Whether you like art, history, nature, entertainment, or something else, there are a lot of fun things to do in Boone, NC.
What’s great is that there’s a large variety of great activities you can choose from in the city. From having fun at a theme park to doing a guided tour to seeing a football game to enjoying a show at a theater, there are activities for everyone’s liking.
I made this guide to help you out if you’re wondering what to do in Boone. I added many activities to this guide, including great museums, tours, and much more.
Best Things To Do in Boone
See Art at the Turchin Center for the Visual Arts
The Turchin Center for the Visual Arts is a center that is part of the Appalachian State University.
You can find public art galleries at the center where you can see art for free as there is no admission fee. At the center, there are six galleries where you can see exhibitions of contemporary art.
The art that you can see at the center includes work by local, national, and international artists.
In addition to going to an art exhibition, you can also go here to attend an event. Throughout the year, lots of different events take place at the center, including talks, art workshops, and other types of events.
You can also visit the center during the First Friday Art Crawl and see art, listen to music, meet the artists, and do more.
Address: 423 W King St, Boone, NC 28608
Do a Guided Electric Vehicle Tour of the Arborcrest Gardens
The Arborcrest Gardens is a botanical garden with a size of 26 acres that you can find in Boone, surrounding the home of the Stanley family. Dr. Stanley has a passion for gardening and started the garden with his wife when they moved to Boone.
At the gardens, you can find more than 14,000 species and the garden looks different during all seasons of the year.
A very fun thing to do in Boone is to schedule a 1-hour guided electric vehicle tour at the gardens. For this, you have to fill out a form on the gardens’ website and schedule a tour over the phone.
Address: 174 Evergreen Ln, Boone, NC 28607
Go to Tweetsie Railroad
The Tweetsie Railroad is a theme park that you can find close to Boone. It is situated between Boone and Blowing Rock. The theme park has a “Wild West” theme.
You can find various amusement rides and enjoy diverse live entertainment at the theme park. The main attraction of the park is a 3-mile railroad, and you can take a train ride behind a historic steam locomotive.
Throughout the year, various events take place at the Tweetsie Railroad.
For example, during the holiday season, there is a special 20-minute nighttime train ride during which you can see more than 1,000,000 Christmas lights, you can meet Santa in a gingerbread house, and do and see much more.
Play Miniature Golf at Sunrise Mountain Mini Golf
Sunrise Mountain Mini Golf is a miniature golf course with 18 holes and unique elements that is surrounded by beautiful nature.
Some of the holes can be quite challenging to play.
The miniature golf course is one of the most fun things to do in Boone for the whole family.
Keep in mind that Sunrise Mountain Mini Golf isn’t open throughout the whole season. Also, during some months of the year, you can only go here on the weekends.
Address: 1675 NC-105, Boone, NC 28607
Go to a Show at the Schaefer Center for the Performing Arts
The Schaefer Center for the Performing Arts is a venue located at 733 Rivers Street and it is part of the Appalachian State University.
The center has room for more than 1,600 people and a large variety of events take place at the venue. You can enjoy great shows by performers of the university, as well as shows by visiting artists from all around the world.
Each year, there are two arts series. One of these is “The Schaefer Center Presents” and the other one is the “APPlause! K-12 Performing Arts Series”.
In addition to that, the venue is used for a variety of events, such as the “An Appalachian Summer Festival” event.
Address: 733 Rivers St, Boone, NC 28607
Do a Guided Tour and Learn About History at the Hickory Ridge History Museum
The Hickory Ridge Living History Museum is a non-profit museum in Boone.
This is a history museum where you can learn about the Colonial era in Boone. You can learn about the history and culture of the Appalachian Mountains at this museum. Here, you can learn about what life was like when Western North Carolina was settled.
At the museum, there are historic interpreters in period clothing, and in each cabin, you can see demonstrations of a skill or an activity of daily life in the Colonial era in Boone.
You can do a guided tour of the museum from April through November. These tours last 45 minutes in total.
Address: 591 Horn in the W Dr, Boone, NC 28607
See a Football Game at Kidd Brewer Stadium
The Kidd Brewer Stadium, or The Rock, is a stadium with 30,000 seats and a great atmosphere that you can find in Boone.
You can go to the stadium and see a football game of the Appalachian State Mountaineers, which is an intercollegiate American football team of Appalachian State University.
In addition to football games, you can attend a variety of other events at the stadium which is also great if you’re looking for activities in Boone. For example, the stadium is used for concerts.
Address: 270 Stadium Dr, Boone, NC 28607
Bowl at High Country Lanes
High Country Lanes is a bowling alley that you can find at 261 Boone Heights Drive at the Boone Heights Shopping Center.
This bowling alley has modern bowling lanes with automatic scoring and bumpers for kids. You can book a lane and have a lot of fun with the whole family or with friends at this bowling alley.
Besides bowling, you can also play all sorts of arcade games, including skee-ball and pinball, and darts at High Country Lanes.
You can also get great food and drinks here. For example, you can get pizza, burgers, and much more here, as well as a large variety of unique cocktails.
There are also special nights, including a weekly trivia night and a college night.
Address: 261 Boone Heights Dr, Boone, NC 28607
Play an Escape Game at Mysterium Escape Adventure
Mysterium Escape Adventure, which you can find at 737 West King Street, is a local escape room. You can find various themed escape rooms at this place.
