By Jesse Wood
High Country Host announced on Thursday that they moved into their new location at the Edmisten Road and U.S. 321 intersection in Blowing Rock. A grand opening date is to be determined as High Country Host settles into its new home.
Appalachian Ski Mtn. decided to build a visitor center and detached sign at the base of Edmisten Road after the 40-year old billboard advertising the resort across the street was torn down for an access road for the Foley Center at Chestnut Ridge, which is having its own grand opening on Friday, Sept. 16.
As Appalachian Ski Mtn. was making plans for its facility, High Country Host found out that the N.C. Department of Transportation was considering selling the building High Country Host had operated out for years near the old Kmart to developers. The timing was right, so the two entities engaged in talks and worked out an agreement to operate the facility year round.
The visitor center, which is a 1,547-square-foot building, will be open seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. from Monday through Saturday and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday.
Candice Cook, marketing director for High Country Host, told High Country Press in late August that the space is essentially “split down the middle” with ASM information, merchandise for sale and webcams for view of the resort on one side – and High Country Host on the other side.
“We are taking all of our materials with us, so it’s pretty much the same thing but different location,” Cook said. “We’ll run our visitor center the same way we do here by promoting the five counties in the region for the DOT.”
The visitor center is located at the main entrance to Appalachian Ski Mtn., across the street from the newly dedicated “Reba S. and Grady Moretz, Jr. Bridge” that leads to the new Foley Center at Chestnut Ridge.
“I think it’s going to be an elegant entrance in Blowing Rock – no doubt about that. I want people to see the quality of the facilities here and the welcome center will reflect that quality experience we have in the ski area,” Appalachian Ski Mtn. General Manager Brad Moretz previously told High Country Press.
For more information about Appalachian Ski Mtn. and High Country Host, click the embedded links.
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