April Newsletter

Spring Watch:  

Devil’s Knob Golf:  Opens April 17th

Stoney Creek Golf:  Open year-round

Trillium Flowers:  Bloom in early-May

Crabtree Falls Campground:  Open year-round

Montebello Campground:  Opens in April

Wintergreen Hiking Trails:  Open

Easter:  Now taking lodging reservations in Wintergreen Resort

Wildflower Symposium in Wintergreen:  May 15-17

Easter in the Mountains

If you are visiting Nelson County for the Easter holiday, you will find lots of Spring activities for the entire family.  Here are just a few suggestions to fill your weekend:

Wintergreen Resort will have an Easter egg hunt for kids with over 1000 eggs.  They will also have an Easter bonnet parade and their famous Easter brunch at the Copper Mine Restaurant.  For information and a menu for the Easter Brunch at the Copper Mine, visit http://www.wintergreenresort.com/pdf/CM_Easter09.pdf

Wintergreen hiking trails (32+ miles) are open and ready for a Spring hike.  Stop by the Wintergreen Resort Premier Properties office in the Mountain Inn to pick up a free Wintergreen Resort Hiking Map. 

Take a drive on the Blue Ridge Parkway through Nelson County. 

Sunday Easter Brunch at Veritas Winery:  Enjoy fine dining with four courses with wine pairing.  Call 540-456-8000 X108 to make reservations.

On Saturday, The Mountainside Petting Farm is having their Spring Opening with Easter egg coloring.  There is also an egg hunt on Sunday at noon.  Walk in the animal parade.  Call 434-361-0203

 Also on Saturday, the Hill Top Berry Farm & Winery is having a Spring Retreat.  They are making their famous pear sangria.  Open on Saturday 11AM-5PM and on Sunday 1PM-5PM

Spring Discounted Lodging Rates

NOW is the time to book Spring lodging in Nelson County to receive discounts on lodging rates.  Here are some ideas:

Rent a 1BR Tye River Cabin, starting at $99 a night.  This cabin is right on the Tye River for great fishing and is within walking distance of the Appalachian Trail.  You can also visit the popular Crabtree Falls that is only a 5 minute drive away.  Email info@NelsonNatural.com for details.

Rent a 1BR condo in Wintergreen for as low as $99 a night.  This Timbers condo is only steps from the kid’s Tree House, the Mountain Inn Lodge, and 2 restaurants.  Close to golf, tennis and hiking.  If you need a 2BR condo, rent “Tall Timbers” for only $125/night.  Email info@NelsonNatural.com for details.

Rent a 3BR new log cabin for as low as $200 a night.  This beautiful home is on the Devil’s Knob Golf Course and is beautifully furnished.  It is also close to hiking trails and tennis.  Email info@NelsonNatural.com for details.

Rent a 5BR home with an amazing view.  This home has a huge 800 sq ft deck to soak in the views with family and friends.  Large gourmet kitchen and great room.  Email info@NelsonNatural.com for details.

Wintergreen Resort also has Spring discounts on their rentals.  Those can be found at www.WintergreenResort.com  

Attention Appalachian Trail Hikers:  If you are planning an AT hike, and want a real bed to sleep in at night, consider booking one of these rental condos.  We will even pick you up at the trail head and bring you to your rental in Wintergreen Resort.  (The Tye River Cabin is within walking distance to the trail head) 

Two Award Winning Golf Courses

From Wintergreen’s New brochure:

“High in Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains lies one of the nation’s premier four-season golf destinations-Wintergreen Resort.  Wintergreen’s 11,000 acres extend from the Blue Ridge Mountains to the valley below.  With its mountaintop and valley locations, the resort offers two distinctly different golf experiences.  Play the newly renovated Devil’s Knob, the highest course in Virginia at 4,000 feet and known for cool summer temperatures and outstanding conditions.  Or golf year-round in the valley on our nationally ranked Stoney Creek course, 27 holes designed by world-renowned golf course architect Rees Jones who has praised the Wintergreen landscape for its green natural beauty.” 

