They were somewhat busy, but it took an hour and half till we got our meal. Wish they told me the wait upfront, otherwise wouldn't have stayed. They have a good Mac and cheese and a good BBQ sauce. The pulled pork wasn't up to par. The chicken was alright.

The Old Hampton BBQ in Linville, NC offers a cozy, rustic atmosphere with delicious Southern fare. Their fried okra is a must-try, crispy and flavorful. The live music adds to the charm, creating a lively dining experience perfect for enjoying authentic BBQ flavors with a side of entertainment.

The bbq was actually better than I expected, based on some of the recent negative reviews, and the lady in the front (owner?) was very friendly. Really the only bad thing I have to say is that there’s no actual service, even though they ask for tips.

The food was delicious. You can sit either inside or out, but they've got live music playing up on stage. When we went, they had a couple of older country singers up there. Best experience I have ever had in a restaurant.

Great food. Good music. Great people. This was an accidental find on our way back from Boone. It is like a old time family reunion/pig picking for BBQ enthusiasts. Well done and served quick. Order in the line. Wait for your food to pop up, grab a table inside or out. Next time, and there will be one or more, I will try the pork rinds made on site with their homemade pimento cheese.

We were craving bbq after a nice long hike, this hit the spot! Fast, friendly, and the food was fantastic! My husband decided to try the smoked chicken salad plate (mac & cheese) and while I went with the pulled pork plate (collard greens & fries) along with a basket of fried okra! It was all great! We were able to sit out side with our furry sidekick and still hear and enjoy the live music from inside. Great atmosphere! We will be back!

Neat building / space but not really a BBQ restaurant. The atmosphere is great but I've never been to a self touted BBQ restaurant that only had shredded pork and chicken. The food is pricey and it's pretty generic. It's totally self service and that even includes returning your pint glasses to the bar. The only bright spot was the bartenders. They were pros. But the bar layout is pretty horrible and there is no service bar so you can't get a bev without reaching over another patron (while getting uncomfortably close and begging for a disaster) while navigating boxes on the floor behind the bar stools. The wings didn't have any smoke flavor and the rub was dull. The sliders were three Hawaiian rolls with a bit of meat and apple butter and that amounted to 4$ each. Crazy. A BASKET OF FRIED OKRA WAS $8.99 "Sourdough" didn't much seem to be sourdough. There were Steamer pans on top of a light fixture presumably catching water from a roof leak. Overall, massive disappointment. Won't be back.

Some of the best pulled pork i have ever had and the wings were amazing with just the dry rub, my wife had the smoked turkey, collard greens and Mac and cheese, all of it was great!! We did some shopping at the store as well, lots of great stuff, and there's a really kool blacksmith in the back!!! We will definitely be back!!

Stopped here for lunch with the family during vacation. The atmosphere and live music were excellent, definitely 5 stars for that part of the experience. As for the BBQ part, menu options were limited to pulled pork or chicken, which was a bit disappointing since we came here looking for brisket. But both were very tasty along with the fried okra and potato salad. The sauce bar was great too, nice vinegar based Carolina bbq sauce. It’s self serve for a lot of things which I prefer since you don’t have to wait for a waiter/waitress. Seating was a bit limited. I’d say the place is somewhere between a roadside stand and a full blown restaurant. Great gift shop in the store itself was nice and the art shop next door is definitely worth checking out.

By far, one of the best experiences that I ever had in USA. Delicious food and a great, great, great, GREAT band playing local music. Amazing.

Food was good but expensive. But you also get to see and hear some great music groups. Which make it a great value.

Great little store! Great atmosphere. Cute little shop. Good food, kind and friendly staff. Great place to get a quick bite and hear some live music and get a few gifts.

Our guide was Jay Jay. What an amazing guy. Patient and kind, he took his time teaching us to fly fish. He brought everything needed from the hip waders to the flies, rods and polarized sun glasses. It had recently rained so most streams were muddy so he changed up what was planned and took us farther up the mountain. The first area landed us 9 trout. The second we only fished for a short time as it was still pretty muddy. The last location was a really tiny stream down a ravine. It was a hike down and then slowly made our way up the stream fishing each pool drop for small Brown Trout which we caught 2 of. All in all a wonderful day and a fantastic experience. Thank you Jay Jay. I hope to be back next year.

Nils did a great job. I got lots of great tips and techniques from him. And I caught brown trout dispite it being a tough time of year to fly fish.

Worth every penny! My 15 yo and I had an epic day with Nils. My kid had never used a fly rod before, and he put 20 fish in the boat. The Watauga is beautiful enough that we'd have had an epic day even with zero fish. Nils is a great teacher and a fun companion. Highly recommended!

