Page 26 - Summer 2022 Taste Magazine
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Brewing. Nearby in Dillsboro, Innovation Station is another brewery featuring even more options for locally crafted flavour and enjoy- ment. The Hook, Line & Drinker festival is held annually and it’s one of the top 20 events in the Southeast.
Sylva’s downtown is no stranger to Hollywood, and was featured in the movies: Three Billboards Outside
Ebbing Missouri, which utilized West Main Street for most of the movie. The Fugitive (filmed at Harris Regional Hospital) and Deliverance also had scenes staged in Sylva.
Memorial Day through Labor Day, there are live concerts at Bridge Park every Friday night, and Greening of the Mountains is a large earth day festival spanning several blocks downtown every spring, it was a great day had by all.
The entrance to the Blue Ridge Parkway is at Balsam and the entrance to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park near Cherokee are both only twenty minutes from downtown Sylva. Cherokee, only a twenty- minute drive is home to the Museum of the Cherokee Indian. Plus it’s only a short drive from Tuckasegee, Cashiers, Waynesville, and other nearby towns to explore.
The Washington Post termed Sylva in their Sunday travel section featuring a whole page on the town as an ‘Asheville Alternative for the Crowd Weary’, pertaining to the wide-open spaces, yet endless activities plus the affordability of staying in Sylva. Fodors named Sylva one of the ‘Top 25 Cutest Main Streets in the United States.’
At Sylva’s Freedom Park, there are replicas of our country’s founding documents, such as the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights. It’s also conveniently located right behind the Historic Courthouse and Library downtown! Sylva is the seat of Jackson County Courthouse, built in 1914, and is an extremely handsome and beauti- fully maintained high on the hill, so picturesque looking down onto the sweet old Main Street.
Great Finds
Great Finds
Sylva, North Carolina Sweet Weekend Retreat
By Vanessa Shaw-Finelli
Just what we needed - a brief relaxed few days up in the mountains at the end of April. As we’ve been to western North Carolina many times, we just wanted to enjoy the air and ‘Greening of the Mountains’ (as the locals call it when all the trees start budding in spring). It’s a quick easy flight from St. Pete to Asheville. Then an hour from Asheville, an easy drive, are where we discovered a few hillside Airbnbs called Shangri-La, near the sweet small town of Sylva...like most attractive places, probably not small for long!
The downtown area is lined with a collection of eclectic restaurants, breweries, and shops that are open year-round. Sylva was also named one of the “Top 10 Cleanest Cities in the US” by Expedia.com, due in part to its green and eco-friendly initiatives, including being a certified Tree City, featuring a stunning Tree Walk that showcases over 50 differ- ent species of trees.
With elevations exceeding 5,000 ft., the 1,400-acre nearby Pinnacle Park, owned by the town of Sylva, has some of the most challenging hiking trails in all of Western North Carolina. Jackson County is pro- claimed NC’s Trout Capital, and Sylva is a major part of the county’s famed WNC Fly Fishing Trail. Scotts Creek runs through the heart of downtown and offers much opportunity for reeling in trout! The Jackson County Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center offer trail maps to explore the very well stocked and pristine waters.
Sylva, and area towns, are known for their breweries and has four walk- able breweries with over 120 locally crafted ales on tap: Innovation Brewing, Nantahala Brewing, Lazy Hiker Taproom, and Balsam Falls
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