Chris and I spent the weekend at Sugar Mountain in North Carolina and had SUCH an amazing time! We live in Nashville, TN and this is one of the only close places for good skiing / snowboarding. They do get some snow in this area but not enough to keep the slopes covered all winter so they have giant snow machines! Chris warned me that the snow might be a little icy but it didn’t seem icy at all when we were there! It was super powdery and you would never know it was man-made.
Ok, so a little back-story: Chris and I went to Colorado in September and did a week long road-trip through the state. One of my favorite places we stopped at was Breckenridge during their Oktoberfest festival. We only got to spend a few hours there but it was SUCH a cute place and I told him I wanted to go back in the winter and stay longer / ski (they are supposed to have great slopes!).
So, fast forward to a month ago, our friends invited us to go to North Carolina to ski and at first I was against it because I wanted to go back to Colorado instead. Chris told me he thought it was a better idea for me to attempt skiing for the first time at Sugar Mountain because the slopes are a little easier and a LOT less expensive. I agreed (I didn’t want to spend a bunch of money and end up sucking at skiing) which is how we ended up with this fun weekend trip!
We ended up having an amazing time at Sugar Mountain and I guess you could say I learned how to ski! (more to come on that…) Below I’m listing all of the details about where we stayed, what restaurants we ate at, and how I liked the slopes. Feel free to email me with any questions! (sweetstyleofmineblog@gmail.com)
Where We Stayed
So, there are TONS of cabins in the area which we did look into, but since we booked only a few weeks before going and it was a holiday weekend most of the good ones were already booked. Chris ended up finding a really cool condominium resort, Sugar Top Resort, at the top of the mountain right next to the ski slopes and we really liked it! They have a pool, hot tub, gym, sauna, and an incredible view of the mountains / slopes! You can search any of the big rental sites to find their units (found a bunch of them listed HERE).
Important Info: You cannot check in until 3 pm (no exceptions). You will need to check in with the gate (next to lot C) and they will let you go up to the top and park in front of the building while you quickly unload your car. You then have to go back down and park in one of the lots (right below the resort). They have a van that runs 24/7 to take you to and from the hotel / parking. We never waited more than 5 min! * This place was built in the 80s and some of the units (like ours) are pretty outdated, but all are kept up really well!
Where We Ate
Elevations
Chris and I ate breakfast at the condo and lunch at the ski slopes each day, but we did eat at two really great restaurants for dinner. Our first night there was actually on Valentine’s Day so we decided to go to a little bit of a nicer restaurant. We ended up going to Elevations in Banner Elk, about 5 min from the condo, and it was SO good! We got the special dinner for two they had for Valentine’s Day which came with two glasses of wine, a bacon/shrimp appetizer, an amazing 12 oz filet, asparagues, scalloped potatoes, and crème brûlée. We also shared the bananas foster with our friends and they make it table-side! Highly recommend this place (not overpriced either).
Banner Elk Cafe & Tavern
For our second night we at at Banner Elk Cafe & Tavern. This place was already super busy by 6:15 pm when we got there (45 min wait), so I recommend eating here earlier in the evening to avoid a wait. But they do have a great bar area with live music so the wait wasn’t so bad.
They have a HUGE menu and everything looked good! I ended up getting the Italian salad which was amazing. The real winner was our friend Andrea who got the blueberry barbecue salmon. She let me try some and the blueberry sauce was SO good!!! They also do a great breakfast (per our friends) and have really good coffee. Highly recommend this place!
What We Did at Sugar Mountain
Snow Tubing / Ice Skating
At the base of the mountin a little set to the right is a seperate area that has snow tubing and ice skating. We LOVED snow tubing! Super fun and easy, definitely kid freindly. They have a little conveyor belt that takes you and your tube back to the top which was SO nice because the tubes are a little heavy.
They also have ice skating there which wasn’t crowded at all! Just note that everything runs in blocks of time so it’s a good idea to check the times ahead of time and plan when you want to go. For more information you can check their website HERE.
Skiing / Snowboarding
Alright, so this is the main reason we went to Sugar Mountain for the weekend! I am NO expert when it comes to skiing (this was my first time!) so I don’t want to comment on the slopes too much, but from my experience everything was amazing! The gear I rented was in excellent shape, everyone was super fast at getting us our stuff, and the slopes were full of fluffy snow! There are a few things I do want to point out:
1.) Pay close attention to the ski lift you’re getting on! I basically did the bunny slope twice, the green slope once, and then Chris suggested we move to the middle slope because the line was so long for the green one. He told me it only went halfway up the mountain and was a blue slope, so medium level, and he said I could definitely handle it. Well… IT WENT TO THE TOP OF THE FREAKING MOUNTAIN! Like allllllll the way up. And it was definitely an intermediate ski slope, not for beginners (aka me). The ski lifts are not ‘marked’ very well so just pay close attention to the maps and when in doubt ask! Don’t end up like me and fall your way down the mountain you accidentally went up.
2.) Make sure you have the right gear. When you rent equipment there you get the skis, ski boots, and ski poles and that’s it. I highly recommend a pair of goggles, waterproof gloves, snow pants (suspender / bib version is best!), and a warm, waterproof jacket. Also, if it’s a sunny day don’t put too many layers on, you will roast! Just bring extra clothes if you want and leave them in a locker. * Bring change for the lockers! They are 50 cents each time you need to close it. The guys at the ticket counters can give you change in exchange for cash.
3.) Get there in the morning. I left right after lunch and Chris stayed to ski the rest of the day, and the line to get into the park around 1 pm was INSANE! We had no wait to park when we got there at 9 am, but I highly suggest getting there before 8:30 if you want to beat the crowds.
You can head to the Sugar Mountain Ski Resort website HERE for more info!
So that covers most of what we did at Sugar Mountain! We had an incredible time and I would definitely love to go back! Chris and I were there mainly to ski, but our friend’s wife didn’t want to so she went and had a mini spa day Saturday instead. She said she highly recommends Eseeola Spa! She had a great massage and said the massage therapist even went over her time to make sure she got all of the knots out.
What I Wore
