Attractions
Family FavoriteTweetsie Railroad
$50+Ride a three-mile loop behind a historic narrow-gauge steam locomotive at a Wild West theme park in the Blue Ridge.
Photo: bobistraveling, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and resized.
Sports & Outdoors
Rendezvous Mountain Educational State Forest
A mountain forest in Wilkes County's Blue Ridge setting, known for marked hiking trails and nature education displays.
1956 Rendezvous Mountain Road, Purlear, NC 28665 · Purlear, NC
About Rendezvous Mountain Educational State Forest
Rendezvous Mountain sits in Wilkes County, roughly 30 miles east of Boone, in the Blue Ridge Mountains. The park is operated by North Carolina State Parks and is known for its educational focus on forest ecology. Visitors can walk a network of well-marked trails of about 5.5 miles and view exhibits along the way that explain the mountain's ecosystem. Hardwood forest scenery is the main draw, and picnicking and birdwatching are popular. The park has no camping facilities, and the nearest camping is at Stone Mountain State Park. Before 2022 the land was run by the North Carolina Forest Service under its earlier name.
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- #forest
- #education
- #birdwatching
- #picnicking
What's around here?
The closest stops to Rendezvous Mountain Educational State Forest, ordered by straight-line distance. A few more like it, plus some different kinds of fun so you can build a full day.
20 mi awaySwitch it up: Attractions
- Sports & OutdoorsOutdoor Adventure
Grandfather Mountain
$25–$50Cross the Mile High Swinging Bridge between two rocky peaks, see bears, otters and elk, and hike high mountain trails.
32 mi awayMore like this
- Shopping
Valley Hills Mall
Check pricesTwo-story regional shopping mall in Hickory, North Carolina, with stores, dining, and seasonal events.
36 mi awaySwitch it up: Shopping
- AttractionsFamily Favorite
Linville Caverns
Under $25Take a short guided tour inside Humpback Mountain through North Carolina's only show cave, where trout swim in an underground stream.
42 mi awaySwitch it up: Attractions
- Sports & OutdoorsOutdoor Adventure
Lake Norman State Park
No admission feeRide the 30-mile Itusi mountain bike trail, rent a pedal boat and swim at the beach on North Carolina's largest man-made lake.
43 mi awayMore like this
- Sports & OutdoorsOutdoor Adventure
Lake James State Park
No admission feeSwim from a sandy lake beach, ride mountain bike loops and camp at paddle-in sites on a big Blue Ridge foothills lake east of Asheville.
47 mi awayMore like this
