Foothills

Cities

Mocksville | Statesville | Taylorsville | Lenoir | Lake Lure | Bat Cave | Hendersonville

Latest Features and Reviews

Statesville: Fourth Creek Brewing

Fourth Creek Brewing Company is a local establishment in the heart of downtown Statesville, North Carolina and just a few minutes off of Highway 64. This brewery crafts local beer in house and provides a comfortable taproom environment that is…Read more ›

A Taste of Hendersonville: The Rhythm and Brews Festival

The winding road seemed to be jutting around every hill in the North Carolina Smoky Mountains. Erica, with her fresh Connecticut license plate, grabbed the wheel and whipped through the roads like a champ and jack lay asleep in the…Read more

Lake Lure: Your Perfect Next Getaway

Have you ever wanted to visit the same scenic town that Johnny performed that iconic lift with Baby in Dirty Dancing? Or do you just want to spend a peaceful long weekend in the foothills region of North Carolina? Then…Read more

Smoking in the Foothills Festival

By Jenny Kane Right as we arrived in downtown Lenoir at around 11:30am on that Saturday, October 21st, we could already here the sound of live music playing and people crowding around the small area. Most of the shops on…Read more

Right Place, Right Time: Lake Lure has a lot to Offer

By Claire Gaskill Along the winding road of Highway 64 lies Lake Lure. This small town is known for its parks, historic landmarks, and, as denoted by its name, winding lake. Lake Lure is not vast…Read more

Fly Away at the Carolina BalloonFest

By Claire Gaskill It’s not every day you see one hot air balloon. At the Carolina BalloonFest, however, you can see handfuls of these helium filled flying baskets. This event entertains families with over 50 balloons the third full…Read more

Taylorsville’s 38th Annual Apple Festival

By Micaela Soucy The town of Taylorsville is nestled between two major North Carolina cities, Winston-Salem and Charlotte. It lies just off of Highway 64 at the cross section of Highway 90 and Highway 16. Driving into town we passed…Read more

Never Blue

By Jenny Kane Hendersonville is a lively town home to a variety of shops and restaurants that line the downtown streets. Arriving on a beautiful Friday afternoon in October, we were able to witness the hustle and bustle of the…Read more ›

1841 Café Review

By Jenny Kane 1841 Café is one of the many restaurants and shops nestled along Main Street in Lenoir, North Carolina. Lining the sidewalk in front of the entrance there lies a makeshift deck with tables and umbrellas for the…Read more ›

Black Rose Public House: An Irish Pub in the Heart of the Foothills

By Jenny Kane Our stomachs were growling as we arrived to downtown Hendersonville at around 3pm on a Friday afternoon in the middle of October. In spite of this ravenous hunger, we searched for the nearest sports bar we could…Read more

Lindsey Deal

By Jordan Stanley Lindsey Deal emerged from a swung-open wooden door behind the cash register in the same way Deal Orchards appeared from the road. Driving along Highway 64, the storefront for the orchard looked like a white tin warehouse,…Read more ›

West Wood Fired Grill & The Poe House

By Maggy McGloin Arriving late to Hendersonville on a Saturday night, the limited options of open storefronts left us with one mission: find the perfect eatery and bar. After some online research, supplemented by searching around the downtown corridors, we…Read more

The Annual Statesville Pumpkin Festival

By Kate Flinn A stop in Statesville led to an unexpected surprise of closed roads and throngs of people: the annual Statesville Pumpkin Festival, a beloved community tradition that marks the start of the fall season for this quaint little…Read more

A Changing Industry: Apple Growing in the Foothills

By Kate Flinn The average traveler passing through Taylorsville, North Carolina might not stumble across Deal Orchards. The orchard was at least a twenty-minute drive from what we believed to be downtown Taylorsville, though it was hard to be sure.…Read more

Burgess Produce

By Kate Flinn Burgess Produce is one of the Foothills’ hidden gems, nestled right off the shoulder of historic Highway 64, just outside of scenic Lake Lure. Like us, if you aren’t looking for it, you are likely to zip…Read more ›

