All products featured on Condé Nast Traveler are independently selected by our editors. However, when you buy something through our retail links, we may earn an affiliate commission.
Winter sports may not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think of the Appalachian Mountains, much less powder-y slopes of North Carolina ski resorts. The area is known for warmer outdoor pursuits, boasting some of the best climbing, kayaking, and mountain biking east of the Rockies.
But in the Blue Ridge Mountains—Western North Carolina’s section of the Appalachians—there are a handful of wholly unexpected ski resorts that are worth a visit.
With a general focus on family-oriented experiences and excellent terrain parks, North Carolina’s ski and snowboard scene is minute but mighty. Thanks to the region’s generally mild winters, the area’s snowmaking capacity is top-notch, which often means excellent conditions daily, no matter the forecast. (It also makes for some great t-shirt weather in the early and later parts of the season.) Plus, as areas like Charlotte, North Carolina’s Research Triangle (Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill), and Greenville, South Carolina, continue to attract more and more transplants from the Northeast, many who are used to weekend ski trips to the Green or White Mountains or the Poconos, the Blue Ridge winter sports scene offers plenty of action just a few hours’ drive away.
You will need to temper some expectations: The Rockies these are not. With an average elevation of under 800 feet, you may spend just as much time on the lift as you do on the snow. But if you’re a local looking to get your ski or snowboard fix without getting on a plane, or if you’re visiting the area in winter and want a day of adventure, North Carolina ski resorts offer more than enough snowbound fun to warrant a detour.
Centered around the Boone and Blowing Rock area to the north, and Asheville a bit further south, North Carolina’s mountains boast at least five ski areas that are well worth visiting—read on for details.
All listings featured on Condé Nast Traveler are independently selected by our editors. If you book something through our links, we may earn an affiliate commission.
Sugar Mountain Resort
Sugar Mountain, North Carolina
Due to its bounty of runs and the fact that it has the most vertical of any of North Carolina’s ski mountains at 1,200 feet, Sugar Mountain is North Carolina’s largest and arguably most well-known ski area. What the others on this list lack in expert trails, Sugar more than makes up for with plenty of steep, challenging runs geared toward veteran skiers and snowboarders.
Of course, if you’re in search of the greens and the blues, you’ll have plenty to keep you occupied. And Sugar is loaded with eight lifts, including six-passenger lifts and a new high-speed line that spirits you to the peak in just over two-minutes, which can easily make you forget about the lack of vertical.
The pass situation: Single-day adult passes are $58 Monday through Friday and $84 on weekends and holidays. Passes for juniors run $40 and $59 respectively.
Where to après, eat, and drink: For those who aren’t only interested in blasting down the mountain, Sugar boasts an excellent lodge for après- (or avant-) ski, along with tubing, ice skating, and even snowshoeing options. Just four miles down the road you find the ultra-charming little mountain town of Banner Elk, where you’ll be doing most of your non-slope hanging. Food and drink options are plentiful but check out Sorrento’s Italian Bistro for some classic Sicilian fare (and carbo loading) or Nguyen’s Asian Grill for bone-warming pho.
Where to stay: There are plenty of homeshare options on Airbnb and VRBO.
Beech Mountain Ski Resort
Beech Mountain, North Carolina
Whereas Sugar is perhaps North Carolina’s most well-known mountain, Beech, as locals call it, might be its favorite. Though the vertical drop is a few hundred feet less than Sugar (830 feet), the mountain itself is taller. At over 5,500 feet, Beech boasts the claim of not only being the highest ski area in North Carolina, but the whole of the Eastern United States.
With seventeen trails and eight lifts, there is plenty of room at Beech for everyone. And Beech Mountain boasts excellent night skiing, with the lifts running until 9p.m. daily during the bulk of the season.
One of the best parts about Beech and Sugar Mountains are their proximity to one another. Just forty minutes separate the mountains and, if you’re looking for a mix-it-up kind of weekend, you can easily ride both.
The pass situation: Full-day passes at Beech start at $48 during the week for adults and $79 on the weekend, $38 and $59 for juniors and seniors.
Where to après, eat, and drink: Like Sugar Mountain, Beech is just a few minutes up the road from the town of Banner Elk. But it also has its own selection of great places to eat and drink, such as Beech Mountain Brewing Co., which is open daily from 10a.m. to 6p.m., and the 5506’ Skybar, which is only accessible to riders and skiers with a valid lift ticket. You should also check out local favorite, Famous Brick Oven Pizzeria.
Where to stay: The Beech Mountain Inns offer the opportunity to stay right on the mountain. If you’re looking to ride both Beech and Sugar, a rental in Banner Elk is the way to go.