About the Courses:

Devil’s Knob Championship Golf Course 

Opens April 17th

Newly renovated bunkers, tees and greens

18 holes—designed by Ellis Maples

Par 70 course

At 3,850 feet, the highest course in Virginia

Pleasant 70-85 degrees temperatures throughout the Spring & Summer

50-mile views of Shenandoah and Rockfish Valleys

Surprisingly level mountaintop terrain

New irrigation system gives 100% coverage

Stoney Creek Championship Golf Course

27 holes—designed by Rees Jones

Par 72 course-Monocan, Shamokin & Tuckahoe Nines

Each hole features multiple tees, allowing golfers to adjust the level of play to match their own abilities

Rees Jones’ trademark mounds frame each hole and enhance playability and visual effect

Plan an End-2-End Blue Ridge Parkway Vacation

The Blue Ridge Parkway follows the Appalachian mountain ridge tops.  From their 2009 Guide:

“From Shenandoah National Park, the Parkway follows the Blue Ridge eastern rampart of the Appalachians, for 355 miles to a point near the entrance to Mount Mitchell State Park in North Carolina.  Then it skirts the southern end of the massive Black Mountains, weaves through the Craggies, the Pisgahs, and the Balsams, before entering the Great Smoky Mountains National Park near Cherokee”

The Blue Ridge Parkway has long been part of Nelson County’s history.  My husband and I grew up visiting the Blue Ridge Parkway and camping in the region.  To celebrate the Parkway’s 75^th anniversary (in 2010), we decided to plan an End-2-End Blue Ridge Parkway vacation for Spring 2009.  We started planning in January of 2009.

We will be traveling on the Parkway in mid-April and will be posting stories about our adventure after our return. (trying to stay away from the laptop and enjoy the beauty of the mountains)  Our End-2-End adventure will take us about 7 days.

To begin planning our vacation drive on the parkway, I first started on the web site www.blueridgeparkway.org.  I ordered their book, Blue Ridge Parkway Directory and Travel Planner.  It was delivered to our home in about three weeks.  At the same time, I filled out a form to receive information from all of the counties along the parkway.  That information arrived in about one month.  To receive information by mail, click on the “request information” button on the left navigation bar. 

Our plan is to camp along or near the Parkway.  Most of the campgrounds managed by the Parkway do not open until early May.  So, we picked privately owned campgrounds.  There is a convenient list that can be printed on the web site www.blueridgeparkway.org.  Download the camping brochure that is on the left navigation bar of the web site.  Many of these campgrounds have their own websites that are listed in the brochure.  We found rates from $25 per night to $37 per night.

 If you would like to travel from May-October, consider staying in a campground at Price Park, Linville Falls and Mt. Pisgah campgrounds.  The fee is only $19 per night and you can make reservations at www.recreation.gov.  Just a reminder, these campgrounds do not have electricity and water to the individual sites.  If you need an electric hook-up or water to your site, consider staying in a private campground. 

We also plan to hike on trails that cross the Parkway in both Virginia and North Carolina.  Visit these websites to print lists of trails on the Parkway:

www.blueridgeparkway.org/vatrails.htm

www.blueridgeparkway.org/nctrails.htm.

There are hiking trails for every ability level. 

Behind the Scenes at Nelson County Life Magazine

Happy Anniversary Nelson County Life Magazine.  This popular county magazine is celebrating its fourth anniversary this April.  If you have visited Nelson County or Wintergreen Resort, you probably have seen this magazine on display.  Pick one up—its free!

Nelson County Magazine is run, along with the web site www.NelsonCountyLife.com, by Tommy & Yvette Stafford—Nelson County locals. 

Ironically, Bill & I moved to Nelson County in April four years ago.  We picked up the magazine, not knowing that it was the premier issue.  We have been reading the magazine every month since the premier issue.  If you are thinking about moving or visiting Nelson County, this magazine is a “must read”.  Send me an email to kim@EperienceNelsonCounty.com and I will make sure that you get a copy ahead of your visit.

