The holidays might be over, but there are still plenty of reasons why you should visit Boone during the winter months. People either seem to love Boone winters or hate them…everyone seems to have an opinion on winter in the high country. Well, at the Horton we love winter! Okay, we love all of our seasons. But winter really is a special time up here. Especially when it’s a cold and snowy winter wonderland. So here’s why you should plan a winter stay at the Horton Hotel in Boone, NC this year.
Winter festivals
The high country is home to several winter festivals. Perhaps the most well known is Blowing Rock’s Winterfest. Blowing Rock is just a short fifteen minute drive from Boone. Winterfest spans three days and is filled with all sorts of events. This year I’m particularly excited about the outdoor handmade market. This event is put on by Mountain Thread Company, and they’re bringing all kinds of local artisans to the courtyard of the Martin House shops on January 24th from 5-8pm.
There’s also WinterFeast, a restaurant crawl that’s all located under one cozy roof. Fifteen different restaurants participate, and it really is a great opportunity to taste a little bit of everything that the some of the high country’s finest restaurants have to offer. Make the Horton Hotel your home base so that you can enjoy downtown Boone and all that Blowing Rock Winterfest has to offer, too.
Another great event is Beech Mountain Brewing Company’s Winterfest Beer Festival, which is coming up this weekend. It’s not the same as Blowing Rock’s Winterfest. It’s certainly it’s own thing and is worth checking out if you’re a beer lover. You can try beer from breweries all over the high country and enjoy live music at this festival.
Skiing and snowboarding, of course.
You can’t write a post about visiting Boone, NC in the winter without suggesting skiing and snowboarding. This area boasts some of the South’s best slopes. The slope closest to the Horton is Appalachian Ski Mountain, which is nestled in between Boone and Blowing Rock, NC. If you’re planning on checking out Winterfest Beer Festival, you could also double up and plan to spend part of the day hitting the slopes at Beech Mountain. Beech Mountain is a bit of a longer drive from the Horton, but is well worth it.
Spa day
There’s nothing better than a winter spa day. I don’t know about you, but I’ve always thought that spending a day at the spa in the winter is just that much better. One of my favorite places to go if I’ve got a whole day to relax is The Spa at Westglow. The space itself is absolutely beautiful, with amazing views of Grandfather Mountain. There are plenty of spaces for lounging around, plush robes are provided, there’s a steam room, sauna, whirlpools, and more. They even provide a healthy lunch on site.
Don’t want to go too far from your cozy room at the Horton? There are plenty of places to get a great massage in and around downtown Boone. Our expert front desk associates are happy to match you with a spa experience that will best fit your needs.
Horton Events
We host many events at the Horton. We truly enjoy bringing different members of the community into our space and collaborating. One of my favorite events that we held this winter was a special chocolate tasting experience with Boone Chocolat. This is a new up and coming business, and the owner received her chocolatier training in France. We suggest giving her a like on Facebook.
I also love it when we host pop up shops. I’ve found several cozy, unique pieces of clothing at the Horton pop up shops before they’ve even hit the shelves in downtown stores. Make sure to like us on Facebook for all kinds of news and updates about special Horton events.
Planning your stay around a special event might make it that much sweeter, so go here to see all of our upcoming events. Especially if you make it out on a night when we’re partnering with Boone Chocolat – which will hopefully happen again soon!
Plan your winter stay at the Horton Hotel
So what are you waiting for? Check our availability now and plan your perfect winter stay at the Horton Hotel. If you’re not on our email list, make sure to sign up scrolling to the bottom of our webpage. You’ll be the first to know about any winter specials. If you time it right, maybe you’ll even see some snow. I’m over here dreaming about a snow big enough for snowshoeing or cross country skiing…
Author: Megan Biddix
