Welcome to The Mountain Ledger, a weekly email newsletter highlighting things to do and news to know in Blowing Rock, Boone and the High Country. If you like this newsletter and find it useful, tell a friend! And feel free to drop us a line. Find out more about The Mountain Ledger here.
If someone forwarded you this newsletter, you can sign up here:
—
The Art of Living Retreat Center’s 380-acre mountain campus caters to meditation seekers more than traditional spa-goers; yoga, hiking, vegetarian meals
Most people driving in the hills outside Boone have probably never noticed the turnoff for the Art of Living Retreat Center. It's a 380-acre campus of housing, meeting spaces, and a striking white temple with large swan statues out front, all perched high enough in the Blue Ridge Mountains that the views stop you in your tracks.
What it is
The Art of Living Retreat Center is a nonprofit meditation and wellness campus about 15 minutes from downtown Boone and Appalachian State. It's designed mainly for multi-day, all-inclusive retreats — meditation intensives, yoga programs, Ayurveda cleanses and guest-led workshops — but it also sells day passes for people who want a taste of the place without an overnight stay.
The Boone campus opened in 2012 and is part of a broader Art of Living movement, which was founded in 1981 as a volunteer-based humanitarian and educational nonprofit aimed at building a stress-free, violence-free society. It operates in more than 100 countries.
What a day visit looks like
A day pass runs around $125 and includes three vegetarian meals plus access to the day's full activity schedule — yoga, guided meditation, sound baths, hikes and sometimes things like ax throwing or cooking classes.
The schedule is packed: sunrise yoga and hikes, chanting, multiple yoga sessions throughout the day and guided meditations.
Spa treatments (facials, Ayurvedic-style oil treatments, salt scrubs) are booked separately and aren't included in the day pass.
Lunch is served in the Purna Dining Hall during a relatively short window, roughly 90 minutes, so time your treatments or activities around it. It serves vegetarian meals “from local Boone harvests to the spices of Mumbai and the Caribbean” that are made with “fresh, sun-grown ingredients infused with nature’s life force,” according to the center’s website.
The property includes hiking trails, a labyrinth, a fitness room and a sauna, all part of day-pass access.
What sets it apart
There's a menu of treatment options, including standards like an oil massage, facials and exfoliation treatment, but also less conventional ones such as “replenishing energy treatment,” “clear breath support,” “eye bathing” and “settling the nervous system,” which is described like this online: “Warm oil is gently, slowly poured into the ears, lubricating the ear canal, calming the mind, and soothing the nervous system.”
There’s no whirlpool or other spa staples. One nicely windowed relaxation room and a steam room used mainly after treatments cover most of the "spa" experience. Most visitors seem to be on multi-day retreats following a set schedule, so an à-la-carte day visit can feel a little like stepping into someone else's program rather than a standalone offering.
Who it's for
People drawn to meditation retreats, yoga-heavy schedules or a quiet, structured reset will find plenty to do here. It also suits anyone curious about Ayurvedic-style treatments, vegetarian dining or looking for a scenic few hours that's a departure from the typical High Country lineup of hiking and shopping.
Who might want to skip it
Anyone picturing a luxury resort should adjust expectations. The facilities are clean but not high-end, and if you’re looking to lounge by a pool, well, you’re not going to find that.
Between the yoga schedules, the treatments and 380 acres to wander, there's a lot to discover here, and nothing else in the area is quite like it.
If you're going…
639 Whispering Hills Road, Boone
About 15 minutes from downtown Boone and Appalachian State; roughly 20–25 minutes from Blowing Rock
Day passes require advance reservation — call ahead for the daily activity schedule
Programming and treatments are limited to guests 18 and older, with some exceptions for family stays
Website: artoflivingretreatcenter.org
THINGS TO DO
Symphony at Appalachian Ski Mountain, MusicFest in Boone, Darren Criss at App State
FRIDAY
"Family Fun Night," 4-9 p.m., Famous Brick Oven Pizzeria, 402 Beech Mountain Parkway, Beech Mountain. Live music from Woodie & The String Pullers 5:30-8:45 p.m., bounce house 4-7:30 p.m., and outdoor movie at 8:45 p.m. Food and drinks available for purchase. Weather dependent. Free.
"Symphony on the Mountain," Appalachian Ski Mtn, 940 Ski Mountain Drive, Blowing Rock. Outdoor symphony concert featuring Jake Hoot, winner of The Voice in 2019. Opening performance at 5:30 p.m., featured performance at 7:30 p.m. Bring chairs, blankets, and soft coolers. Food and drinks available. Free shuttles from downtown Blowing Rock. Rain or shine, no refunds. No pets. Advance tickets required.
