North Carolina Has One Of The Best Ski Towns In North America

To prepare for the upcoming skiing season USA Today's 10BEST named a North Carolina ski town one of the best in North America. To elaborate on the definition of a ski town, here, there are a few requirements. First of all (and most obvious) it has to have proper winter weather. As such, the majority of these towns are located in the northern part of North America. Next, the town must be close to ski mountains. Lastly, unique elements like après ski pubs, and ice skating rinks add to the winter charm of the area. On that point, 10BEST states, "It's about great accommodation options, a small-town vibe, or a historic atmosphere." Of the 10 small ski towns ranked here eight of them are in America and two are in Canada. Coincidentally, New Mexico bookends the list with Taos being #10 and Red River ranking #1. Aside from New Mexico, the only other town that was in a southern region of North America was the best ski town in North Carolina. Banner Elk Ranked #6 Situated in the Blue Ridge Mountain range, Banner Elk is conveniently right between Sugar Mountain Resort to the south, and Beech Mountain Resort to the north. In fact, Banner Elk calls themselves "North Carolina's Ski Town." In addition, the area is filled with restaurants that offer a wide-range of cuisine interests. This includes après ski lodges, pubs, and high-end fine-dining options. "Besides hitting the slopes, you can take a ride down the Wilderness Run Alpine Coaster, go wine tasting at the Banner Elk Winery, indulge in great food, or go snow tubing," 10BEST explains. Sugar Mountain is open. They have some great seasonal kickoff events coming up soon. This includes a pre-season ski clinic with two-time Olympian, Krista Schmidinger, and a "Santa ski and snowboard day." [select-listicle listicle_id="685595" syndication_name="three-outside-the-box-options-to-be-the-next-carolina-panthers-coach" description="yes"]