Appalachian High Country AVA

Appalachian High Country is an American Viticultural Area (AVA) located mainly in North Carolina with sections in Tennessee and Virginia. The approximately 2,400 square miles (1,536,000 acres) viticultural area encompasses all or portions of the following counties: Alleghany, Ashe, Avery, Mitchell, and Watauga Counties in North Carolina; Carter County and Johnson Counties in Tennessee; and Grayson County in Virginia. The appellation was recognized on February 28, 2016 by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB), Treasury as the country's 239th, North Carolina's 5th, Tennessee's 2nd and Virginia's 8th AVA after reviewing the petition from Johnnie James, owner of Bethel Valley Farms, on behalf of members of the High Country Wine Growers Association, proposing the establishment of the viticultural area named "Appalachian High Country." The establishment of the Appalachian High Country AVA does not affect any existing AVA and will allow vintners to use ‘‘Appalachian High Country’’ as an appellation of origin for wines made primarily from grapes grown within the Appalachian High Country AVA if the wines meet the eligibility TTB requirements for the appellation.

The Woolly Worm Festival is an event held each October since 1978 in Banner Elk and Avery County, North Carolina. The festival celebrates the supposed weather-predicting abilities of the woolly worm, also called "woolly bear" which is a caterpillar or larvae of the isabella tiger moth. Events include a caterpillar race.

The Land of Oz is a theme park based on L. Frank Baum's Land of Oz books, located in the resort town of Beech Mountain, North Carolina, US. Carolina Caribbean Corporation opened it in 1970 under the guidance of Grover Robbins, who had been successful with Tweetsie Railroad. Designed by Jack Pentes, the park was fully operational until 1980.

Hanging Rock, also known as Bear's Paw (Yonah‑wayah in Cherokee), is a mountain in the North Carolina High Country, next to the town of Seven Devils. It is along the Avery and Watauga border. Its elevation reaches 5,203 feet (1,586 m). The mountain generates feeder streams for the Elk and Watauga rivers. In 2008, Bear Paw State Natural Area was established on the mountain by the North Carolina General Assembly. The High Country Conservancy acquired the initial 350 acres (1.4 km2) for the state, and the park now encompasses 384 acres (1.55 km2). The natural area is located just north of Grandfather Mountain State Park, and it protects Hanging Rock Ridge and the headwaters of Dutch Creek. It is managed by Grandfather Mountain State Park.

Beech Mountain is a mountain in the North Carolina High Country and wholly in the Pisgah National Forest. Its elevation reaches 5,506 feet (1,657 m) and generates feeder streams for the Elk River. Nestled on the top is the Town of Beech Mountain.

Banner Elk is a town in Avery County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 1,028 at the 2010 census. Banner Elk is home to Lees–McRae College.

Robert Chester and Elsie H. Lowe House is a historic home located at Banner Elk, Avery County, North Carolina. It was built in 1949, and is a 1+1⁄2-story, Minimal Traditional-style house. It has a cross-gable roofline, random-range quarry-faced stone walls, two tapered stone chimneys and a shed-roof porch. Also on the property are the contributing barn and corn crib (1949). It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2013.

Banner Elk Hotel is a historic hotel building located at Banner Elk, Avery County, North Carolina. The original section of the hotel dates to about 1856, with expansions made between 1877 and 1891. Two-story rear wings and smaller additions were made between 1891 and 1898. It was originally built as a dwelling house, later expanded and converted for use as a hotel. It is a rambling, frame, U-shaped two-story building covered with weatherboard siding. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2000. The hotel building has since been demolished.

The Shawneehaw Creek is a stream in the North Carolina High Country and is named after a Cherokee word for a tree that blooms early in the Spring, the current name for the tree is Serviceberry, or sarvisberry, and is located in the town of Banner Elk. The headwaters begin from the Southeastern slopes of Beech Mountain in Watauga County, North Carolina and end at the Elk River in Avery County, North Carolina.The tree extend from North Carolina to Louisiana and Florida, and to 6000 feet.

Valle Crucis Episcopal Mission, also known as Valle Crucis Conference Center, is a historic Episcopal mission church complex and national historic district located near Valle Crucis, Watauga County, North Carolina. The Gothic Revival style, gable-front stone Church of the Holy Cross was built about 1924. Other contributing resources are the church cemetery with the earliest burial dated to 1808, Auchmutv Hall dormitory (1910-1911), The Annex (c. 1920), "The Farm House" (1915), Former Dairy Barn (now "The Apple Barn", 1903-1911), Former Apple Barn (now "The Bunk House", 1914), The Mission House (1896), the Power Dam (1903-1930), the Valley / Field, and the Apple Orchard. The Valle Crucis Episcopal Mission was established by the Episcopal Church in 1844-1845.It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1993. It is located in the Valle Crucis Historic District.

Lees–McRae College is a private college in Banner Elk, North Carolina, affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA). Lees–McRae College sits in the Appalachian Mountains at 3,720 feet (1,130 m) above sea level, the highest elevation of any American college or university east of the Mississippi River. It is one of the few colleges to be named after two women, Suzanna Lees and Elizabeth McRae.

Beech Mountain is a town in both Avery and Watauga counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina. At the 2020 census, the town population was 675. The town is located atop Beech Mountain and is the highest town east of the Rocky Mountains at 5,506 ft (1,678 m) in elevation. The nearest municipality at a higher elevation is Des Moines, New Mexico, some 1,220 miles (1,960 kilometers) away. The town relies heavily on tourism, with the population swelling as high as 5,000 in the summer, and to 10,000 during the peak of ski season. The abundance of outdoor activities, mild summer temperatures (compared to the rest of the southeast), and ski resort make it a popular location for people in the Carolinas, Georgia and Florida to own both summer and winter vacation homes.