“Doc & Rosa Lee Watson MusicFest,” 7 p.m., Appalachian Theatre of the High Country, 559 West King Street, Boone. The 24th annual fundraiser honoring Boone-area music legends Doc and Rosa Lee Watson, featuring The Kody Norris Show, The Kruger Brothers, and Blue Highway.
"Love & Baseball," 7:30-9:30 p.m., Hahn Theatre, Historic Banner Elk School, 185 Azalea Circle SE, Banner Elk. A two-person romantic comedy about chance meetings, love, and baseball. $30 adults, $28 seniors/military, $12 ages 16 and under.
SATURDAY
"Darren Criss," 7:30 p.m., Schaefer Center for the Performing Arts, 733 Rivers St., Boone. Emmy and Golden Globe winner performing songs from Glee, Starkid, and Broadway, including his current Tony Award-winning role in Maybe Happy Ending. $40-$60, $25 App State students.
—
🎵 Live music this weekend
THURSDAY
"Roots in the Garden," 5:30 p.m., Daniel Boone Native Gardens, 651 Horn in the West Drive, Boone. This week: Holler Choir. Free outdoor concert with food truck and beer tent on site. Bring a chair or blanket. Picnics welcome. No dogs. Free.
FRIDAY
"Music on the Lawn," 5:30-8:30 p.m., The Inn at Ragged Gardens, 203 Sunset Drive, Blowing Rock. This week: Soul Benefactor. Free outdoor concert on the inn's lawn. Cash bar and lawn menu available. Bring a lawn chair and arrive early. No pets, coolers, or outside food and drinks. Free.
"Summer Concerts at the Jones House," 5:30 p.m., Jones House, 604 West King Street, Boone. This week: Blue Ridge Stringbenders and Jacktown Ramblers. Free outdoor concert on the lawn. Bring a blanket or chair. Rain or shine. Free parking downtown after 5 p.m. Free.
"Summer Concert Series with Gary Clark Jr.," 4:30-9 p.m., Beech Mountain Resort, Beech Mountain. Grammy-winning guitarist Gary Clark Jr. headlines with Goldford, plus additional acts across multiple resort venues. Main stage show begins at 7 p.m. Scenic lift rides, mountain biking, disc golf, and craft and food vendors on site. Tickets required. $61
REAL ESTATE WATCH
On the market: Well-known Blue Deer ice cream shop in West Jefferson
Blue Deer, the ice cream and cookie sandwich shop that started out of a camper in Blowing Rock, has a location in West Jefferson now on the market, according to a recently posted property listing with Blue Ridge Brokerage LLC. The shop is fully equipped and built out, meaning a buyer could take over and open under the Blue Deer name without doing any construction first.
The property listing for the Blue Deer in West Jefferson calls it a “rare opportunity.” (Screen shot of Blue Ridge Brokerage website)
The brand's concept is straightforward: Pick a homemade cookie, pick an ice cream flavor from Homeland Creamery, and get a custom sandwich made from the two. It's become a familiar name around Boone and Blowing Rock, where Blue Deer also has locations downtown, built on that same format.
For anyone considering opening a food business in the High Country, this skips the usual buildout and equipment costs that come with starting from scratch. The shop is ready to operate as-is under an established regional name.
The listing calls it “a rare opportunity to step into a completely outfitted shop under a recognizable regional brand, without the cost, delay, or risk of a ground-up buildout.”
Asking price: $65,000.
LOCAL NEWS OF NOTE
Boone No. 6 in Kayak rankings, new bar by App State, Boone park reopens
Boone named a top underrated college town: Boone landed at No. 6 on Kayak's list of the nation's most underrated college towns, with the travel site pointing to its $167 average nightly hotel rate, walkable downtown and easy access to hiking trails and mountain scenery as the draw for visitors even during the summer break lull. (Raleigh News & Observer)
New bar/restaurant by App State: A group of local App State alums transformed a former Hardee's next to campus on Blowing Rock Road into The Mountaineer Tavern, a bar and restaurant serving cocktails, wine, and a mostly gluten-free menu, which opened July 3 and is open daily from 5 to 9 p.m. (Watauga Democrat)
Boone park reopens: Howard Knob Park has reopened after a $2.2 million renovation that added a wheelchair-accessible panoramic overlook, improved trails and parking, and other upgrades designed to make the popular Boone mountaintop more accessible. (Watauga Democrat)
RECENT MOUNTAIN LEDGER ARTICLES YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED
➡️ On our website, we also have 20 independent reviews and recommendations of restaurants, hikes and activities — with more added all the time!
Thanks for reading The Mountain Ledger newsletter. You can find more on our website.
Let us know what you think! Or tell us what we should write about next. Or share your questions. Drop us a line at [email protected].
➡️ Why not share this email with a friend?