Spent a full day with Nils and a couple friends on a float trip. The fishing was great, but Nils was the highlight of the trip. He’s the man and makes a day on the water fishing better than it already is.

We were referred to Nils by a friend who knows a lot about fly fishing, so our expectations were high going into our trip. Our expectations were 100% blown away. Not only will Nils put you on fish, he has terrific customer service and is really great at making sure everyone on our trip had a wonderful time on the water, plus he is extremely patient and a great teacher of the sport of fly fishing. We booked the trip to celebrate my dads 60th bday and had such a fun and unique experience that we can't wait to come back and do it again soon. Book Nils for your next fly fishing adventure and you will not be disappointed. Thank you, Nils!

I have never been much of a fisherman, much less a fly fisher. At the invitation of a dear friend who is an amazing angler, off went my wife and I for a two day fly fishing experience. To put it mildly, it was a fantastic experience, and our guide, Nils Peterson, put together a great combination of floating down the Watauga in Tennessee the first day and fishing some terrific private water back in North Carolina the second day. We caught plenty of trout to write home about! And Nils helped us feel experienced and confident that we could do this. People travel the world to catch fish like Nils led us to on day two. Whatever you do, you should check out West Fork Anglers!

Nils took several of us out for the day. We had no previous experience. Nils did a great job of explaining what we should expect before the trip. Once on the water Nils was extremely patient. We caught fish and had a fantacfan day. The best part may have been our picnic lunch. His daughter prepared homemade cookies! They we're delicious. We can't wait for our next trip with West Fork Anglers. David

Book a trip with Nils and you are sure to have a great day of fishing! It is clear that Nils has a passion for what he does and enjoys meeting and teaching both new and experienced anglers alike. We shared a bunch of laughs and caught a ton of fish on the Watauga!

Absolutely amazing. Tons of beautiful views. A beautiful lake you can rent small boats and paddle boards on. Bring a sweater the weather changes quick here. It's magical

Terrible experience. Having to ride on the shuttle to get here instead of driving your own car only to get to the road to go up the mountain and learning from the bus driver that the shuttles aren't allowed on the main road so we had to go off roading up the mountain shows how little regard is given to the paying customers of the games. The athletic field is surrounded mainly by the clan tents so if you are lucky enough to find a place to sit, you can't see much of anything. The dancing tents are blocking our view of the athletic events. We waited over an hour in line to get food and because of the setup of the field and the food tents, you can't see anything going on while you wait. We paid so much money and as a customer that isn't Scottish and came to the games to enjoy the events, I feel like we are completely disregarded as useful other than to take in our hard earned money, to the event. We will never be returning. We could have had a much more enjoyable experience with our friends and family, which this is their first time attending a highland games event, doing something different in the mountains of NC. Stone Mountain is a completely different Highland Games experience. It is actually enjoyable to attend and you can actually watch what is going on. I am unsure though if some of our newbies in our party will ever attend due to the awful experience here.

The Scottish experience I enjoyed, I'm not one to write a review but, management, communications about shuttles was very poor, especially if your handicap, requested ride to fields as I was told, either nobody there, or available, no radios with personnel, open and closed locations, get a different answer every time, I would not return

I love the games every year. It's great to catch up with friends and family who I only see on the mountain. So, why 3 stars? Well, my and other's interactions with some of the staff this year were so horrible that it almost turned me off to the games all together. It would be most advisable for the board to reconsider who they have interacting with their customers. I do not believe that the impression these people are giving is the impression the board wishes to exude. Edit: That staff memeber has been fired and tried to blow up the building. New staff is even worse. They keep making changes in what appears to be an attempt to keep people from coming. It's working. I'm hearing of many who will not be attending and I will only be there 1 day instead of my normal 4, and that 1 day is simply because I have a clan annual meeting I cannot miss. Get your act together!

Very expensive and uncomfortable. Under the sun all the time since the shaded areas were occupied by paying groups no leaving anything for the rest of us. Not enough vendors so almost impossible to eat or drink somewhere since long lines. I won't come back, very boring

We had heard basically nothing but good things about the games, so we drove 3 hours one way from the Triad area to attend this year. We arrived with anticipation only to pay $60 (2 adults) for admission and spent little more than an hour there and left EXTREMELY disappointed. The festival is centered around a track for the field games (pole vaulting, tree throwing, etc), and besides a lot of clan tents and 1-2 tents with music there are no real attractions. Events there seem very poorly organized and unless you are from a Scottish family or know someone competing in the games, there is almost no point in going. We ended up leaving bored after about an hour and spent the rest of our day on Grandfather mountain and Linville Caverns before driving ANOTHER 3 hours one way back home. Would not attend again or recommend unless you live in the area anyway or know someone competing in the games.