Cataloochee Ski Area
Maggie Valley, North Carolina
Roughly 50 minutes directly west of Asheville, at the edge of the Great Smoky Mountains, Cataloochee Ski Area is North Carolina’s oldest It’s geared more toward the beginner and intermediate skiers and snowboarders, being small in stature and featuring just 740 feet of vertical, but does offer eighteen runs spread across five lifts and one terrain park.
The resort is also home to one of the world’s best snowboarders; X Games gold medalist and world-class rider Zeb Powell, who grew up riding Cataloochee’s runs and perfecting his madcap style in its terrain park. In fact, Powell credits Cataloochee’s lack of vertical as one of the main reasons he developed his singular style of uber-creative snowboarding.
The pass situation: On weekdays, adults can ski for $49 and juniors for $39. Weekend rates are $79 and $59.
Where to après, eat, and drink: Load up before you hit the slopes at the beloved local haunt Joey’s Pancake House. And after? Definitely stop in to Frankie’s Italian Trattoria for some hearty Italian. Like most North Carolina mountain towns, you’re never far from an excellent brewski. In Maggie Valley, you’ll find your beer at BearWaters Brewing Company.
Where to stay: When skiing Cataloochee, the best bet for resting your head is in nearby Maggie Valley. There, you’ll find a few budget hotel options and a more rustic lodge called the Maggie Valley Creekside Lodge.
Appalachian Ski Mtn.
Blowing Rock, North Carolina
Known simply as “App” by the locals (like how Boone’s Appalachian State University is simply called “App State” around North Carolina), this diminutive ski area boasts one of the most highly-regarded collections of terrain parks on the East Coast.
With three in total—one of which is reconfigured and rebuilt on a weekly basis—App is the perfect spot for the more stunt-savvy skier and snowboarder. Included in these parks is one of only eleven Burton Progression Parks in North America. But be prepared to sit through a short video and complete a ten-question quiz if you’re planning to use one of the upper-level areas, as certification is required to ride them.
If boxes and rails and jumps aren’t your thing, App features twelve trails, the majority of which are intermediate. Coupled with just 365 vertical feet, App is perfect for the beginner and intermediate alike. With slopes open and lit until 10p.m. on weeknights and midnight on the weekends, you can enjoy a full day of riding and then some.
The pass situation: Weekday tickets run $46, going up to $71 on Saturdays and Sundays; they're $31 and $55 for juniors and seniors. Given App’s proximity to App State University, students can score weekday passes for just $37.
Where to après, eat, and drink: Blowing Rock is one of North Carolina’s most beloved small towns, featuring an abundance of food and drink options. Be sure to check out the Speckled Trout Restaurant and Bottle Shop for top-notch regional fare (and some of those craft brews that Western North Carolina has quickly become famous for). If you’re after something a bit more upscale, hit the Best Cellar Restaurant, a fine-dining staple since 1975. Of course, Boone is just down the road with even more options, high-, middle-, and low-brow alike.
Where to stay: Established in 1846, the Chetola Resort is one of the finest and most historic hotels in Western North Carolina. Meanwhile, the Mountainaire Inn is one of the most highly rated budget hotels in America.
Wolf Ridge Ski Resort
Mars Hill, North Carolina
A few hours down the Blue Ridge range, past the Pisgah National Forest, you’ll find the ultra-charming mountain city of Asheville. Known for the massive Biltmore mansion and a robust craft-beer scene, Asheville is smack in between two of the Blue Ridge’s best small ski areas, making it a perfect home base to hit both mountains over a weekend.
Thirty minutes north of the city is Wolf Ridge Ski Resort. With a peak elevation of 4,700 feet and 700 feet of vertical, Wolf Ridge is the smallest of the area’s ski slopes. But with only two of its fifteen slopes rated as advanced, Wolf Ridge is a great mountain for beginner and intermediate riders, and is amazing for families. Like any small ski area, what it may lack in vertical action, it more than makes up for with a top-notch lodges and night skiing.
The pass situation: Day passes for adults cost $47 on weekdays and $76 on the weekend. Students and juniors can score a ticket for $37 and $56 respectively. Seniors ride free.
Where to après, eat, and drink: Your best bet for entertainment when skiing Wolf Ridge is in nearby Asheville, which boasts some of the best eating and drinking in the South. Tupelo Honey, with its modern take on classic Southern cuisine, is perhaps Asheville’s most famous and beloved eatery. If beer is your thing, there are few better places to be than Asheville, which is easily one of America’s best brewery towns. But if you’re going to check out only one of them, head to Highland Brewing Company, which is the “largest independent, family-owned brewery in the Southeast.”
Where to stay: If you want to stay closer to the mountain than Asheville, opt for the stately Bald Mountain House at Wolf Laurel Resort B&B is just down the road.
