North Carolina Mountain Living: The Sky's the Limit in Buyer's Market

If you’ve dreamed of owning a vacation or second home in the North Carolina mountains, the best buying opportunity in a generation may well be at hand. Prices have dropped, interest rates are low and good deals can be found just about anywhere you look.

Better hurry, though. After a sluggish fall and nearly dormant winter, the Western North Carolina real estate market is once again showing signs of life. While the boom days of 2003 to 2006 are gone, the mountains are clearly beginning the long slow climb back to health.

To view entire article by Jim Hughes, click here: http://www.metronc.com/article/?id=1923

Plenty of Summer Fun in West Virginia!

The mountains and valleys here are comfortable, shady and full of outdoor fun.

Visit West Virginia State Parks, each offering a different mountain experience with plenty of outdoor recreation and lodging options. From resort rooms to camping, it will be easy to find the best fit for your interests and your budget.

Take a guided horseback ride at Pipestem Resort State Park, enjoy a scenic hike at Babcock State Park, and both Pipestem and Twin Falls Resort State Park offer great golf on scenic courses.

Outside the parks, Southern West Virginia is also home to 10 other golf courses, including a couple of beauties at Glade Springs Resort and Conference Center.

Hike, bike or ride a horse along the 76-mile Greenbrier River Trail. Include a fishing pole in your backpack; there are some wonderful spots to wet a line! This area abounds with rivers and lakes that are ideal for folks who fish and boat.

Views Rule in the Western North Carolina Mountains!

Cool mountain breezes and a slower pace of life dominate the Western North Carolina lifestyle. Vacationers flock to the area's small towns for unique outdoor adventures including whitewater rafting, hiking, waterfalls, festivals, and tubing. Check out Deep Creek Tubing in Bryson City, or the Nantahala Outdoor Center (NOC) for cool water thrills for the family. Visit http://www.floridahalfbacks.com/ for more information about great places to stay, things to do, and relocation info.

Pigeon Forge Seeks 75 Families for $75 Gas Giveaway

Pigeon Forge, Tenn., has gone wild for 75. It’s a project called “75 Ways To Celebrate, from the Parkway to the Park.”

To help celebrate the 75th anniversary of neighboring Great Smoky Mountains National Park, this gateway city is seeking 75 families so it can give them $75 in gas, $75 of attraction tickets and a challenging list of 75 fun activities. The 75 families will get a Dolly Parton Smoky Mountains CD, too, the sound track from her “Sha-Kon-O-Hey!” musical at Dollywood.

“Pigeon Forge has 10 million visitors each year, and the national park is a large part of why today’s Pigeon Forge is here,” said Leon Downey, executive director of the Pigeon Forge Department of Tourism. “Our ‘Parkway to the Park’ idea makes the connection between the attraction-filled parkway that goes through the middle of town and the treasure that is Great Smoky Mountains National Park.”

The giveaways are designed help travelers recognize the significance of the 75th anniversary. Registration for the “Parkway to the Park” packages is online at http://www.PF75.com

Registration ends July 15.

“Pigeon Forge really is a gateway to the Smokies,” Downey said.

One of only a handful of free national parks, Great Smoky Mountains National Park is the most visited of all (nine million visitors in 2008). The park, by design, is a major economic engine for the region, and many of its visitors land for a while in Pigeon Forge.

Pigeon Forge, one of the country’s top tourism destinations, is located within a day’s drive of two-thirds of the U.S. population east of the Mississippi River.

“Parkway to the Park” registration and complete information about Pigeon Forge travel itineraries and attractions are available at http://www.PF75.com

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Affordable Cabin Rentals in the Smoky Mountains

From one to five bedroom cabins and chalets in Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge Tennessee. We are located minutes from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and all area attractions such as Dollywood, Splash Country, Dixie Stampede and dinner shows and shopping. From honeymoon to family vacations, budget to luxurious... our fully furnished cabins feature all the comforts of home including jacuzzi tubs, fireplaces, kitchens, pool tables, theater room cabins, hot tubs and more. Ask about our honeymoon and wedding packages and PET FRIENDLY CABINS, because we know pets are family TOO! Visit our web site for great online booking specials! http://www.floridahalfbacks.com/Tennessee/Eastern-Tennessee/Pigeon-Forge/Affordable-Cabins-in-the-Smokies.htm

Free Fun Ideas in the NC Mountains

Did you know that there's no admission fee to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park? It's true, America's most popular park is free, but it is only one of many NC attractions and events that visitors can enjoy without spending a cent. VisitNC has provided a list of some fun free things to do in the North Carolina mountains. Find your favorite freebie:

Sliding Rock (near Brevard)

Heat getting to you? Come slip down this renowned 60-foot sloping slide into an eight-foot deep mountain pool near Brevard, NC. Lifeguards supervise the fun during the summer, so bring the family. Enjoy 11,000 gallons of water flowing down over the rock face each minute, and it’s just a few strokes to shore. Where else can you get that kind of thrill? Okay, it’s not quite free. Cost to enter the recreation area is $1.00 per person.



Dancin’ In The Streets – Lake Lure
Thanks to the Lake Lure Hot Summer Nights Street Dance Series, you can dirty dance where Johnny and Baby did… for free! The dances will be held right at spectacular Lake Lure, where much of Dirty Dancing was filmed. This is part of Lake Lure and The Blue Ridge Foothills’ Endless Summer Event Series. 828-625-2725

June 8 Beach Motown
July 13 Rock and Roll
August 10 Swinging Big Band
Sept 14 Country Bluegrass

The Create-Your-Own Art Tour
A D-I-Y art tour can turn into an adventure – it costs you nothing to look! Homegrown Handmade Art Roads and Farm Trails let you create your own free driving tour of authentic folk artisans, handicrafts, farmers and creative entrepreneurs rooted in our North Carolina’s rural countryside. Or how about looking into the artistry of traditional and not-so-traditional patterns on a Barn Quilt Tour? Free tours, each featuring between 30-100 quilts, can be found in three western North Carolina counties:
Avery
Watauga
Ashe

Shindig For The Price Of None –Asheville
Starting in July, Asheville’s Shindig On The Green goes into high gear as crowds with lawn chairs and blankets gather on summer Saturday evenings to enjoy Appalachian mountain music and dance traditions. (Saturday evenings July – September)

Are You The Stovepipe Type? – Valle Crucis
Midday rush? Not in Valle Crucis, thank you. The Mast General Store has music on the back porch each Saturday and Sunday from noon until 2 p.m. at the Original Store in Valle Crucis. Sometimes groups start a little earlier; sometimes they play a little later. Musical selections include bluegrass, old-time, Celtic and Appalachian performed by local talent. On occasion, cloggers, flat footers and shufflers come along to dance a bit, too.

Hospitality Reigns at Mountain Inns

Heading to the mountains of North Carolina provides a high-elevation getaway from flat Florida. The bar is raised even higher when the trip includes a stay at a unique mountain inn. Mountain inns have a long tradition in North Carolina, where hospitality starts at the welcome mat. The Windover Inn in Waynesville provides elevating experiences.






Within walking distance of downtown shopping and Waynesville, NC attractions, and a short drive to Asheville and the Biltmore Estate, the Blue Ridge Parkway, the Great Smoky Mountain National Park and Maggie Valley, this Waynesville, NC bed and breakfast allows you to connect to all of the western North Carolina attractions that abound in the area and more, while providing you with a warm and cozy sanctuary to return to at the end of the day. Built in 1910, this late Victorian home with its original tiger oak woodwork and heart maple hardwood floors provides an atmosphere of comfort from the moment you enter our front door.