What a lovely shop! There's a little bit of everything, and all delightfully arranged. The staff is…read morepleasant and professional. I saw many items I would like to have but tried to limit myself to gifts for others. I

Another fun little store in downtown Blowing Rock. They offered a good mix of home decor, wall…read moreart, , fun coffee table books, glassware, socks, and so much more. My only complaint about the store, though their inventory is fun, there is nothing unique to the store, which I hoped to find more of in a small touristy town like this. They don't offer unique, locally made items like you'd expect to find in a small town gift shop, but maybe that's just my expectation. Overall, they have a good variety of items, and pricing varies a good bit, but, there's nothing you can't find online, or at another home decor store.

Wow! Really very impressed with this mansion and the surrounding parklands in the Blue Ridge…read moreMountains. It is a little tough to find so use your GPS, but there's easy access and it's a convenient stop just off the Blue Ridge Parkway. First some background: Moses Cone supplied the denim to Levi Strauss for the tough blue jeans for gold miners in San Francisco. He and his family became phenomenally rich as a result and his company supplied Levi up through the 1980s for more than a century. He also more or less created a booming textile industry in the Carolinas back in his day. This was his summer mansion. Cone's sisters hung around with Gertrude Stein and collected famous artists (think Rose from the film Titanic collecting early Impressionists and turning $5 into $5 million). One of the sisters was a medical doctor at the dawn of the 20th Century, which strikes me as incredibly impressive for the day and age. Unlike the Vanderbilt's nearby mansion, Biltmore in Asheville, this pre-income-tax mansion is open free of charge. His heirs donated it to the government (unlike the Vanderbilt heirs, who still own Biltmore, and collect big bucks). You'll feel like a Robber Baron yourself just stepping on the front porch of the house: incredible views every direction to lush valleys, high mountains, fog banks and an intense spectrum of greens. The house itself has guided tours by park rangers. There is usually an artist show inside the house, often featuring local artists. Unfortunately the Cone-sister-acquired priceless artworks are in Baltimore's main museum. The enormous park around the house includes miles of hiking trails (see pic below with mi novio on one of them), bridle paths for horses and even an observation tower to see the corners of the surrounding states in the distance on all sides (SC, GA, TN and VA). The park is simply amazing, and totally free. Parking can be a little tight, so strategize (get there early), or just park on the shoulder of the access road and walk up to the house. This being NC, people are incredibly polite about parking (no es Miami o Nueva York hehe) too. It is striking just how friendly the entire staff is, as well as the patrons. Only the former New Yorkers don't say hello on the hiking trails (LOL, I can throw rocks, being a former NYer myself).

Beautifully nestled off the Blue Ridge Mountain Parkway near Blowing Rock, this historic facility…read moreis worth the visit. Unfortunately we did not check the newly updated times they are open to go inside. On this day they were closed. The setting, grounds and trails are breathtakingly beautiful. Some were picnicking under a tree near the Manor entrance. We saw cows in a nearby pasture. One person was on a horse. The property even includes an Apple Orchard. We will return again when the Museum is open and we can also see the crafts offered for sale.

If you want to take home a little piece of Boone, this is the best place to find art made by local…read moreartists. I didn't have enough money to buy all the beautiful things I saw, but I plan to go back without my husband. The ladies were so full of information about what's happening. They also have workshops I'm looking into!

You will never meet a nicer, more welcoming guy than Charlie Frye. If you are visiting, stop by his…read morestudio and enjoy the art from locals. Charlie is very well known and liked here. As you look around town, you will see a lot of his art, namely murals. If you are a collector, Charlie has amazing work for sale.

