Welcome to Quilt Trails of Western North Carolina!

We have the highest concentration of quilt blocks anywhere in the USA! Come to Yancey County to get started on your great quilt adventure! We are just 45 minutes North of Asheville - exit 9 off I-26, or exit onto Hwy 80 off the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Six contiguous counties host quilt blocks, with the highest concentration in Yancey and Mitchell Counties. While in Yancey County, visit Mt. Mitchell, highest peak East of the Mississippi. Mitchell County is home to Roan Mountain (the rhododendrons are in full bloom in June - gateway through Bakersville) and Avery County offers Grandfather Mountain with its mile-high swinging bridge. Of course we have waterfalls, supreme hiking, great trout fishing, canoeing, golf, horseback riding, and great shopping. Burnsville, seat of Yancey County, has TWO quilt shops.

The Quilt Trails project got its start in Ohio when Donna Sue Groves put a block on her barn to honor her mother. From that simple act, the project has spread to 24 states.

Nine different driving trails take you to view vividly painted quilt squares installed on barns and buildings of participating communities. Even if it is raining you can still enjoy a day of adventure finding the quilt blocks. Stop by the the Quilt Trails Gift Shop in the Yancey County Chamber of Commerce in Burnsville to get a driving map and pick up one of nine tour guides that tell the stories behind the blocks.

Quilt Trails Profiled in Carolina Country

Carolina Country

The Quilt Trails has been profiled in the June 2009 issue of Carolina Country magazine.

The article, by Hannah Miller, is titled "Stars & Barns: The Quilt Trails Project brings more color, customs & tourists to the northwestern Carolina countryside."

Read the full article here [PDF].

Get Adobe Reader

Tour Guides Now Available!

Tour Guides and Maps are being offered in the Quilt Trails Gift Shop at the Yancey County Chamber of Commerce in Burnsville.

Maps include all of Mitchell and Yancey Counties, with an overall map and individual maps for individual Trails. [Click here for online maps]

Guides are available for Arbuckle, Bakersville/Roan Mountain, Bee Log, Burnsville, Celo & Parkway, Green Mountain & Relief, Lickskillet to Westside, Pensacola, and Spruce Pine.
The shop will be open on Fridays and Saturdays only until more volunteers are found to staff it for more days. If you would like to volunteer for the Gift Shop and learn more about the Chamber and how to serve visitors to our county, call 828-682-7331.