Mikes on Main

By Kate Flinn Mike’s on Main, a small family-owned diner, operates like a perfectly preserved time capsule of quintessential Hendersonville at the height of the 1950s. At 9:00am, only a few people had begun to occupy the restaurant’s eclectic selection…Read more ›

Lake Lure and the Beginning of the Forest Fire

By Maggy McGloin – 2016 Moving from the Western part of the state, the drive to Lake Lure brings Highway 64 through a more natural, unchartered territory. After weaving around winding turns, across abandoned-looking towns, and several fruit stands, you will…Read more

Small-Town Sundays in the Foothills: What Not to Do

By Jordan Stanley – 2016 The Expectation: Lenoir was the last stop of a two-day, six-town road trip through the North Carolina Foothills. To get a taste of the town, one might start by driving down the main street, scavenging for…Read more

The Factory Coffee Shop

By Maggy McGloin – 2016 As any trip with anticipated adventure should begin, the exploration down Highway 64 began with clear eyes, caffeinated bodies, and an overall excitement to see what was ahead. The first stop on the highway was the…Read more ›

Finding Our Way to Jump Off Rock

By Dustin Swope -2014 Driving on public roads might be one of the ultimate ambiguous activities. For some people, driving means mind-numbing boredom and shifting around in the driver’s seat trying to figure out which butt cheek is more asleep. For…Read more

Downtown Cruisers in Lenoir

By Dustin Swope -2014 The town of Lenoir is one of North Carolina’s best examples of a community that keeps up with the times without cleaving itself into an urban metropole and a suburban sprawl. Residents come off as bright and…Read more ›

A Bridge Made to Blossom

By Gina Apperson – 2014 There’s a certain beauty and mystery associated with bridges. When crossing them, we often don’t know what lies on the other side. As emblems of travel, bridges are quintessential parts of any journey, helping us…Read more

Back in the Mountains

By Miranda Allan – 2014 You can take the girl out of the mountains, but you can’t take the mountains out of the girl. Nothing sets me on edge like when people criticize rural living. I lived in southeast New Hampshire…Read more ›

Sorrento’s Italian Restaurant and Pizzeria

By Katie Stewart – 2014 As we pulled into the shopping center that houses Sorrento’s Italian Restaurant and Pizzeria in Statesville, Gina and I were skeptical. It was sandwiched between two small shops in a strip mall, and from the…Read more

Richard Parr, Hot Air Balloon Pilot

By Katie Stewart – 2014 How many people can call themselves a hot air balloon pilot? Not many. Richard Parr of Pittsboro, North Carolina has been flying planes, balloons, and gliders for 55 years, and he doesn’t plan on stopping…Read more

1841 Café

By Miranda Allan – 2014 On the day my team arrived in Lenoir, we were joined by hundreds of others who make the weekly pilgrimage to the Cruise-In antique car show. For a town that frequently hosts such a massive event,…Read more ›

Meeting Artists in Hendersonville

By Miranda Allan – 2014 Let me preface this profile by saying that we happened upon Hendersonville’s 55th Annual Art on Main Festival unintentionally. That’s not to say that we didn’t do our research before donning our backpacks and slinging…Read more ›

Finding a World of Art & Coffee

By Gina Apperson – 2014 A good adventure can only be fueled by coffee. As Dustin, Miranda and I began our journey in the foothills of North Carolina, inspired by the views of Blue Ridge Mountains and the changing leaves…Read more

Apple-y Ever After: Bat Cave’s Old Cider Mill and Gift Shop

By Miranda Allan – 2014 Bat Cave is the Old Cider Mill. The Old Cider Mill is Bat Cave. Joann D’Ambra, who has been churning out apple cider and running the Applesolutely Gift Shop with her husband, John, for nine…Read more

A Night at Cedarwood Inn

By Dustin Swope – 2014 Just five minutes south of Hendersonville proper and tucked away in a network of quiet residential backroads, a collection of homestyle cottages await discovery by the weary traveler searching for a more authentic lodging experience. Plenty…Read more