Travel Tips

Travel Note

Lodging

We recommend you book a hotel room nearby in Linville, Newland, Sugar Mountain, Banner Elk, or Boone right away, as that is a very busy week of the year. Check out the following options for an overnight stay in the area: - The Pineola Inn - The Pixie Motor Inn - Cabins/condos on Sugar Mountain - Smoketree Lodge - Sugar Top Resort - Airbnb and VRBO cabins in the area You can also register to camp with us and all our GMHG friends here: http://sabas.idloom.events/GMHG_2025_Camping Tickets are on sale now, and camping has been known to sell out fast. We’ve been told there is a minimum of four nights for camping passes. Call the main office with any questions about that.

Flight

TRI - Tri-Cities Airport

Although Charlotte is the nearest international airport, the Tri-Cities Airport in Blountville, TN, is the closest one to Grandfather Mountain. It’s very small and easy to fly into or out of. From there, you’d need to rent a car and drive to your accommodations near Grandfather Mountain, which is about 1 hour and 15 minutes’ drive away. For domestic flights passing through Charlotte, we don’t recommend a layover of less than one hour in Charlotte before your flight to the Tri-Cities Airport. If you’re flying internationally (¡pura vida, amig@s de Jess!), we recommend choosing at least a four-hour layover in Charlotte to allow time to get through Customs and recheck your luggage. Amig@s que vienen desde Costa Rica: Escríbanse a Jess en WhatsApp antes de llegar con sus planes de vuelo, y ella intentará enviar a algun@ amig@ para que los recoja y los lleve a su alojamiento si no pueden obtener permiso para conducir en los Estados.

Travel Note

Getting There and Parking

No public transportation leads to the location of the wedding. You’ll drive through some cellular dead zones, so make sure you download maps to your phone before you start your journey. Enter “MacRae Meadows” into Google Maps to arrive on the premises. Pull over at the white registration tent on the side of the road and tell the attendant that you’re there for the wedding. The attendant will give you a free camp visitors’ pass, which will allow you to park for the entire day. The attendant will direct you across the street to the designated parking area. You’ll park in the grass just outside the gate to the games. The ceremony will be held inside the grounds of the games, so you’ll need to walk through the main upper gate and then down into Grove 1. Ask anyone you see to point the way. If you need assistance getting from your car to the ceremony, let us know in advance; we’ll arrange help for you.

Travel Note

Avery County & Hurricane Helene

Avery County was hit hard by Hurricane Helene last September. Please consider volunteering or donating to ongoing relief efforts. Feeding Avery Families https://feedingaveryfamilies.org/volunteer/ As of May, we also found this information on the averycountync.gov website: “How to Volunteer: Call the Avery County hotline at 823-873-8273. The hotline is open Monday–Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.” Be sure to check official websites like drivenc.gov regarding road closures before driving in the area. Many roads were severely damaged by Hurricane Helene, and rebuilding will take years. Here’s the official road reopening dashboard: https://ncdot.maps.arcgis.com/apps/dashboards/cb4d6b257ed8420e838f7baffc9ecdbe

Travel Note

Grandfather Mountain (the park)

We strongly recommend you take a little extra time while you’re here and visit Grandfather Mountain! You must pay an entrance fee and book a reservation time in advance. Don’t miss the spectacular views from the mile-high swinging bridge and all the animals in their enclosures.

Travel Note

Hiking

If you want to explore the area a bit before going home, we recommend the following hikes: - Really anything in the Linville Gorge / Linville Falls area - Wiseman’s View - Upper Creek Falls trail (swimming hole!) - Huntfish Falls trail (swimming hole!) We recommend looking up all potential hiking trails on alltrails.com to confirm that they have reopened. Many were damaged by Hurricane Helene. Even before Helene, the roads to many of these hiking spots were rough and bumpy. We recommend taking a reliable car with decent ground clearance. Talk to Jessie and Mark if you want specific recommendations. Always download maps before heading to trails in the area. There are several cellular dead zones in the area, and you’ll likely lose service on your phone more than once.

Travel Note

Grandfather Mountain Highland Games

Jessie’s been going to Grandfather Mountain for more than 20 years, and Mark’s not far behind her. Stay until the next weekend (July 10–13, 2025) and finally see what we both love so much about it!

Travel Note

Linville Caverns

Linville Caverns is another cool place to visit in the area. They were severely damaged by Hurricane Helene, so they may still be closed from that.