North Cove
Stirring Environment Home to North Cove Residents
By HarrisRealty.org

When you are yearning for beautiful waterfalls, a national forest setting and a convenient location, North Cove Valley beckons.  Here in North Carolina’s scenic McDowell County, only five minutes from the exalted vistas of the Blue Ridge Parkway and 30 minutes north of I-40, is North Cove’s radiant display of exquisite property.  Spring, summer and fall bring out nature seekers for canoeing, biking, hiking, or just a drive along the scenic parkway.  Winter brings out the rosy cheeks on ski slopes and ice rinks in the area.

Stately mountain homes at Blue Ridge Country Club and nearby homes at the Fox Ridge property near North Cove Valley, condos for sale in McDowell County, horse properties in North Cove, waterfront properties in McDowell County, and a considerable number of options for vacation villas in North Cove and mountain cabins north of Marion, North Carolina properties—amongst the hardwoods, hemlocks and white pines—offer magnificent solace and beauty.  Just listen to the waterfalls from the window of your Little Switzerland property or to the babbling creek from a home in nearby Woodlawn or Ashford.

Marvelous properties for sale are woven around streams, rivers, and creeks such as Long Branch, O’Dear Creek, Lonon Branch, Pepper Creek, Pond Branch, Mace Branch, Dogback Spring Branch, Pups Branch, Laurel Branch and Yancey Pond in idyllic settings for the imaginative child or the great Inner Child.  Visitors are encouraged to bring fishing gear when traveling to these parts—a place where the beautiful waters were captured in the film, The Last of the Mohicians.

Though tribes and peoples have historically been drawn here because of moderate year-round temperatures, abundant wildlife, fertile soil and defendable turf, a hundred years ago only 16 people lived here.  It is now a township of 2,300 (plus visitors) who enjoy the verdant, rolling foothills that skirt the peaks of Linville Mountain and promenade through the Pisgah National Forest. 

Linville Gorge is on the backside of Linville Mountain Range, a 10,000-acre wilderness area with some of the best hiking and trout fishing around.  The Catawba River crosses the county and empties into Lake James, forming another recreational jewel.  Doughton Park is the largest recreation area on the Parkway with campgrounds, hiking, fishing and a picnic area.  Grandfather Mountain, one of the highest mountains in the area, is a popular destination, with several wonderful side trips along the way, such as a mile-high swinging bridge and the Nature Museum.  Mount Mitchell State Park is the highest peak in Eastern America at 6,684 feet and a favorite spot for many.

For even more variety, there’s Buckeye Lake, stocked with trout; Julian Price Park; Moses Cone Park; Roan Mountain State Park with great camping and the world’s largest natural rhododendron garden in bloom; canoe trips down the New River; and rafting or white-water canoeing on the Wataugga River.  The woodsy paradise is endless!

As for the tamed hills:  In addition to the Blue Ridge Country Club, there are Boone Golf Club, Hawksnest Golf Resort and Mount Mitchell Golf Club that can be scoped out via golf cart or on horseback!  And there’s the Tweetsie Railroad, a western theme park with amusement rides, petting zoo, and train ride to treat the youngsters.

Nearby winter sports at Appalachian Ski Mountain, Hawksnest Ski Resort, Sugar Mountain Ski Resort and Ski Beech offer everything from skiing to snowboarding to ice-skating and there are cross-country skiing trails at Moses Cone Park, Price Park, Beech Mountain and Roan Mountain State Park. 

Many businesses and industries such as Woodlawn Work Center, Rocky Siding, The Loop, North Carolina State Fish Hatchery, and Bear Den Campground fit right in with the natural setting.  The rich earth has been mined for minerals such as manganese, barium-barite, silica, cobalt, calcium, iron, phosphorus and phosphates, zinc, and aluminum.  Trigen Biopower, along with many of the locals, looks for ways for use renewable energy and environmentally friendly resources.  

The well-reputed McDowell schools offer quality education for the youngest residents.  And there are institutions of higher learning within commuting distance to this spectacular community in Western Appalachia.