We visited Morganton as part of our Thanksgiving Mountains loop in November 2025.

After leaving my sister’s in Burlington, NC, we drove two hours west to Morganton. Morganton had been on our radar since our second Black Mountain visit in May 2024, when the chef at Pure and Proper recommended we visit Fonta Flora Brewery. Since there was a reasonably-convenient Harvest Host and good hiking nearby, we scheduled a night there on our way into the mountains.

Campground

Through Harvest Hosts, we stayed about 12 minutes from downtown at a small working farm with power and water hookups (for an extra fee), internet, and a dump station. We loved the peace and quiet, and we loved the animals: a big field full of goats, chickens, a cow or two, maybe a few sheeps (I can’t remember), and a giant, shaggy, beautiful Livestock Guardian Dog.

He or she kept a wary eye on us, except for when he/she was out cold in the morning after guarding all night–but he/she was still near–and oriented toward–us as he/she snoozed. Good dog!

We spotted a few RV campgrounds as we drove around Lake James, and if we spend another night in the area we’ll try camping closer to the lake rather than closer to town.

Hiking

As soon as we’d set up the trailer, we drove 25 minutes to Fonta Flora County Park to hike four miles through the woods and along Lake James on the Fonta Flora State Trail, which will eventually link Morganton and Asheville. Our hike had a detour due to construction, but overall was an easy, lovely stroll with a couple lake views (we were detoured around the main viewpoint). It’s a very popular area for both hiking and mountain biking.

Lake James is named for the same guy who founded Duke University, and was created by Duke Power (also founded by him) to electrify the region in the 1920s. The filling of the lake consumed part of the farming community of Fonta Flora–hence the name of the brewery and the trail. Nowadays, the lake is a recreation hotspot, but because development is concentrated in just a few areas, it still felt peaceful–although we were visiting after peak boating season… it’s probably a very different vibe in the high season.

In the morning, we got a different view of Lake James from above, while hiking Shortoff Mountain in Pisgah National Forest. The climb up wasn’t too difficult, the views at the top of the lake and into Linville Gorge were fabulous, and the trail wasn’t crowded at all. We clocked just under five miles for the hike. The parking area is small, so best to go early if it’s a pretty weekend day.

In the interest of vacating our Harvest Host in a timely manner, and not backtracking on our way west, we dropped the Airstream at Fonta Flora County Park and proceeded a few more minutes down the road to the Shortoff trailhead. The county park parking lot was a ghost town on a chilly weekday morning; not sure I’d recommend trying to maneuver a big trailer there on a busier day, but it worked great for us!

Eating and drinking

Post-hike, we drove along the lake to Fonta Flora Brewery’s Whippoorwill Farm location. It’s a gorgeous venue with a tasting room in a barn overlooking an open picnic/play field, surrounded by a working farm/production facility and mountains and Lake James State Park.

In the evening, we headed into downtown Morganton. It’s cute, and already decked out for Christmas, and while we didn’t partake, we were pleased to see signage about the Downtown Morganton Social District–always fun for a tourist!

In town, we hit two breweries and had dinner:

Sidetracked Brewery, our first stop, has a cozy taproom and actually had two sours on tap–and they were tart, not sweet, my preference. Not sure J loved his beer–or maybe he was just hungry–so we didn’t stay very long.

Dinner was at The Madness, chosen by J because they specialize in bento boxes combining smashburgers and sushi. What?? Yes. It’s a great spot and everything we tried was delicious.

And we couldn’t leave without checking out Fonta Flora’s original tasting room, in a beautiful historic building at the edge of downtown. J loved his beer, and I loved the exposed brick and old wood.

Next stop on our journey: Townsend, TN, and Great Smoky Mountains National Park.