Local hostel receives acclaim from outlet

Published 6:10 pm Wednesday, February 1, 2017

Mountain Harbour B&B and Hiker Hostel was recently recognized as one of the top Appalachian Trail hostels according to The Trek.

Mountain Harbour B&B and Hiker Hostel was recently recognized as one of the top Appalachian Trail hostels according to The Trek.

Never a dull moment goes on inside Mountain Harbour B&B and Hiker Hostel.
Nestled in Roan Mountain, the facility receives a fair share of foot traffic from hikers coming through the Appalachian Trail. The friendliness and overall standing of the rest stop were recently recognized in The Trek, an online publication that features a bevy of hikers sharing their stories on the trail. The media outlet saw Mountain Harbour placed within the Top 10 hostels in a poll released by the group.
“It’s very appreciated,” David Hill with Mountain Harbour said about the notoriety.
The story of the business saw fond beginning in the early going with Hill’s family owning the business. Over the years, the area has become a popular resting area for hikers coming through the region.
“It’s evolved over time,” Hill said. “I’d say we see about 2,000 thru-hikers over the year and around five times that we section hikers. From March 1 to the end of the November we stay pretty busy, and we love it.”
Hill added he’s noticed a variety of hikers come through from different areas. Whether they come from Ohio, Florida, Oregon, California or come across the pond from countries like Germany or Australia, the popularity of the Appalachian Trail is ever apparent to Mountain Harbor.
“I think the popularity of the trail sometimes goes unnoticed,” he said. “The public doesn’t really see a lot of the hikers coming through unless they maybe see them when the go out to eat or they’re coming to town. It’s something we see every year. I say it grows around 10 percent each year, according to our numbers.”
The Appalachian Trail recently saw Roan Mountain become a certified Appalachian Trail Community in 2016, only the second in the state along with Unicoi County.
Having Roan Mountain become a certified community will be vital moving forward into showcasing the tourism aspect of the community, Hill said.
“I think it does a great job of bringing awareness to the community,” he added. “For some people, it shines a light on the Trail, and I think it can be big for tourism in the county.”
The business currently has 100 rating from Trip Advisor.com and is preparing for the 2017 stretch.
For more information, visit the business’ website at mountainharbour.net or call 772-9494.

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