Best River Adventure With Little Kids
Valle Crucis Park is the best option for family fun on the Watauga River in the Boone area. This is especially so if you have younger children.
The park is located behind the Mast General Store Annex in the heart of valley. Here are some of the things you can do at the 28-acre park.
- Playing in the river
- Playing on playground (swings, miniature kid houses, standard playground equipment, etc.)
- Exercising around the paved track and grassy trail (biking, running, scootering, walking, etc.)
- Playing basketball on courts
- Playing Frisbee, soccer, and other sports in the open grass
- Having a picnic in the grass or under the pavilion
- Learning about the local wildlife with the signage posted around the paved track
- Listening to music during “Music in the Valle” on summer Fridays
The grounds include restrooms and a sheltered picnic pavilion. Pets are welcome.
After you’ve exhausted yourself on the park grounds or river, the Mast General Store Annex and its Dutch Creek Ice Cream shop are just a short walk away.
Also, the Ham Shoppe is close by as well. It’s across the street from the Mast General Store Annex in case you want to have a bite to eat.
Valle Crucis Park: A Park That Almost Wasn’t
In the ‘80s, a 12-acre tract bordering the Watauga River was slated to become a mobile home park or RV campground.
But the Cooper family, which owns Mast General Store, and other members of the Valle Crucis community took action. They formed the North Carolina’s first rural historic district.
The Cooper family, in particular, contributed time and resources for development of the park. They also donated a 22-acre farm in the historic district, so the land will always remains recreational and agricultural land.
Music in the Valle Concerts at Valle Crucis Park
During the summer months, Valle Crucis Community Park hosts Music in the Valle concerts each Friday evening. This weekly event is great, one of the premiere outdoor gatherings in the High Country, in my opinion.
(Unfortunately, it’s not taking place in 2020. It will be back next year, though.)
People bring blankets and chairs to enjoy the music and chat with friends and family. Kids roam the park grounds until dusk. Each week, a local food truck serves food and occasionally a brewery is on site.
During the event, a volunteer walks around with a bucket, seeking a small suggested donation. It’s a good deal, and the proceeds go right back into operating the park.
Annual Auction for Valle Crucis Park
While the Music in the Valle concerts help support operations, the annual fundraising auction is the most “significant fundraising event” for the Valle Crucis Community Park.
This event happens the fourth Saturday in August at the nearby Valle Crucis Conference Center.
The auction helps to cover the park’s operating fund for maintenance, landscaping, trash pickup and stocking the bathrooms.
“All the little things that go to keeping it beautiful out there,” former VCCP Executive Director Caroline Poteat Gandy told me for a prior article in High Country Press.
For more information and to support the park, click here or call 828.963.9239.
Valle Crucis Park is located at 2892 Broadstone Road in Valle Crucis. For directions: