Downtown Burnsville. Photo by Sam Dean
Burnsville tourism leaders have launched a new effort to showcase outdoor activities, the area’s high concentration of artists and the scenic nature of the mountain town located halfway between Asheville and Boone. According to committee chair Jake Blood, the initiative focuses on Burnsville as a tucked-away treasure with 100 miles of public hiking trails, a welcoming downtown and many dozens of artist studios in the countryside. It also highlights the fact that the region is home to Mt. Mitchell, the highest peak east of the Mississippi River at 6,684 feet in elevation.
“Traditionally we have looked to Asheville to bring day-trippers to our area, but we have so much to offer, why not seek out our own spot in the tourism economy?” says Blood. “So instead of focusing exclusively on Asheville, we are expanding and working with Visit NC, placing content in the Charlotte area and northern South Carolina as well as eastern Tennessee, welcoming a larger audience to spend some time in our naturally inspiring home.”
Blood and the committee are working closely with Burnsville’s Bridge the Gap Marketing to elevate the Explore Burnsville brand with a new website, logo and marketing campaign. Highlights include downtown Burnsville’s mix of stores, galleries and restaurants surrounding a two-acre greenspace in the town square; a newly located Homeplace Beer Co. with outdoor space and full-service restaurant Hog Hollow Wood Fired Pizza; inns, cabins and vacation homes including the historic Nu Wray Inn, open since 1833; the Bare Dark Sky Observatory housing the largest public telescope in NC; and one hundred miles of trails, roughly a third of which include elevations above 6,000 feet.
“With 18 named peaks soaring above lush river valleys, this is an outdoor paradise,” says Blood. “We have cold, fast-running rivers for fishing and kayaking; national, state and county campgrounds; and backroads to hidden treasures, including more than a half dozen pedestrian swinging bridges.”
The region also has one of the highest numbers of artists per capita in the country. Creative organizations like Penland School of Craft, Toe River Arts and Parkway Playhouse attract visitors from across the US through workshops, performances, studio tours and retail spaces. More than one hundred artists open their homes twice per year during the Toe River Arts Studio Tour. One of the largest and longest running studio tours in the country, the tour features artists working in every medium.
“I do believe it is the nature of this area to inspire,” says Blood. “Whether you’re an artist, hiker, crafter or kayaker, these mountains offer so much.”
Learn more at ExploreBurnsville.com or by calling the Burnsville-Yancey Chamber of Commerce at 828.682.7413.
