The Summer of Fiddle Festivals continued with the next stop on the horizon – Mt. Airy, North Carolina and the Bluegrass and Old-Time Fiddlers Convention. But with a couple of weeks between Fiddler’s Grove and Mt. Airy, we needed to find somewhere to park and pass the time. We chose to spend a few nights at Stone Mountain State Park because it’s nice to have some RVing amenities – like shore power, fresh running water, and a dump station to empty our gray tank – in between dry camping (basically no amenities) stops. The drive from Union Grove to Stone Mountain took us through the little town of Elkin, North Carolina so we decided to stop and explore during our travel day after restocking at Ye Olde Walmart.

Like most tiny burgs found across America, Elkin is essentially a one-street town. The majority of businesses line Main Street or can be found a block or so off the central thoroughfare. We parked Cecil the RV at Angry Troll Brewing since the parking lot was large enough for us to be out of the way and we planned on getting lunch there later after the brewery opened. Dirty Joe’s Coffee is perched on the ridge overlooking Main Street, so a short walk up a steep hillside road was necessary to acquire a cup of fancy purchased coffee. I should apologize at this point for failing to take any photos in town, but the Elkin website has a little photo slideshow for anyone interested.

Not much happens in Elkin on a Monday – which is especially true when that Monday just happens to be Memorial Day. We scoped out places that might be open before we arrived and Dirty Joe’s didn’t let us down. A handful of locals were already chatting by the counter as we entered. The young woman at the register took our order and spied the logo on my t-shirt. Ashley and I have both collected a small menagerie of Geiger Key Marina shirts thanks to our recent winter in the Florida Keys, and I chose to wear one of them on our pass through Elkin. Turns out the barista was originally from Sarasota and her family had a place on Cudjoe Key, which is about 14 miles away from Geiger. Hurricane Irma destroyed her family’s home on Cudjoe, and her parents decided to relocate to more temperate climes in North Carolina following the recommendation of a realtor. She asked what we were doing in Elkin and I related the abbreviated tale of our current chosen lifestyle. Our coffees were soon ready as we wrapped up our introductions and shared future plans. And once again – the more we travel, the smaller our country seems to get.

We enjoyed Dirty Joe’s coffee and caught up on a bit of computer work before wandering Main Street later that morning. Cruising Main Street in Elkin on foot takes all of fifteen minutes at best. Our exploration took us a bit out of the western side of town and onto one of the local trails. Three official trails converge in Yadkin – the Mountains-to-Sea Trail, the Yadkin Pee Dee River Trail, and the Overmountain Victory Trail. These trails are the main attraction in Elkin, aside from the small town charm and numerous festivals held throughout the year.

The Mountains-to-Sea Trail is a state-sanctioned footpath stretching across 1,200 miles of North Carolina from the Great Smoky Mountains to the Outer Banks. Around 700 miles are officially completed, with the remaining 500 miles consisting of temporary routes on backroads and bicycle paths. The Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail is part of the National Park Service and stretches 330 miles through four states. The trail follows the route used by the patriot militia during the Kings Mountain campaign of 1780, winding through Virginia, Tennessee, and the Carolinas. The Yadkin Pee Dee River Trail isn’t a walking trail – it’s literally the river – so you’ll need some type of waterfaring craft to complete the route. The paddling trail is 125 miles long with multiple put-in and take-out areas and calm enough to traverse with canoe or kayak. The most excitement a paddler will encounter are a few Class II rapids (out of a possible VI) defined as: “Moderate. Medium-quick water; rapids with regular waves; clear and open passages between rocks and ledges. Maneuvering required.”

Many other trails wind through Elkin, including high-intensity mountain bike trails and the shorter Elkin and Alleghany Railroad Bed Trail (which is the trail we found that day). The town was preparing for its inaugural Trail Days Festival held on the first weekend in June, celebrating the trails of North Carolina and the great outdoors in general. While Elkin, North Carolina may not have the allure of the mountain towns of Colorado for outdoor enthusiasts, the tiny city in the Yadkin Valley boasts enough trailways to keep any weekend warrior busy for the entire summer.

