Punxsutawney PA has a groundhog. Banner Elk NC has woolly worms. Both are tasked with predicting the winter weather. And both have a fun festival surrounding their predictions. Every third weekend in October, more than 20,000 people descend upon Banner Elk to watch the woolly worms race their way to the top of a 3 foot rope for a chance to be named the official winter weather forecaster of the year. Woolly worms have 13 segments and winter has 13 weeks. What better way to predict each week’s weather than by the color of the winning worm’s segments? A black …

On Friday and Saturday nights from the end of September through Halloween, Tweetsie Railroad transforms itself into a “spooktactular” destination. With haunted houses, freaky forests, and a ghost train ride, Tweetsie invites older kids (ages 8 and up) to join them for a frightfully good time. During the day, the park is open with all of its regular Wild West adventures and rides, but when the sun goes down the creepy creatures come out. Tickets for the night-time festivities are sold separately ($52 ages 13+, $35 kids 3-12, kids under 3 free). Your pre-purchased ticket allows you entry to the …

We spent a beautiful fall weekend in the mountains with friends and our featured activity was zip lining. My oldest son and I had been zip lining in the NC Mountains before at Hawksnest and found the experience slightly underwhelming. I was anxious to see if Sky Valley Zip Tours in Blowing Rock would be a more exciting adventure. The quick answer is yes! It was great – much more scenic and exciting than Hawksnest. The zip lines were longer and faster, the scenery more dramatic, and the guides fantastic. Throw in two bonus adventures along the course and this …