I own at Blue Ridge Village and the 2 bed room units are 1300-1400 square feet which is a huge timeshare. It is an older resort, but very nicely furnished, roomy, and a place I love to stay. The den is 2 stories tall and there are 2 decks, one off of the upstairs bedroom and the other deck accessed from the den. The indoor pool is nice and the resort has a fishing lake with free padleboats, free 9 hole putt putt course, tennis courts, free board games to carry to the room, and daily guided hikes that are a part of the numerous activities offered by the resort.
The weather in the summer is great. I stayed there last year in July and the highs most days were in the low 80's with lows in the 60's at night. One day when I called the office it was 98 degrees at my hometown. The high that day in Banner Elk was 82. If I was wealthy I would buy a home in the area and spend my summers there to escape the oppressive heat we experience in the southeast.
This is a list of some of the fun things I have done in the area.
Here are some local activities not including hikes to waterfalls, hikes to sliding rocks,whitewater rafting, rock climbing, rapelling, and other outdoor activities like golf and mountain biking.
Sugar mountain has chair lift rides on Saturdays and Sundays almost directly across from the resort. You can sightsee or bring a bike and ride up on the chair lift and back down on mountain bike trails. I think you can rent mountain bikes in the area.
http://www.skisugar.com/liftrides/
This is the Highland games web page. This is an annual event at Granfather Mountain which is about 5 miles from the resort. Look at the pictures and schedule of events.
http://gmhg.org/events.htm
This is the web site for the Tweetsie Railroad Amusement park about 20 miles away in Blowing Rock.
www.tweetsie.com/
This is Grandfather mountain's web site
www.grandfather.com/
This is the Biltmore house web site which is about 2 hours away
www.biltmore.com/
One of many whitewater rafting, caving, and mountain climbing outfitters. Their office is 1 mile from the resort. We went rafting on the nolichucky which is the most challenging with the most rapids, but they have less challenging rivers.
http://www.highmountainexpeditions.com/
Lake Lure is beautiful and about 30 minutes away. This is a site for tours or Boat rentals.
http://www.lakelure.com/rentals.php
Mast General store in Valles Cruscis has been in operation since the lat 1800's. Buy candy out of barrels and take it to the register where they charge you by weight just like the good old days. Get some lye soap, see things you didn't know you could even buy anymore.
http://www.maststoreonline.com/destinations_nchc.cfm
The Blue Ridge Parkway has many scenic overlooks and trails to waterfalls etc. It is beautifull and free.
http://www.blueridgeparkway.org/
Gem mining in Blowing Rock about 20 minutes from the resort.
http://www.blowingrock.com/members.list.php?memcategoriesid=3527
I love the food at daniel Boone Inn in Boone about 20 miles from the room. Southern Family style meals served in bowls on the table with refills included. Biscuits and ham are specialty. Here are some awards:
The restaurant placed third in Southern Living in the reader's choice awards for country cooking restaurants. They also won first place among readers of Our State Magazine for Family Dining/Country Cooking and third place under Best Restaurant in North Carolina.
http://www.danlbooneinn.com/
The first time I stayed at Blue Ridge Village it was on a trade. After staying a week in the NC Mountains I bought a fixed summer week as soon as I could find a summer week for a good resale price. I love Gatlinburg but it is so crowded and commercialized. The Boone-Banner Elk area has the same beautiful mountains but very few crowds and very little commercialization.