We traversed the near-empty sidewalks of Elkin back to Angry Troll Brewing for lunch. Located on Main Street, the brewery and restaurant is one of only a handful of places regularly open on a Monday in Elkin. The beer and food were both decent, nothing outstanding but certainly good enough for a return visit – which we did on a future pass through Elkin. We ordered a wood fired pizza on our second visit and would request probably half the normal amount of cheese if we order it again. Angry Troll is definitely a neighborhood hangout and the kind of place I’d visit regularly if we were Elkin locals.

We spent about a week or so in the surrounding area and stopped in town as we moved the RV between locations, giving us the opportunity to play lavish tourists and sample a few more of the restaurants in Elkin. Southern on Main is a slightly upscale restaurant featuring comfort food located on Main Street (hence the name), and we both recommend adding that to your list of places to stop if you’re looking for restaurant food in Elkin. With outdoor patio seating, tables inside, a small bar, and a second upstairs bar open certain days of the week, Southern on Main has plenty of seating options for your dining pleasure. Skull Camp Brewing is located about a mile or so outside of town offering excellent brews and a barbecue-centric menu. Both the beer and the food were delicious – just plan your visit accordingly because they are open Thursday through Sunday. Skull Camp also has a location outside of Mt. Airy, which is a brewery and winery but not a restaurant (we did not visit this location).

After our first foray into Elkin, we continued west to Stone Mountain State Park. The campground is tucked away deeper in the park, past the park office and around a winding road. We stopped at the main office first, which features nature and historic displays relating to the culture of the local area. Did you know Elkin and the surrounding area used to be considered the moonshine capital of the United States? Neither did we until we visited the Stone Mountain park office. Be sure to take a few minutes during your visit to browse the displays for more information on the area.

The 90-site campground itself is typical of many state parks – multiple camping loops, dump station, bathroom facilities, hookups, etc. The non-hookup sites are definitely suited to tent campers or small RVs as they are slightly shorter but still fairly level and located under shade. The hookup sites are sorted by 30 and 50 amp, with the 50 amp sites tailored for longer Class A motorhomes. Most of the hookup sites are in full sun, so being able to run the A/C on a hot day isn’t a bad thing. We didn’t have a Verizon signal for WiFi, and our Republic Wireless phones had cell connectivity but no data. Ashley walked to the park office one day which does have free WiFi access and said it worked fine. If you need to be connected during your visit, I hope that helps you plan accordingly.

Stone Mountain State Park is named after the granite dome keeping watch over the park from a distance. Eighteen miles of trails lace through the park, one of which leads up to the top of the dome and along the ridge. We walked part of that loop, but only to the dome viewing area and not up to the summit. We did hike to the various waterfalls along the Stone Mountain Loop and Middle/Lower Falls trails while constantly swatting the clouds of mildly annoying gnats out of our faces. The lower section of the loop trail features lots of steps leading to and from the waterfalls (Ashley counted 434 as we hiked).

We only reserved a few nights at Stone Mountain, so we didn’t see as much of the park as we would have liked. The campground is well-kept and comfortable, and we’d definitely return in the future. The Mountains-to-Sea Trail runs through the park on its way to Elkin and following that leg of the trail would be an adventure to tackle one day (although that particular section does require a fair amount of road-hiking miles). We were quite favorably impressed with Elkin and the surrounding area, but we’ve discovered that we’re partial to small towns with easy access to natural areas. You definitely won’t find a bustling night life in Elkin or any large music venues, but you will find a plethora of outdoor activities, some kind of festival happening nearly every weekend, and a decent selection of quaint restaurants in the tiny town (not to mention two breweries). Elkin is worth a stop on your next road trip excursion – and I haven’t even written about the Yadkin River Valley wine region yet. Stay tuned for our winery hopping adventure in the next installment!