Love the mountains and anything Scottish. Nothing sounds better than those bagpipes in the mountains of North Carolina. Very friendly people and great food too. Wonderful entertainment!!

While most state parks in NC are free, this one is not. Not only is it not free, it costs $22/person for adults. This seems incredibly expensive to me. The hours aren't great either. Most of the year they don't open until 9am. In the summer they open at 8am. As someone who likes to start early to beat the crowds, this isn't ideal. We went on a weekday morning last fall and it was a zoo. The mile high swinging bridge is cool, but also attracts most of the crowds. The crowds die off on most of the other trails. I'd recommend avoiding the main part of the park and hiking the Profile Trail to Calloway Peak. It starts at a different location and you don't have to pay. It's also much less crowded.

Trails were fun and exciting, they also accommodate for all skill levels of hiking. The mile high bridge was a thrilling experience and provided fantastic photo opportunities. They hall small animal exhibit with bears, bald eagles, cougars, otters, and elk. Good gift shop as well with interesting souvenirs. Definitely recommend to anyone in North Carolina.

Great adventure to Grandfather Mountain State Park. This park has a suspension bridge between two peaks on the top of the mountain which is a 1 mile up. The views were breathtaking! Grandfather Mountain also has an animal habitat, with some great informative presentations by the animal handlers.

First time visiting Grandfather Mountain. The sights were breathtaking. You’re given a CD to listen to as your driving, an informative tour. Once you reach the building at the top, there’s 3 floors. A gift shop on the first, a museum on the second, and on the third is a door leading out to the skybridge. If you walk out on the rocks to the ledge, it’s at your own risks so do be careful.

This is located in the Boone Area in North Carolina ! Such a beautiful place , there is a entrance fee for each person, I believe it’s about 25$ a person . We went on the weekend during the summer time , we had such a great time . There are several places you can visit as you drive up to the bride and the hiking trails . We went into the museum it was pretty awesome , and the small zoo exhibit they have . The bridge was absolutely beautiful there was a crowd of people , very hard to take good pictures bc of the crowds . But over all the view is amazing , breath taken well worth it . Now they have several trails and you do have to sign a small waiver , before starting it. Some trails are risky and dangerous. I would not take children in these trails bc there are some parts of the mountain that are dangerous around certain edges. Definitely have hiker shoes and have water bc the trails are long .

Some absolutely lovely views! The only negative thing about it is that it wasn't cheap to get in. Otherwise, it was incredible and had a very fun hiking trail.

Love this place , there’s some hiking area , I enjoy the scenic drive and the views are breathtaking. Autumn is the best time to go .

It is really pretty but it isn't worth it if you are on a budget. It cost 24 dollars per adult and if you go with your family it will be outrageously expensive for what you get to see. But when you get to see it it's absolutely gorgeous, probably one of the best views you can get when it isn't cloudy. They have a lot of trails to walk. The swinging bridge is the most pretty part. It has to be the best attraction in Boone and blowing rock (if your willing to spend a pretty penny of course) but if you are time and money then have at it.

This is a bucket list place! The mile high bridge is so awesome. The views aew amazing. It was foggy the day I was there. We were the only people there on a Monday morning around 9am. That was a big plus too!

I absolutely love Grandfather Mountain. I’m regretting life choices since I don’t live closer to it. The weather is beautiful, the visitors center is excellent, and the mile high bridge is amazing!

Great time. Views are amazing. Very windy up there. The dwarf trees show the effects of the wind.

Amazing views and trails. You can make this a hour trip or an all day event. Wear you best hiking shoes and bring some cash for the restaurant and stores

Wow! Breathtaking 360-degree views from the top of Grandfather make the trip (and the cost--$53 for 2 Senior tickets) worth the visit to Boone, NC. Crossing the bridge and climbing the rocks is safe, but one should wear non-skid shoes. Be aware that it can be much colder with the gusty winds at the top of the mountain. Nice gift shop and a full floor dedicated to the history, images and conservation of the mountain. Well done to the non-profit organization that runs the place.

Beautiful place. There is a lot to do here. There is Mile high swinging bridge, Numerous trails, zoo and a museum. We bought the tickets online. There is the curve where forest gump ran, you cannot miss the ‘forest gump ran this curve’ sign. In the zoo we got to touch a snake. Saw bears, cougars and bald eagles. You can easily spend a day here. Kids would enjoy here too.

Fantastic experience! The trails are well marked and offer a good day hike challenge. The suspension bridge offers amazing views, but McCrae Peak was the main attraction for us. The trail was only 3 miles but was a good challenge and had a really fun stair ladder and rope section to get there.

