Compass Media Wilkesboro NC Summer Travel

Find Your Back Road...To Summertime Fun in Wilkes!

Welcome to Wilkesboro, NC! 

We're glad you stopped by. If you’re looking for fun this summer, Wilkes is the place to be. From racing to bluegrass, moonshine to wine, bring your friends and family and come stay a while. We encourage you to sign up for our quarterly e-newsletter for more plans and deals! 

Moonshine and Motorsports

Did you know NASCAR has roots in Wilkes County? In the 30s and 40s moonshine runners raced down the two-lane dirt roads of Wilkes County, outrunning revenuers with great skill, which eventually morphed into stock car racing and today’s NASCAR. Come see where it all started!

Moonshine and Motorsports Trail. We’re excited to be a part of the Moonshine and Motorsports Trail, a joint venture with the NC Department of Cultural and Natural resources to highlight our state’s rich racing and moonshine history. The North Wilkesboro Speedway and Stone Mountain State Park are two stops on this storied trail.  

Make plans to attend a race at the Speedway, which held a grand re-opening in 2022.

This year’s season starts off with a bang, with the All Star Race in May.

Taste a bit of the local moonshine at one of our distilleries.

And wind your way around the roads the moonshine runners traveled while you check out the beautiful barn quilts.

Music and Movies

Crickets and frog calls make music in the air on spring and summer evenings as the sun goes down and the lightening bugs start to blink. But that’s not the only sounds you’ll hear in Wilkesboro! From Merlefest to Carolina in the Fall and plenty in between there’s sounds of bluegrass, rock and country music swelling from the foothills. And don’t forget those soundtracks that we all love to sing along with!

Call Family Distillery keeps the Wilkes County music tradition alive and well with its Mash House Entertainment concert series.

The Town of Wilkesboro has Concerts in the Commons every second Saturday.

Movies on Main present a feature film every second Friday, also presented by the Town of Wilkesboro in the Carolina West Wireless Community Commons.

Festivals and Family Fun

Summertime is all about getting outdoors and experiencing the great things Mother Nature has to offer. Whether you love camping on the banks of a serene lake or speeding along mountain bike trails, Wilkesboro has plenty of outdoor fun to offer the entire family. And the best part is you can do it all and eat well too, thanks to the bountiful crops of peaches and apples produced right here in our Brushy Mountains!

Sample fresh peaches at Brushy Mountain Peach Festival. Held July 29-30 in Downtown Wilkesboro is a celebration of the Brushy Mountain Orchards and their rich history of producing tasty peaches. You can try fresh peaches of all varieties including our famous "donut peaches!" In addition to fresh peaches there are many peach products from peach pie to peach ice cream, as well as local vendors and quality, hand-made crafts. 

Go camping or spend a day on the lake at W. Kerr Scott Dam and Reservoir

Rent a kayak at Cook’s Outfitters or Foothills Outdoor Adventures and explore the Yadkin River

STAY

Our new and fully-renovated Red Roof Inn is open and offers affordable and well-appointed rooms for every traveler! Check out our complete list of places to stay.