driving home in swimming clothing.
You could spend even longer in the Blowing Rock area but three days gets you a full visit and lets you take in most of what the area has to offer.
Blowing Rock is a really awesome small town on the Blue Ridge Parkway, but not the only one. If visiting some of the small towns on the Blue Ridge Parkway sounds great to you we suggest you also consider checking out Floyd, Va and Bedford, Va.
Both are beautiful mountain towns with their own unique reasons to visit and never see the crowds that Blowing Rock does.
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