I’m excited to share with you all about our 5 day stay at Sugar Mountain! We initially planned a cruise to the Bahamas during this week, but sadly this was canceled due to COVID 19. We still wanted to get away for a family vacation and to celebrate my sister’s 13th birthday. Personally, we didn’t feel comfortable flying, so it had to be something close to home. We had been to the North Carolina mountains for Thanksgiving before, but never during the summer. We thought it would be the perfect trip because we could do a lot of outdoor activities away from crowds. I was also pleasantly surprised that everywhere we went was following the governor’s orders and wearing a mask. So if you’re local to NC and looking for a little getaway, I highly recommend Sugar Mountain or the surrounding area! I’m sharing below our 5 day itinerary.
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Where We Stayed
I’ll start off by sharing a little bit about where we stayed. Our cabin, Sugar Buzz, was located at the top of Sugar Mountain. We booked through Blue Ridge Mountain Rentals. I will link the listing HERE. It’s a 2 bedroom 2 bathroom cabin with a jacuzzi and an amazing view! It takes about 10 minutes to travel down the mountain, but otherwise is conveniently located by many grocery stores, restaurants, and attractions. It’s also dog friendly for up to 2 dogs. The above picture shows the view from the balcony!
Day 1
We started the day by walking the Rough Ridge trail. Everyone really enjoyed this trail! It’s 2.5 miles long and rated moderate. It wasn’t too difficult for Sunny. The views from the top were amazing! There’s also several overlooks you can stop at along the Rough Ridge Parkway. I wore my favorite buttery soft camo leggings on this day – linking them HERE.
In the afternoon, we zip lined with Sky Valley Zip Tours. We had a great time! The 2 hour experience included training/practice, 10 zip lines, a cliff jump, and a swinging bridge. It cost $85 per person ($75 for children) and we also added the photo package for an additional $25. I’m glad we did this since you can’t bring phones with you. However, you are able to strap a GoPro to your helmet which is what my husband did! The guides were friendly and made the tour enjoyable. All guides and participants were required to wear masks. The views from zip lining were amazing and it was an overall great experience!
Day 2
On our 2nd day of vacation, we traveled to Linville, NC. We started at Linville Caverns. The tour cost $10 per person and lasted about 30 minutes. It was dog friendly, but we had to carry Sunny. They asked for dogs to not walk through for the safety of the dogs and caverns. Guides and participants were required to wear a mask.
The highlight of the day was definitely Linville Falls! We started hiking up to the overlook. The hike was slightly challenging, but not too much. As always, the views were amazing! After that we decided to take the other trail down to the gorge. Full transparency, this hike was intense!!! But it was SO worth it! Getting to experience being right beside the waterfall was so cool. Sunny hiked with us today, but we did have to pick her up in some areas of the gorge hike (think rocks, trees, steep ledges, etc). If you like exploring, Linville Falls is definitely for you! The leggings I wore on this day were perfect – super breathable. Linking them HERE and my shoes HERE.
Day 3
In the morning of day 3, we went to the Wilderness Run Alpine Coaster. It costs $16 for 1 ride or $35 for 3 rides. They also have youth and child prices. I honestly wasn’t expecting this to be as fun as it was! It really does go fast! This was conveniently located very close to our cabin and social distancing protocols were being followed.
In the afternoon, we went to Grandfather Mountain. An adult ticket costs $22, but they have senior, child, military, and AAA discounts. The price is well worth it in my opinion because there is so much to do. When you first enter, they give you a map and a CD to play in your car with information. We visited the Wildlife Habitats which included elk, bears, cougars, eagles, and otters. This was the only place that wasn’t dog friendly, so we took turns going in. We also went to the Mile High Swinging Bridge which was so cool! While visiting Grandfather Mountain, you can also see Split Rock, the Forrest Gump curve, the Nature Museum, and several walking/hiking trails. I am linking my Amazon top from this day HERE and my Amazon sunglasses HERE. I love these glasses! They are super cute but also very affordable, so I don’t have to worry about them getting messed up when doing outdoor activities.
Day 4
On our last full day in Sugar Mountain, we went white water rafting with High Mountain Expeditions. We did the half-day excursion on the Watagua River and had a great time! The meeting point was conveniently located near our cabin, but we then rode on a bus to the river (about 45 minutes away). The guide was very funny and made the bus ride fly by. The ticket price of $65 per person included a deli style lunch. We chose the half-day adventure since we were beginners and it was very family friendly. They also have full day excursions with more intense water rapids. We spent a total of about 2 hours in the water, which included a cliff jump. Similar to the zip lining, we chose to buy the photo package and are so glad we did. We all enjoyed white water rafting for the first time with High Mountain Expeditions!
That night, we went out to eat to celebrate my sister Taylor’s 13th birthday! This was the only night during the vacation that we went to a restaurant. We chose to eat at the Banner Elk Cafe & Tavern per the recommendation of our guide earlier in the day. We also chose this location because they had dog friendly outdoor seating. The great thing about this restaurant is that you can order off the cafe menu or the tavern menu. They had everything from steaks and burgers to pasta and pizza. The food was SO good! The staff were all wearing masks. Our waiter was exceptionally friendly and offered Taylor a birthday dessert free of charge. We had a great experience eating here!
Day 5
On our last day vacationing in Sugar Mountain, we decided to stop by Boone on our way out. The city of Boone is located about 30 minutes away from Sugar Mountain, so you could easily visit there at any time during your stay. I always love to stop by the Mast General Store whenever we are in the area. They are dog friendly and carry the coolest things. This time, we picked up some peach habanero jam, apple butter, and dip mixes. We also grabbed a bite to eat at the Lost Province Brewing Co. This is the 2nd time we have stopped by this restaurant and we really like it! They have an outdoor patio that is dog friendly, and all of the servers were wearing masks.
Overall we had an amazing time vacationing in Sugar Mountain! If you’re within driving distance of the North Carolina mountains, I highly recommend it! We felt safe participating in these outdoor activities with minimal crowds, and the entire community seemed to be following social distancing protocols. See all of my go-to products that I packed for this trip HERE. Stay safe everyone!
