Last Updated on August 2, 2026 9:32 am
BOONE — Howard Knob County Park has reopened to the public following a nearly $2.2 million renovation that transformed one of the High Country's most beloved overlooks into a fully accessible destination for visitors of all abilities — the latest chapter in a mountain that has played an outsized role in the history of Boone.
The centerpiece of the project is a new ADA-accessible skybridge overlook perched at 4,396 feet above sea level, rising nearly 1,000 feet above the town below. The curved, horseshoe-shaped structure offers sweeping panoramic views of downtown Boone, the Appalachian State University campus, Grandfather Mountain, Hawksbill, and Table Rock to the east and south — and gives visitors a safe, open vantage point that was previously unavailable to those with mobility limitations.
The renovation, more than a year in the making and designed by Destination by Design, also added more parking, paved ADA-accessible walking paths, new entrance signage, and a renovated picnic shelter with new tables and camping grills. Portable restrooms are available on site. Funding came in part through an Accessibility for Parks Grant from the Parks and Recreation Trust Fund and the North Carolina Division of Parks and Recreation. A formal grand opening ceremony has not yet been announced.
The mountain itself carries a long and colorful history. Howard Knob was named after Benjamin Howard, a British loyalist and contemporary of Daniel Boone, who according to local legend hid from American patriots — known as Whigs — on the very knoll that would bear his name.
Centuries later, in 1977, Howard Knob found itself at the center of a national renewable energy experiment. The Federal Energy Research and Development Administration and the U.S. Department of Energy selected it as the site for an experimental wind turbine built by General Electric, managed by NASA, and operated by Blue Ridge Electric Membership Corporation. The MOD-1 turbine stood 131 feet tall with two 97-foot steel blades and was designed to power 300 to 500 homes at wind speeds of 25 miles per hour. The project was part of a surge in renewable energy research under President Jimmy Carter.
The turbine quickly became a source of community frustration. An inaudible low-frequency sound generated by the spinning blades caused windows and objects in nearby homes to vibrate audibly. A group of Appalachian State University students calling themselves the “Wooshies” mocked the project in a class video, drawing regional media attention. The turbine was also blamed for disrupting television signals. It was dismantled in 1983, and the site was turned over to Watauga County to serve as a park in perpetuity.
In the decades that followed, the knob became a popular spot for hang gliding — and a nod to that era has been preserved in the new renovation. The original hang gliding launch pad and a fixed compass that once told gliders which direction they were facing remain visible just below the center of the new overlook, an easter egg for those who know where to look.
In 2004, owners of a 50-acre tract on Howard Knob partnered with the High Country Conservancy to place 46 acres under a conservation easement, protecting the forested natural area from residential development that had long been eyed for the mountainside.
Howard Knob County Park is located at 604 Howards Knob Rd. in Boone and is open daily from 8:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. through October 20. Admission is free. Note that GPS directions to the park may be inaccurate — from downtown Boone, take Grand Boulevard to a slight right onto Bear Trail, then a sharp left onto East Junaluska Road. Continue uphill on Eastview Drive/Junaluska Road until you see the sign for Howard Knob Park on your right. The park is approximately a five-minute drive from King Street. For more information, contact Watauga County Parks and Recreation at (828) 264-9511.
📷 Kenneth Reece/WataugaOnline.com
