Blue Ridge Country: The Best Places To Go In The Blue Ridge

(From the July/August 2003 issue)

We included a ballot in an issue a few months back, and many of our readers took the time to fill it out and send along their views. Our thanks to them, and our congratulations to the winners.

Best Blue Ridge Parkway Overlook/Stopping Point
Platinum: Mabry Mill (MP 176, Va.)
Gold (tie):
- Linn Cove Viaduct (MP 304, N.C.)
- Peaks of Otter (MP 86, Va.)

Best Skyline Drive Overlook/Stopping Point
Platinum: Big Meadows (MP 51)

Best Smoky Mountains Overlook/Stopping Point
Platinum: Clingmans Dome
Gold: Newfound Gap
Silver: Cades Cove

Best Natural Area in the Blue Ridge Region
Platinum: Cades Cove (Great Smoky Mountains National Park)
Gold: Natural Bridge (Va.)
Silver: Grandfather Mountain (N.C.)

Best Fishing River
Platinum: New River (N.C./Va./W.Va.)
Gold: James River (Va.)
Silver: Oconaluftee River (N.C.)

Best Fishing Lake
Platinum: Smith Mountain Lake (Va.)
Gold: Fontana Lake (N.C.)
Silver: Watauga Lake (Tenn.)

Best Hiking Trail
Platinum: Appalachian Trail
(Md., Va./W.Va., N.C., Tenn., Ga.)
Gold: Alum Cave Trail to Mt. LeConte (Great Smoky Mountains National Park)
Silver: New River Trail (Va.)

Best Biking Trail
Platinum: Virginia Creeper Trail (Va.)
Gold (tie):
- Cades Cove
- New River Trail

Best Place to Take the Kids
Platinum: Tweetsie Railroad (Blowing Rock, N.C.)
Gold: Dollywood (Pigeon Forge, Tenn.)
Silver: Pigeon Forge (Tenn.)

Best Stretch of the Appalachian Trail
Platinum: Roan Mountain (Tenn./N.C.)
Gold (tie):
- Great Smoky Mountains National Park (Tenn./N.C.)
- Max Patch (N.C.)

Best Ski Resort
Platinum: Beech Mountain (N.C.)
Gold: Snowshoe Mountain (W.Va.)
Silver: Sugar Mountain Resort (N.C.)

Best Whitewater River
Platinum: Nantahala River (N.C.)
Gold (tie):
- New River
- Ocoee River (Tenn.)

Best Canoeing River
Platinum: New River
Gold: Shenandoah River (Va.)
Silver: Nantahala River (N.C.)

Best Spot to Watch a Sunrise/Sunset
Platinum: Peaks of Otter
Gold: Mt. LeConte (Great Smoky Mountains National Park)
Silver: Mt. Mitchell (MP 355, N.C.)

Best Campground
Platinum: Peaks of Otter
Gold (tie):
- Cades Cove Campground
- Hungry Mother State Park (Va.)
- Mt. Pisgah (N.C.)

Best Country Drive
Platinum (tie):
- Blue Ridge Parkway
- Cades Cove
- Silver
- Cherohala Skyway (N.C./Tenn.)

Best Birding Area
Platinum: Blue Ridge Parkway
Gold (tie):
- Cades Cove
- Hiawassee (Ga.)

Best Wildlife Watching
Platinum: Cades Cove

Best Motorcycle Ride Route in the Mountains
Platinum: Blue Ridge Parkway
Gold: U.S. 129 (N.C./Tenn.)
Silver: N.C. 28 to Fontana Village

Best Mountain Town
Platinum: Blowing Rock (N.C.)
Gold: Boone (N.C.)
Silver (tie):
- Asheville (N.C.)
- Gatlinburg (Tenn.)

Best Mountain Resort
Platinum: Grove Park Inn (Asheville, N.C.)
Gold: Mountain Lake (Pembroke, Va.)
Silver: The Greenbrier
(White Sulphur Springs, W.Va.)

Best Mountain Attraction
Platinum: Grandfather Mountain (N.C.)
Gold: Dollywood
Silver: Biltmore Estate (Asheville, N.C.)

Best Couples Getaway
Platinum: Gatlinburg (Tenn.)
Gold: Peaks of Otter
Silver (tie):
- Asheville
- Blowing Rock

Best Inn
Platinum: Grove Park Inn
Gold (tie):
- Martha Washington Inn (Abingdon, Va.)
- Pisgah Inn (Waynesville, N.C.)

