Ski days and cozy cabin nights near
Boone, Banner Elk, and Blowing Rock
Photos by: Ridge & Reverie
A mountain holiday leaves room for a little of everything: a morning on the slopes, an evening under the Christmas lights, and time at the cabin with the people you came to see. Around Boone, Banner Elk, and Blowing Rock, three ski resorts make it easy to mix adventure with a slower pace.
Here is how to plan a winter getaway in our corner of the North Carolina Blue Ridge Mountains, with Solhaven as your home base.
View our mountain cabins and check availability.
A relaxed holiday getaway
Settle in on your first evening, choose one resort for your next full day, then save another day for town shops and holiday lights. Leave time for shared meals, a movie, and an unhurried morning before heading home.
Choose your winter adventure
Sugar Mountain Resort
Sugar Mountain offers skiing and snowboarding, plus tubing, outdoor ice skating, and guided snowshoeing when conditions allow. It is an easy choice for a group with different ideas of a snow day.
Sugar Mountain aerial view
Photo: Kimberley Jochl / Sugarmountainresort · CC BY-SA 4.0
Beech Mountain Resort
Beech Mountain pairs skiing and snowboarding with snow tubing. Evening tubing adds lights and music. Riders must be at least 42 inches tall, so check that everyone in your group can join.
Appalachian Ski Mtn.
Appalachian Ski Mtn. is a good pick for skiing, snowboarding, and lessons, with outdoor ice skating and a rink-side bonfire for a change of pace. Choose Sugar or Beech for tubing.
Reserve activities early, check age and height rules, and look at live conditions before leaving the cabin. Opening dates and individual activities depend on the weather.
Make time for the holiday lights
Tweetsie Railroad No. 12 decorated for Christmas (2018).
“Of Snow and Steam” by ET&WNC12 / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Cropped
Tweetsie Christmas brings a nighttime train ride and sparkling light displays to Blowing Rock on select evenings November 27–December 30, 2026. Book your date and train time ahead.
For small-town celebrations, visit Blowing Rock’s Christmas in the Park on November 27, with its parade November 28, or Banner Elk’s A Small Town Christmas on December 4–6. Check the final programs before you go.
Come home to Solhaven
Photos by: Caleb Jones
Our Solhaven A-frame sleeps up to eight, with a fully equipped kitchen, a game and movie room, and a private hot tub and sauna. After a day outside, come home for dinner and settle into a quieter evening together.
Pack warm layers and plan for winter roads: Solhaven requires AWD or 4WD during winter weather, with chains recommended. The Christmas photos show a past season; ask us about decorations for your stay. Snowfall is never guaranteed.
Ready for a mountain holiday? Check Solhaven availability or explore our mountain cabins.
Planning details checked November 10, 2026. Follow the official links for current schedules and conditions.
