Are you a weekend trip kind of girl or do you prefer to spend a week or more at one place? I LOVE weekend getaways. Don't get me wrong - I love a good, long trip where I get to relax. But the thrill of trying to do as much as possible in such a short amount of time is so fun (& exhausting).
Our trip to the Banner Elk area of North Carolina was nothing short of a fun, snow-filled, busy good time. I wanted to share with you what our weekend looks like on these shorts trips. We don't actually stay at Sugar Mountain or Beech Mountain. Andrew's family has a small little cabin about a hour away that we LOVE to go stay at.
PRO TIP: CHASE THE STORM
If you're able to plan a last minute trip then DO it. Our best trips to NC have been
on a whim. This is when we get the most beautiful, fresh powder. Plus, I HATE to ski on
icy slopes so having that fresh powder makes me feel like I'm in Colorado!
Let's Eat
Enjoy breakfast at the Banner Elk Café & Lodge. It's seriously SO good. We could eat every meal there and not be mad about it. I would try to get there early because the wait can get long pretty quickly.
A good place to go after a day of skiing or hiking is the Bayou Smokehouse & Grill. It's super laid back and good food!
If you want to go a little bit on the nicer side of things, then head to Sorrento's Italian Restaurant. The bread here is AMAZING and the wine is perfect!
Andrew & I always eat Chipotle while were here. I'm not sure why but we do lol.
To Do
Take a walk around Banner Elk - it won't take you very long! You can visit some of the local shops or stroll through the small college campus. I love this little town. I feel like I'm in a Hallmark move - especially at Christmas time.
If you're wanting to spend the afternoon relaxing Head to Banner Elk Winery & Villa or Grandfather Vineyard & Winery. The wine from Banner Elk Winery is the same wine at Sorrento's.
I haven't done this one yet, but its on my list because it looks like so much fun! The Wilderness Run Alpine Coaster! Right across from Sugar Mountain and would be so pretty with some fresh snow!
If you're into hiking and being outdoors then there is TONS of spots to check out. I would say the most popular would have to be Grandfather Mountain. I gotta say, I don't have any desire to hike this one lol. I'm sure the view is beautiful but I'm not cut out for the journey to the top.
Last, but not least, SKIING. Let's be real, this is like the only reason we even travel to NC. We've mostly skied at Sugar Mountain, but I actually prefer Beech Mountain. The slopes are much easier than Sugar in my opinion.
Where To Stay
Like I said earlier, we don't actually stay in Banner Elk. We stay about a hour away at Andrew's family cabin. However, Andrew and I did book a room for our NYE trip that was on Sugar Mountain. I don't recommend going to ski the week of NYE because everyone and their mother was there. We couldn't even get tickets to ski. Anyways, we stayed at Ski & Sugar Country Club. The view was BEAUTIFUL. Our room was recently remodeled and I loved the modern theme they had going on! This is definitely the place to stay for 2 people to stay. If you have a group of 2 or more I would look into the rental homes that are on the slopes through VRBO.
I hope this is helpful in some way if you're looking for a little weekend getaway. Let me know some places you like to take weekend trips too!
Comments