Best Bed & Breakfast
Platinum: Mast Farm Inn (Valle Crucis, N.C.)
Gold: Eight Gables (Gatlinburg, Tenn.)

Best Historic Site
Platinum (tie):
- Biltmore Estate
- Monticello (Charlottesville, Va.)
Silver: Cades Cove

Best Sight/Site
Platinum: Biltmore Estate
Gold: Grandfather Mountain
Silver: Linn Cove Viaduct

Best Golf Resort
Platinum: The Greenbrier
Gold: Wintergreen (Wintergreen, Va.)

Best Southern Appalachian Living History Museum
Platinum: Museum of Appalachia (Norris, Tenn.)
Gold: Frontier Culture Museum (Staunton, Va.)
Silver: Virginia’s Explore Park (Roanoke, Va.)

Best Festival
Platinum: Bele Chere (Asheville, N.C. – last weekend in July)
Gold: Woolly Worm Festival (Banner Elk, N.C. – mid-October)
Silver: Highland Games, Grandfather Mountain (second weekend in
July)

Best Place to Hear Mountain Music
Platinum: Old Fiddlers Convention (Galax, Va. – second weekend in August)
Gold: Carter Fold (Hiltons, Va.)
Silver: Floyd, Va.

Best Restaurant for Dinner
Platinum: Peaks of Otter Lodge
Gold: Grove Park Inn
Silver: Pisgah Inn

Best Restaurant for Lunch
Platinum: Dan’l Boone Inn (Boone, N.C.)
Gold: Michie Tavern ca. 1784 (Charlottesville, Va.)

Best Restaurant for Breakfast
Platinum: Cracker Barrel
Gold: Shoney’s
Silver (tie):
- Mabry Mill
- Pisgah Inn

Best Restaurant for Mountain Flavor
Platinum: Shatley Springs Inn (Crumpler, N.C. – open Apr. 15-Dec. 1, 2003)
Gold (tie):
- Dan’l Boone Inn
- The Old Mill (Pigeon Forge, Tenn.)
- Peaks of Otter Lodge

Best State Park in the Mountains of N.C.
Platinum: Mt. Mitchell State Park
Gold: Stone Mountain State Park
Silver: Hanging Rock State Park

Best State Park in the Mountains of Va.
Platinum: Hungry Mother State Park
Gold: Grayson Highlands State Park
Silver (tie):
- Claytor Lake State Park
- Fairy Stone State Park

Best State Park in the Mountains of W.Va.
Platinum: Pipestem Resort State
Park
Gold: Blackwater Falls State Park
Silver: Watoga State Park

Best State Park in the Mountains of Tenn.
Platinum: Roan Mountain State Park
Gold: Fall Creek Falls State Resort Park

Best State Park in the Mountains of Ga.
Platinum (tie):
- Amicalola Falls State Park
- Unicoi State Park
Silver: Tallulah Gorge State Park

Best State Park in the Mountains of Md.
Platinum: Swallow Falls State Park
Gold: Cunningham Falls State Park

Best State Park in the Mountains of Ky.
Platinum: Cumberland Falls State Resort Park
Gold: Breaks Interstate Park
Silver: Cumberland Gap National Historical Park

Best State Park in the Mountains of S.C.
Platinum: Table Rock State Park
Gold: Kings Mountain State Park
Silver: Caesars Head State Park

Best Place to See Fall Foliage
Platinum: Blue Ridge Parkway
Gold: Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Silver: Skyline Drive

Best Outlet Shopping
Platinum: Pigeon Forge
Gold (tie):
- Blowing Rock
- Gatlinburg/Sevierville

Best Antique Shop
Platinum: Boone
Gold: Mast General Store (Valle Crucis, N.C.)
Silver: Antiques & Uniques (Townsend, Tenn.)

Best Country Store
Platinum: Mast General Store

Best Retirement Town
Platinum: Asheville, N.C.
Gold: Hendersonville, N.C.
Silver: Boone, N.C.

Best Town for Southern Hospitality
Platinum: Asheville
Gold: Jonesborough, Tenn.
Silver (tie):
- Abingdon, Va.
- Mt. Airy, N.C.