The Blowing Rock Art & History Museum is located in downtown Blowing Rock and offers free…read moreadmission, along with a convenient free public parking deck and garage. The museum officially opened its doors in 2011, but the community planning started much earlier, following a generous donation of artwork from the family of celebrated local artist Elliott Daingerfield. The building utilizes a beautiful mountain-modern design explicitly crafted to blend into the natural landscape of Watauga County. It is an impressive 21,000 square feet, but it feels like it fits into downtown. It had an inviting feel the minute I walked in. The front desk staff was exceptionally friendly, asking if it was my first time visiting before suggesting I start with the introductory video, guiding me through the main artwork galleries, and directing me to the local history exhibits upstairs. There is a large elevator to access the second level if you would prefer not to take the stairs. It features a unique built-in wooden bench. I had never seen a bench inside an elevator before, but I thought it was an absolute genius accessibility feature. The introductory video was very informative, providing a fantastic background on Blowing Rock's heritage. The downstairs gallery spaces are beautifully organized, making it easy to walk naturally from one piece to the next. I was absolutely delighted to tour the temporary exhibition "Silver & Smoke: George Masa & Ansel Adams." As a lifelong fan of Ansel Adams, getting to see an exhibit of his legendary work for free was a massive highlight. I had no idea he photographed so extensively in Western North Carolina. Ansel Adams was awarded a fellowship by the Guggenheim Foundation in 1947 to photograph all the national parks and monuments in America. So he traveled east to photograph the lush, ancient forests of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the winding roads of the Blue Ridge Parkway. The downstairs gallery space has a great layout. Immediately after the video, your eyes will be drawn to a delicate flower installation that is suspended from the ceiling. I was also drawn to a powerful wall of historical photographs showcasing early local residents and vintage landscapes of the town. Another fascinating contemporary exhibit featured a collection of artistic photographs of tree stumps. It is a wonderful reminder that you never know what a creative mind can transform into art that you will truly appreciate. If you choose to take the stairs to the second level, the Open Door Gallery utilizes the towering vertical space beautifully with eye-catching art running all the way up the stairwell wall, making the walk feel like a continuous gallery experience. Upstairs was a textile exhibit showcasing the deep heritage of Appalachian weaving, quilting, and coverlets, highlighting how mountain women used local flora to dye wool and create intricate geometric patterns to keep their families warm. This textile section blends seamlessly into the local history room, which chronicles how Blowing Rock evolved from a rugged settlement into a premier resort destination. The room is packed with fascinating artifacts, vintage memorabilia, and engaging storyboards detailing the golden age of grand mountain hotels. They even have an interactive section where you can write a postcard to someone, and the museum will mail it out for free! Make sure to stop in the curated gift shop before you leave for some great regional finds. Between the local crafts, history books, and unique souvenirs, I never seem to leave a museum gift shop empty-handed.

This place was closed due to COVID the last time we were in town but we were pleasantly surprised…read morethat they were open on July 4 when we were walking around downtown. This is a cute little museum that has rotating art displays on the bottom floor and a smaller history museum upstairs. We saw a whimsical display of chickens, and another from a collection of art from a school in California. When we were there the upstairs had an exhibit about the annual horse show in town. The museum is free to visit but we gladly left a donation.

great antique store with thousands of sometimes unique items. the store owner and help are pleasant…read moreto deal with. prices are generally affordable and reasonable.

This antiques place is in Trade, NC - part of the Pisgah National Forest. There are roughly 6 car…read morespots up front and the lazy guy at the front desk did not even make an effort to say 'hello!'. This is a large indoor collection of old tools, signs, duplicate magazines, fudge, furniture and carpets. Locked items are in small glass vitrines, which do not allow you to even look at anything. No greeting. No A/C. There was 1 couple browsing in the whole shop! Rebel review: 4 star overpriced, but big

Love, love, love this little shop! Always come away with a wonderful treasure or two!…read moreShop owner is lovely and I alway run into a few really cute customers!

This little boutique is wonderful. Lots of greatt finds from shoes to house items. The store is…read moreorganized clean and the staff is extremely helpful. The cost is average and the items are well made.

This is always my first stop when I come to Blowing Rock. They have many imports from Mexico and…read moreother areas of the Country. You will find many unique things that you will not find at any other store in North Carolina. Check out the Tirado Ladies from Mexico. The Owners are great people and I always look forward to reconnecting year after year!

After enjoying lunch, we decided to walk around the down town area to see what they had to offer…read more Fun little town with lots of shops and cafes to poke in and out of. It was my first visit to Blowing Rock, so kind of what I hoped it would be. One of the fun shops was Final Touch which offered home decor from a lot of local crafters. Prices varied a good bit, based on the items, but they had paintings, and weavings, felt art and much more. The reason for the 4 stars though, for being a real arts and crafty area, I was disappointed to see the stained glass they sold was no doubt imported. The pricing on the stained glass items was far too low for a local to have made it. As artists ourselves, I wish they had kept with the local arts theme, low prices like that take business away from local artists, and give them no chance at competing. In my mind a small town touristy town like this should promote their own citizens and artists.