An escape room is a room that you have to escape from during an interactive real-life game in which you have to find clues, decipher clues, and solve puzzles. To win the game and escape from the room, you’ll have to solve all puzzles within 1 hour.
One of the escape games that you can play here is “The Omega Device”, during which you have to “save the human race before total destruction”. You can play this game with a maximum of 8 players.
Address: 737 W King St, Boone, NC 28607
Watch a Movie at Regal Boone
Regal Boone is a movie theater that is located at 210 New Market Boulevard in Boone. You can see all the latest movies at this movie theater.
The movie theater has a good sound system, comfortable seats, and a great retro interior. You also can choose from a large variety of food and drinks at Regal Boone.
If you enjoy going to the movies, you can get a Regal Unlimited pass which enables you to go to this movie theater as many times as you want for a price that is less than 2 tickets. With this pass, you also get discounts on snacks and drinks.
Address: 210 New Market Blvd, Boone, NC 28607
Visit Booneshine Brewing Company
Booneshine Brewing Company is a brewery that opened in the summer of 2015 next to Basil’s restaurant. The company grew and moved to a different building because of reaching the maximum capacity of the previous building in 2018.
At the Booneshine Brewing Company, you can find a tasting room and a restaurant where you can try out unique draft beers. You can also choose from a variety of food items, including sandwiches, flatbreads, and salads at the Tasting Room.
In addition to that, a great thing to do in Boone is to attend an event at the Booneshine Brewing Company. There are often events at the brewery. For example, during some months of the year, you can go to an outdoor trivia event at the outdoor Beer Garden.
Address: 465 Industrial Park Dr, Boone, NC 28607
See a Show at the Appalachian Theatre of the High Country
The Appalachian Theatre of the High Country is a historic venue that you can find at 559 West King Street in downtown Boone. The performing arts theater is located next to the Town Hall.
The venue dates back to the 1930s and was restored to its original design.
A large variety of events take place at the theater. For example, there are live concerts, film series, live theater performances, dance shows, and many other types of events.
During the holiday season, you can also attend a large variety of holiday events at the theater. For example, there are special Christmas concerts at the venue.
Address: 559 W King St, Boone, NC 28607
Go to The Children’s Playhouse With Your Children
The Children’s Playhouse is a children’s museum that you can find in Boone. The museum is located at 400 Tracy Circle.
At the museum, you can find all kinds of hands-on exhibits that are great for children between ages 0 and 8. The exhibits that you can find at the museum allow children to learn new things in a playful way.
Each room of the museum has a different topic that children can learn about.
A variety of events also takes place at the museum. For example, there are classes for the whole family during which children can learn to play instruments.
Address: 400 Tracy Cir, Boone, NC 28607
Explore the Watauga County Farmers’ Market
The Watauga County Farmers’ Market is a farmers market that makes for a great activity in Boone. This farmers’ market dates back to the year 1974 and is a weekly market that you can go to every Saturday morning during certain months of the year.
At the farmers’ market, you can find vendors who sell locally made and locally produced items, and there is a large variety of objects that you can shop for at the market.
For example, you can find art, crafts, food, and much more at the market.
In addition to that, there are food trucks, you can listen to live music, there are demonstrations, and there’s more to do.
Address: 591 Horn in the W Dr, Boone, NC 28607
Attend an Event at the Holmes Convocation Center
When visiting Boone, you can go to the Holmes Convocation Center. The Holmes Convocation Center is a building with a capacity of about 9,000 people that is part of Appalachian State University and dates back to the year 1968.
Throughout the year, you can attend various events at the center.
You can often go to a game of both the women’s and the men’s basketball teams of Appalachian State University.
In addition, the center is in use for trade shows, concerts, and a variety of other types of events.
Address: 111 Rivers St, Boone, NC 28608
Attend a Public Event at the Appalachian State University
Appalachian State University, the public university that you can find in Boone, organizes events throughout the year that the public can attend.
These events take place at various buildings of the university.
One of the events that you can attend is the “First Friday Art Crawl” at the Turchin Center for the Visual Arts. During this event, you can see art exhibitions and do more.
Sometimes you can also attend concerts at the university. For example, there is an annual “Holiday Scholarship Concert” of the Hayes School of Music.
There are also various fairs, events that are about art, lectures, and many other types of events that you can attend.
Go to Fun ‘n Wheels During the Summer Season
Fun ‘n Wheels is an amusement center that is located at 2788 NC-105 in Boone. It is a great place for the whole family to have a fun time that is open from spring through fall.
At the center, you can ride go-karts and there are different types of karts for different ages.
In addition to that, there’s an arcade with all sorts of fun games at Fun ‘n Wheels and there are other attractions as well.
Address: 2788 NC-105, Boone, NC 28607
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What To Do in Boone Tips
When you’re deciding what to do in Boone, I recommend also exploring the many great restaurants in the city. There are many incredible restaurants to choose from, and there’s likely one that is near one of the activities on this list.
One of the best restaurants that you can go to is “The Local”. This is a restaurant where you can have lunch or dinner. You can find this restaurant close to The Schaefer Center for the Performing Arts.
Boone Things To Do Map
I hope you found some great activities on this list! Thanks for reading my guide to the best things to do in Boone, NC.