Blowing Rock Attractions

The Blowing Rock, located near the town of the same name, is considered by many to be North Carolina's original tourist destination. Founded in 1933, The Blowing Rock is a cliff 1333m / 4000ft above sea level that juts out over the Johns River Gorge. The view from overhanging deck at The Blowing Rock is spectacular on a clear day, with views out over the Blue Ridge Mountains.

The Mystery Hill Heritage Museum is Blowing Rock is located in the former home of the Dougherty brothers who founded the Appalachian State University. Visitors can step into the Heritage Museum to see what life would have looked like in the late 19th and early 20th Century.

The museum is part of the Mystery Hill Complex that includes the Mystery House, the Hall of Mystery and an Artifacts Museum, all in addition to the Heritage Museum.

Mystery Hill near Blowing Rock is place of strange events and optical illusions. The Mystery House offers all kinds of mind bending experiences, where balls appear to roll up hill and other gravity defying experiments are sure to entertain all ages. The Mystery Hall on Mystery Hill demonstrates a variety of physics and math theories in fun to learn, hands on experiments.

Mystery Hill is a great outing for families.

Tweetsie Railroad in Blowing Rock is a railroad theme park that focuses on the days of cowboys and trains. The park opened in the 1950s and continues to operate. One of the highlights is a ride on the Number 12 steam locomotive which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. There area also all kinds of other rides, mostly designed to entertain small children.

The Tweetsie Railroad also features entertainment for adults with musical performers and a variety of shows.