Something a little different from me this week. A travel guide!! I spent last weekend in Yadkin Valley NC with my two best gal pals for their birthdays. Here are the activities we enjoyed and some recommendations for visiting this absolutely gorgeous small town. We all have decided to go back in the near future.
Where to Stay
We actually stayed in one of the local hotels The Fairfield Inn but I would highly recommend booking early enough to be able to stay in one the cabins locally.
The hotel was perfect though, plenty of space, very clean and close to everything. They have an amazing free breakfast each morning and the most kind staff members. If you’re hoping to have a more authentic Yadkin experience, here are the Cabins that come the most highly recommended:
Maggy’s Place Complete package and located right downtown, maggy’s is one of the most popular local spots to spend a quite weekend. It’s super adorable too and right within walking distance of so many fun things.
Ridenour Ranch I was heartbroken that this one was not available for us to stay in. It’s got everything you can dream of and it’s a fully functional FARM, complete with alpacas, who I’ve heard will come visit you while you drink your morning coffee on the patio (swoon). This one is great for those with children too.
Epic Mill & Falls As the name suggests, this place has their own waterfall on the property! Not quite as close to all the downtown action, but an incredible place to stay for a few days to get away from the busy downtown life. This is another place I had my heart set on but they just book up so quickly!
Where to Eat
Southern on Main
Ignore the low quality photos and trust that this food was amazing. The brussel sprouts appetizer was to DIE for and the courses we had were amazing. They also have one of the best classic margaritas I’ve ever tasted. This place is an absolute MUST. I would highly suggest that you make reservations because the wait can get long pretty quickly.
Talia Coffee
One of my girls actually spotted this place while we were driving past. It was right beside our hotel and was a drive thru only. Little did we know it was going to be our new most favorite coffee spot in all the land. This is a MUST if you’re going to be staying in the area. They have some of the best flavors and the two ladies that worked there were full of southern charm and very helpful when we asked questions. They even have Macadamia Nut Milk, so that’s certainly a must try!
Angry Troll Brewing
Great atmosphere, excellent drinks and even better food. This place is right downtown and was a 10/10 for everything, even a really great staff. I ordered the BBQ chicken nachos that everyone seemed to have a bite of. A few others had burgers which I heard were also a must try. This is another place you want to get to quickly because the wait list fills up fast!
Activities
Elkin Vine Line
I cannot express to you enough how awesome this was. Long story short, you choose which vineyards you’d like to visit for the day and Elkin Vine Line will pick you up and drop you off at the vineyards. We paid the extra fee and were also picked up and dropped off from our hotel and dinner but either way this service is AMAZING. Part of the reason is that the people that work there are extra kind, extra helpful and are just wonderful. They made our experience in Elkin extra special, especially since it was both of my girls birthday celebrations.
Shopping
There is ton’s of shopping to do within this entire Yadkin Valley area, made up of about four small towns. Above is a list specifically for Elkin, where we stayed but honestly there’s so much to take in you can probably narrow it down like we did and stick to one town. Our favorite was the General Store, that holds a ton of super cute, small town items and trinkets that are perfect for gift giving or just to tell a cool story. The general store was actually one of the stops for us on the Vine Line, to get lunch and I highly recommend you grabbing one of the fresh made sandwiches.
NC Hiking Trails
We didn’t actually make it to our planned hike because of the weather but if you’re into the outdoors and love a good walking trail, Elkin has access to some of the best trails there are. One of them includes the Mountains to Sea trail that everyone in the area loves. The entrance is super convenient and located right downtown where you can park for free and pick which trail entrance you’d like.
That’s all the recommendations that I have for just a short weekend trip, but I highly recommend you grabbing some girlfriends (or guys, no discrimination here) and taking a trip to this perfectly sweet southern town. You’ll feel like you’ve been transported to another place like but turns out you’re just right here in good ole NC.
Let me know if you’ve ever been here. What places do you recommend for a girls trip??
XOXO,
Camille
Camille Edwards 