Went with my family and had a blast. The view is amazing and they have a small discovery center for the kids. Its the perfect place to have a picnic lunch up on the mountain. The fresh smell of the flowers cascades everywhere. Drive with your windows down and enjoy the fresh scent and wonderful breeze.

Visiting the NC mountains (near Banner Elk) should include a trip to Grandfather Mountain to walk across the mile high swinging bridge. Breathtaking views of the mountains along with many hiking trails (some trails warn you to be experienced hikers). There are several animal habitats to view, but on this day they were sleeping. Rangers do give informative talks scheduled throughout the day. There is a cafe and restrooms along with several exhibits to view. Be sure to look through the view master devices across from the cafe to see awesome 3D photos of the mountain. I recommend you arrive early to avoid the crowds. Buying tickets on line is recommended because they can turn you away if they are at capacity. Adult tickets range from $22 to $28 and kids start at $10. To get the AAA discount you have to buy on line. Prices vary during peak season.

Went couple of days after Christmas 2023 and it was awesome! They have a Zoo and Bridge, trails so much to do and we spent hours there.

Oh, the views!! Amazing views from what feels like the top of the world. Beautiful nature center and museum. Lots of trails to hike. Beautiful little spots to stop and picnic all the way up the mountain. Plan on spending the whole day ( there is so much to do and see) but, get there here early the bridge and summit get very busy and crowded, not a great way to enjoy it.

Amazing experience. I went there just for exploring overlook places, however, I noticed it worth spending all day with family there. They have picnic area, restrooms, a lot of overlook areas. I went there on a Friday afternoon. There were a lot of people, but I heard during weekends it's way more crowded.

It's been a while since I've been in these parts of NC. Grandfather Mountain always impresses. Not much of a view today, but still beautiful. Lots of trails, hiking, history, and fun to be had.

My first visit to Grandfather Mountain left me utterly captivated by its awe-inspiring beauty. The sights were truly breathtaking, offering a panoramic vista of the North Carolina mountains near Banner Elk that is simply unparalleled. Upon arrival, we opted to forgo the CD tour, as we didn't have a CD player in the car, and instead decided to read up on Wikipedia later, which added depth to the stunning scenery. The journey to the top was an adventure in itself, culminating in a magnificent building with three floors of exploration. The first floor housed a charming gift shop, while the second floor boasted a fascinating museum. However, it was the third floor that truly stole the show, with a door leading out to the skybridge—a marvel of engineering that offers a thrilling experience. Venturing onto the rocks to the ledge, while exhilarating, came with its own risks, reminding visitors to tread carefully and respect the mountain's majesty. A visit to Grandfather Mountain is incomplete without a stroll across the mile-high swinging bridge, providing unparalleled views and a sense of exhilaration that is unmatched. The mountain also offers a myriad of hiking trails, with some reserved for experienced hikers. The animal habitats, though quiet during my visit, are a testament to the diverse wildlife that calls this mountain home. The informative talks given by the rangers throughout the day provide valuable insights into the local fauna. The facilities at Grandfather Mountain are top-notch, with a cafe, restrooms, and several exhibits to explore. I highly recommend arriving early to avoid the crowds, especially during peak season. Purchasing tickets online is a wise choice, as the mountain may reach capacity and turn away visitors. Ticket prices vary, with discounts available for seniors and AAA members. The views from Grandfather Mountain are truly remarkable, offering a glimpse of nature's grandeur from what feels like the top of the world. The nature center and museum are beautifully curated, offering a deeper understanding of the mountain's rich history and ecosystem. For those seeking adventure, the mountain offers a multitude of hiking trails and picturesque picnic spots along the way. Plan to spend the whole day exploring, but be sure to arrive early to avoid the crowds that can detract from the experience. In conclusion, Grandfather Mountain is a place of wonder and beauty, with a magical touch that is sure to leave a lasting impression. It is a destination that deserves to be savored and explored at leisure, offering a truly unforgettable experience for nature lovers and adventure seekers alike.

Always love a Forest Gump filming spot...except there wasn't much of a view because it was in the clouds the day I visited

That day, for no particular reason, I decided to go for a little run.

Interesting little cinematic history at this spot.

All of a 3-second spot in a famous movie, but the location itself is pretty amazing in the fall. Definitely recommend as part of the grandfather mountain experience.

It's another part of a nice mountain road. Its use in a movie had no significance for me.

Little fun fact spots like this make me smile.

Forrest Gump ran this curve while shooting the film. Very beautiful and scenic way to the mountain.

Such a cool place - stunning views and friendly staff and volunteers

It's a road. It's a curve. Unfortunately, Tom Hanks did NOT run this, it was his brother being a body double during the filming...fun fact

Just a sign where it was filmed, but still cool nonetheless. Beautiful park with lots of hiking available. Does cost $22 for entry though. Book online.