Tommy & Yvette are not new to the world of news and media.  Before moving to Nelson County both worked in the industry.   They met in Tennessee working in the TV industry.  Both have worked for the major networks and Tommy has done work for the Weather Channel, CNN and Fox News until leaving the business in 2004 and moving to Nelson.   Their past experience in news and media shines through both their magazine and the web site.  Locals hit the web site daily for news and the local weather. 

When I contacted Tommy and Yvette and asked about their favorite part of publishing Nelson County Life Magazine, they said, "We don't just do stories here in Nelson, we live here in Nelson and are raising our family here. We are a part of Nelson, just like the folks we write about," says Tommy.   There love of Nelson County and its residents is apparent in every magazine or web story. 

Behind the scenes…here are some interesting facts about the production and running of the magazine and web site:

-Tommy still delivers all of the magazines in Nelson on his own, just like the beginning. 

-Yvette does all of the layout and design of the actual magazine. 

-Average circulation is 11,000 depending on the time of the year. 

-NCL has mail subscriptions going as far west as California and Colorado, south to Florida, north to Vermont, and points beyond. (Earl Hamner still takes our magazine today!)

-NCL established it's own weather station network in the county over 2 years ago. at:  www.nelsoncountylife.com

-Tommy does audio weather each morning on the site.

And here are some fun facts about our friends Tommy & Yvette:

-Yvette is an avid and very good tennis player!

-Tommy pilots both airplanes and helicopters.

-Yvette likes Metalica.

-Tommy likes country music (the old real country, not this crap today) He started as  DJ in a country station at age 17.

-Tommy is a weather FREAK!!! and loves a good thunderstorm!

-They were married in Nelson County in 2004 at the Meander Inn

-Their son Adam was born in September of 2008

If you are considering re-locating to Nelson County, visit www.NelsonCountyLife.com and contact Tommy & Yvette.  They will surely let you know that life in Nelson County is  as wonderful as it looks in the magazine and on the web site.

For a mail subscription to Nelson County Life Magazine, contact info@NelsonCountyLife.com

Real Estate This Spring

For information about real estate in Wintergreen Resort, visit my web site at www.ExperienceWintergreen.com   The listings are updated every morning.  We have condos listed under $200K, detached homes listed under $400K and building lots listed under $80K.  We have something for every budget from $99K to $1.2M.

Kim’s Listings

Building Lots:

487 Cedar Glen Close in Stoney Creek for $88,000

5 Dripping Rock on WTG Mountain for $89,000

78 Deer Springs Lane on WTG Mountain for $89,900

781 Cedar Meadow Drive in Stoney Creek for $104,000

Condos:

2210 Tanner’s Ridge on WTG Mountain for $124,000

155 Mountain Inn on WTG Mountain for $156,500

202 Timbers on WTG Mountain for $169,000

186 Mountain Inn on WTG Mountain for $170,000

490 Three Ridges on WTG Mountain for $189,000

2104 Fairway Woods on WTG Mountain for $199,000

2006 Stone Ridge Woods on WTG Mountain for $266,600

1941 High Ridge Place of WTG Mountain for $365,000

Townhouse Listings:

The Seasons at Wintergreen starting at $850,000

Resort Homes:

25 Stem Lane on WTG Mountain for $339,900

26 Den Tree on WTG Mountain for $355,900

441 Deer Springs on WTG Mountain for $365,000

18 South Knob on WTG Mountain for $588,000

124 South Forest on WTG Mountain for $599,000

24 Stone Crop Lane on WTG Mountain for $675,000

148 White Oak on WTG Mountain for 875,000

25 Bucksaw on WTG Mountain for $990,000

Kim Chappell is a graduate from the Realtor Institute and is an agent with Wintergreen Resort Premier Properties, the official real estate office of Wintergreen Resort.  Kim also lists and sells property in beautiful Nelson County.  Contact Kim Chappell at kim@ExperienceNelsonCounty.com or 434-238-2430.  The Free Daily Blog is posted on both www.ExperienceNelsonCounty.com and www.ExperienceWintergreen.com