Photo by Wes Hicks on Unsplash
By Jon Tharp, Broker · May 21, 2026
WorldAtlas recently published a list of 8 North Carolina towns that rival the best of Europe, and two of them are right here in Western North Carolina. Highlands and Blowing Rock made the …
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Photo by Audri Van Gores (@audrivangores) on Unsplash
By Jon Tharp, Broker · May 18, 2026
At a Glance
The best spring bloom hikes near Highlands, NC include the Coker Rhododendron Trail at the Highlands Botanical Garden (easy, free, April through May), the Glen Falls …
Photo by Cristofer Maximilian (@cristofer) on Unsplash
By Jon Tharp, Broker · May 13, 2026
At a Glance
Mouse Creek Falls and Midnight Hole on the Big Creek Trail in Great Smoky Mountains National Park are among the Smokies' most rewarding and least-visited waterfall hikes. …
By Jon Tharp, Broker · May 12, 2026
At a Glance
Several Western North Carolina fishing guides and lodges have been ranked among the 10 best in the United States, according to the Asheville Citizen Times. The recognition reflects the quality of trout fisheries across the …
By Jon Tharp, Broker · May 12, 2026
At a Glance
Mouse Creek Falls, a 45-foot cascade on the North Carolina side of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, sits just over two miles up the Big Creek Trail and sees a fraction of the visitors that …
The pump track going into Swannanoa this fall won't just be the largest in North Carolina. It will be the largest in the Americas. That detail alone tells you something has shifted in a community that spent two decades watching a former blanket mill sit empty, flood, …
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Photo by Wes Hicks on Unsplash
By Jon Tharp, Broker · May 24, 2026
North Carolina visitors spent $37.2 billion in 2025, a new all-time record, and they did it while a significant chunk of the state's most popular destination was still putting itself back together after …
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