You’ll find exciting attractions in Boone and all around the High Country. The region is the home of several "firsts": North Carolina’s original family theme park, Tweetsie Railroad; the state's very first golf course, Linville Golf Club; the state’s oldest travel attraction, The Blowing Rock; the state’s only public caverns Linville Caverns; the nation's oldest Revolutionary War drama, Horn in the West; and the world’s first privately-owned biosphere reserve, Grandfather Mountain.

In 2005, Boone was recognized as “one of four multi-sport vacation destinations in North America” in the May 2005 issue of Adventure Sports Magazine. With hundreds of miles of byways and trails and some of the highest peaks in the East…Boone has a little something for everyone. There are dozens of opportunities for adventures and seemingly endless trails for hiking, nature walking or running, bouldering, and kayaking.

Into mountain biking? The 200 miles of trails in the Pisgah National Forest just south of Boone are a mountain biking wonderland. Yancey’s Ridge, a 14-mile loop near Linville, is a favorite ride. Within the town limits of Boone, there’s the Greenway Trail, on the wooded preserve owned by Appalachian State University. The Mountains-to-Sea Trail runs right through town on its 900-plus-mile jaunt across the state of North Carolina.

Backpacking and camping in the area are also not to be missed.

The High Country boasts some of the best in music, dance, theatre and the arts, as well. From world-renown guitarist and seven-time Grammy winner, Doc Watson, to the Moscow Festival Ballet to Broadway-quality productions, premier entertainment is always available.

With the opening of Appalachian State University’s new Turchin Center for the Visual Arts in May 2003, downtown Boone became the home of the largest visual arts center in all of northwestern North Carolina, southwest Virginia and northeast Tennessee.