Another quick weekend visit to Lindsay’s family’s cabin up in Beech Mountain. We were mostly there to attend a local music concert where one of Lindsay’s favorites, Lake Street Dive, was performing. The hurricane that had blown in almost a year prior still had a wake of destruction ever-present — 30% of the trees were down and leaning on each other, trees still leaning on power lines. We did a hike off the rec center where the river crossing was washed out, the community canoes were gone, and a whole campground and rec area were destroyed from flooding.
July 19, 2025
The whole NC trip had a ton of rain — a pleasant but humid surprise after getting so little weather out in LA. I was the only one prepared on our hike with a rain jacket and came home the most dry and comfortable. Don’t forget your essentials. The rain didn’t avoid us during the concert either, making for a muddy but fun experience, but a lightning strike forced the full venue to evacuate for 30 minutes (a much longer ordeal getting everyone in and out). Great performances though — caught the end of a family favorite, 7 Bridges Road, and Lake Street Dive was incredible. A fog rolled in later and made the lighting super moody. The resort village had free music and food vendors, but we learned the hard way: no outside food or drink inside the main stage. We’d just bought butter beers and a 32 oz lemonade, which we chugged right outside the entrance. Also saw a ton of spotted baby deer roaming around.
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Beech Mountain is the highest town in the eastern US, up in North Carolina’s High Country, with a summer concert series in the resort village and the Appalachian Trail running nearby. As of this trip it was still visibly recovering from Hurricane Helene, which devastated western North Carolina in September 2024.
If you go
Beech Mountain is the highest town in the eastern US, and as of this trip it was still visibly recovering from Hurricane Helene (September 2024), which devastated western North Carolina — downed trees, washed-out crossings, destroyed rec areas. The mountain runs a summer concert series in the resort village. Pack real rain gear: Appalachian summer means humidity and fast afternoon thunderstorms, and they will find your concert.
