Salt and SummitA local's North Carolina guide

Brunswick County

The
coast

Four barrier-island towns between the Cape Fear and the South Carolina line. Atlantic out front. Marsh and the Intracoastal out back. You'll smell the salt before you find the pier.

Open the coast guide
Ocean Isle BeachHolden BeachSunset BeachOak Island

Blue Ridge

The
mountains

Four High Country towns, from a college county seat to the town that publishes 5,506 feet and calls itself the highest incorporated town east of the Rockies.

Open the mountain guide
Beech MountainBooneBlowing RockBanner Elk

What this edition will tell you

Eight townsSunset Beach, Ocean Isle Beach, Holden Beach, and Oak Island on the coast. Beech Mountain, Boone, Blowing Rock, and Banner Elk in the Blue Ridge. Neighbors show up when you'd actually drive there.
Public placesBeaches, inlets, the lighthouse in Caswell Beach, Bird Island, the Blue Ridge Parkway, state parks, and the three ski resorts by their real names. Sand in your shoes, or spruce in your jacket. Pick one.
Prices moveDog rules, trail lengths, and the lighthouse climb are in here. Ticket prices and this year's parade live on the town or the operator's site, where they can change without asking us.

Start with the season

March through MaySpringQuieter weeks on the Brunswick beaches, and a muddy waterfall season in the Blue Ridge.June through AugustSummerPeak season on the Brunswick beaches, and the cool-night season in Boone, Blowing Rock, Banner Elk, and Beech Mountain.Late September through OctoberFall colorHow leaf color usually moves through the High Country, and why this guide won't name a peak day.December through MarchWinter and ski seasonBeech Mountain Resort, Sugar Mountain Resort, and Appalachian Ski Mountain, without invented ticket prices.When the towns fillHoliday weeksWhich holidays actually change these eight towns, without an invented parade schedule.

Choose between places

Ocean Isle Beach or Holden BeachOcean Isle Beach and Holden Beach, side by side: inlets, bridges, piers, and the dog rules each town actually wrote.Boone or Blowing RockBoone and Blowing Rock are close enough to share a trip and different enough to pick on purpose.Beach or mountainsHow to choose between the four Brunswick beaches and the four High Country towns in this guide.

Shape a short trip

Two days, one regionA weekendA coast weekend and a mountain weekend built from public places, with no invented dinner reservations.When the overlook disappearsA rainy dayHonest rainy-day options in both regions, including the indoor gaps this guide hasn't filled.One outing, then the beach or the porchWith kidsA slower shape for a family trip to the Brunswick beaches or the High Country.Assume nothing about the sandWith dogsWhat's known about dogs in these eight towns, and the ordinances this guide won't guess.

Or read the year as a month-by-month calendar, including the one festival this edition can actually date.