west

Mayview Manor stood as a regal icon of Blowing Rock for merely four decades

A German expat elevates the local ideal of great pretzels

Before its reinvention as an amusement park ride, Tweetsie Railroad transformed Boone from an isolated mountain hamlet into a boomtown

You are now leaving WNC. Don’t call us traitors for straying from our beloved natural wonderland. Sometimes you just have to play outside the lines. After all, much of what we love here—lofty peaks, wild rivers, picturesque lakes, and awe-inspiring trails—spills over into Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. Summer is the season to grab your gear, whether it be a life jacket, fishing rod, hiking boots, or mountain bike, and head for great escapes just across the border.

A vivid West Asheville haven nurtures a mother and daughter’s creative spirits

The shopping season has officially arrived, and we’ve searched stores across the region to help minimize the gift-giving guesswork. Here, you’ll find ideas for the jewelry lover, gentleman, gardener, gourmand, host, and outdoors enthusiast in your life.

Get those futuristic images of hovercars and robot butlers out of your head. We asked experts to give more accurate predictions for WNC’s future when it comes to environmental health, public land, Population growth, education, jobs, and agriculture

A father’s search for healthy building materials brings about an innovative home

Discover handmade creations in this haven for artists

Legends paint a larger-than-life picture of the woodsman, but at heart he was a simple man driven by curiosity

A husband and wife team are planting the seeds of a movement to feed the hungry

Thank Mother Nature for an abundance of attractive wooden accents

How a Revolutionary War hero and an Irish surveyor laid a boundary between the land of the Cherokee and white settlers

Soul Searching: When painting becomes a meditative process

From the opening of the state’s first course 130 years ago to the Morganton amateur who almost won the Masters against Ben Hogan, golf has enjoyed a long and fascinating history in these mountains

The Land Trust for the Little Tennessee marks progress by the years

"I like the challenge of making people smile with massive, unwieldy, otherwise intimidating forms."