Editing Banner Elk, North Carolina (section)

==Attractions==
During summertime there is hiking, whitewater rafting, fishing, and other activities. The largest lake in the area, [[Watauga Lake]], is a favorite spot just 30 minutes away for boating, fishing and wake boarding. In the winter the main activities are skiing and snowboarding. There are two slopes in the area: [[Beech Mountain (North Carolina)|Beech Mountain]] and [[Sugar Mountain (North Carolina)|Sugar Mountain]]. There was formerly a third, but in the winter of 2008–2009, Hawks' Nest became an all-tubing park, the largest in the Eastern United States.

There are several restaurants in Banner Elk in addition to a post office, bank, and many lodging choices. The town has hosted the [[Woolly Worm]] festival over the third weekend of October since 1978.<ref name="WoollyWormFest">{{cite web|url=http://www.woollyworm.com/ |title=Woolly Worm Festival |publisher=Woolly Worm Festival |access-date=September 4, 2016 }}</ref>

In the 1970s, Beech Mountain was home to a [[theme park]] based on ''[[The Wonderful Wizard of Oz|The Wizard of Oz]]'', called The [[Land of Oz (theme park)|Land of Oz]], but it closed after 10 years. The attraction was never fully removed, and there have been various attempts to revive it.