Best Adult Learning School/Facility
Platinum (tie):
- John C. Campbell Folk School (Brasstown, N.C.)
- Penland School (Penland, N.C.)
Silver: Appalachian State University (Boone, N.C.)

Best Family Getaway
Platinum: Pigeon Forge
Gold: Gatlinburg
Silver: Dollywood

Best Weekend Getaway
Platinum: Gatlinburg
Gold: Asheville
Silver (tie):
- Blowing Rock
- Boone

Best Shopping Overall
Platinum: Pigeon Forge
Gold: Asheville
Silver: Blowing Rock

Best Winery
Platinum: Biltmore Estate Winery
Gold: Chateau Morrisette Winery (Meadows of Dan, Va.)

Best Christmas Lights Display
Platinum: Gatlinburg
Gold: Pigeon Forge
Silver: Biltmore Estate

Best Outdoor Theater
Platinum: “Unto These Hills,” Oconaluftee, N.C.
Gold: “Horn in the West,” Boone, N.C.
Silver: “Stonewall Country,” Theater at Lime Kiln, Lexington, Va.

Best Craft Show
Platinum: Gatlinburg Craftsmen’s Fair
Gold: Southern Highlands Handicraft Guild (MP 382)
Silver: Folk Art Center (MP 382)

Best Art Gallery
Platinum: P. Buckley Moss Museum (Waynesboro, Va.)
Gold: Folk Art Center
Silver: Bob Timberlake Gallery (Lexington and Blowing Rock, N.C.)

Best Spa
Platinum: Grove Park Inn
Gold: The Homestead (Hot Springs, Va.)
Silver: The Greenbrier

Best Hotel/Motel Chain
Platinum: Hampton Inns
Gold: Holiday Inn
Silver: Best Western

Person Who’s Done The Most For The Mountains
Platinum: Liza Field
Gold (tie):
- Elizabeth Hunter
- Staff of BRC

Best Mountain Writer
Platinum: Elizabeth Hunter
Gold: Jan Karon
Silver: Sharyn McCrumb

Best Mountain Photographer
Platinum: Hugh Morton
Gold: Chuck Summers
Silver: J. Scott Graham

Best Mountain Artist
Platinum: Bob Timberlake
Gold: P. Buckley Moss
Silver: Lee Roberson

Best Mountain Entertainer
Platinum: Dolly Parton
Gold: Doc Watson
Silver: Ralph Stanley

Person of the Region You’d Most Like to Meet
Platinum (tie):
Billy Graham
Dolly Parton
Silver (tie)
Doc Watson
Hugh Morton

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The high country wildflowers are part of what makes the Roan Balds the favorite Appalachian Trail stretch for our readers.

Mabry Mill, near milepost 176 along the Virginia Blue Ridge Parkway, is the favorite for best parkway overlook or stopping point.

The Peaks of Otter. The peaks and Abbott Lake, near milepost 86 of the parkway, took a platinum for best sunrise/sunset, as well as for best campground. The lodge at the Peaks won a gold for best couples getaway.

Gatlinburg, Tenn. The town won platinum for best weekend getaway, for best Christmas lights display; its Gatlinburg Craftsmen’s Fair also placed first in reader balloting.

Amicalola Falls State Park. The park, near the southern terminus of the Appalachian Trail, was voted the best state park in the Georgia mountains.

Best Thing to Look Forward to in 2003

There’s still time for many of these reader favorites to unfold (and a few already have).

1. Leaf change.

2. End of drought.

3. Hitting the road to experience previewed articles of magazine trips to mountains.

4. More work on blight-resistant American chestnut trees.

5. Preservation of viewsheds on the Blue Ridge Parkway.

6. Legal protection of various mountain leisure sites.

7. Buying mountain apples in October.

Your Favorite Day of the Year

Various apsects of fall (the chill, the smell, the leaves, the beauty, the equinox) and of thanks-giving (family, bounty, religious ceremonies, freedom) are the strongest vote-getters. Here are five others.

1. Any day in the Blue Ridge.

2. Day after Easter (a great planting day).

3. Opening of Mabry Mill restaurant (buckwheat cakes).

4. Halloween (get dressed up to be a kid again in the fall weather).

5. First snowfall.

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Jerry Greer photographed sunrise from Clingmans Dome in Great Smoky Mountains National Park.