Stand in a Vortex, Throw Axes, and Ride a Mechanical Bull at Mystery Hill in Blowing Rock, NC

What is Mystery Hill?

Mystery Hill first opened in 1948 and has enthralled both locals and visitors ever since with their Natural Gravitational Anomaly, where you’ll probably feel you are on a roller coaster and spinning tea cup ride all at once. It’s so weird. Water flows uphill and balls roll up walls. 

Today, Mystery Hill has hands-on science experiments, gem mining, axe throwing, mechanical bull riding, and even a museum that has more than 50,000 Native American arrowheads displayed. 

The museum is located between Blowing Rock and Boone, NC. 

Things to do at Mystery Hill 

Vortex and Other Oddities Tour 

All the guests start off with the tour about the history of the museum and what you’ll find there. Our guide was hilarious. He had dad jokes galore and could imitate more voices than I’d ever heard come out of one person. My teen and I were cracking up while my tween was cringing in embarrassment that we were laughing. It was so great and started your impression off of the museum on the right foot. 

The guide escorts you through rooms that look like they were straight out of the 70s with wood paneled walls and turf-like flooring. You’ll get to go to the vortex room here and before you go in, you’ll get instructions to use the railings in the room and if you feel sick, how to get out fast. I certainly have not heard those instructions before. 

The Natural Gravitational Anomaly room was crazy. I went downhill in it and felt so dizzy and lightheaded. Like, what? You feel like you’re walking uphill, but if you just stand there, you’re leaning forward, like Michael Jackson leaning forward. There is a station where you can pour in water, and it looks like it’s flowing uphill. And there are balls you can roll around, and they roll uphill. 

How does this make sense? I have no idea.

After the vortex room, you will go to a black light room and experience hands-on science experiments, which are right next to the awesome bubble room. You can make human-sized bubbles in here, and I had to drag the kids out because they were having too much fun. 

Appalachian Heritage Museum 

This unassuming building has about 50,000 Native American arrowheads, which is only a small part of the entire collection they all belong to. It’s quite the historical collection but also just overwhelming. I could not believe two people were able to find all of these and create art pieces out of them. 

Axe Throwing

Mystery Hill lets you throw axes and it’s a blast. This was the first time my kids threw axes (they have velcro ones for little kids) and they absolutely loved it as they tried to hit the target. I actually didn’t think we were going to leave. The staff there will help you and give you tips – they are really nice and helpful. 

Mechanical Bull Riding 

As if axe-throwing wasn’t fun enough, Mystery Hill also lets guests ride a mechanical bull. I haven’t done this in a while and it was definitely a lot of fun after I got over trying to make sure I didn’t hurt myself. Adult problems. My kids absolutely loved it and went on a couple times, trying to beat each other’s times.

 

Gem Mining 

I kind of think gem mining can be a bit boring since you just have to sift through sand to find stones someone else put there but the gem mining experience at Mystery Hill was quite fun. They had all kinds of different gems, including geodes! We actually had no idea there were geodes and were wondering what the slimy balls were, so we just put them in the discard bucket. But as we were leaving, my oldest daughter looked at the brochure they give you about which gems you can find, and those slimy balls were actually geodes, so we hustled back to the sluice to retrieve them!

Hands-On Science Room

There’s a black-lit room with brain teasers, a bubble room to make huge bubbles, and a hands-on science area to test out different experiments. My homeschool mom self was super pumped about all this.

Other things to do at Mystery Hill 

There is a river walk right across the parking lot from Mystery Hill, which has some pretty murals. They have a Christmas Light Walk during the holidays that happens here and is included in your ticket. 

They also have one of those old-time photo studios. I’ve always wanted to do this, but have not gotten around to it yet. Maybe if I go here again I can add it to my ticket!

If you are in the mood for a treat, Mystery Hill sells ice cream on the property, which is pretty great since you’ll need at least a couple of hours here to do all the things, and getting sustenance is key.

Visiting Mystery Hill 

Mystery Hill is open daily from 10 am – 6 pm and closed on major holidays. 

Base tickets are $24.95/person and kids under 4 are free with a paying adult. Adventure Pass tickets, which include the tour, gem mining, bull riding, axe throwing, and the museum, are $44.95/person.

You could also choose to add on activities, which cost anywhere from $7.95/person up to $24.95/person. The Adventure Pass is the way to go for sure. 

Tickets are sold online and in person. Mystery Hill is pet-friendly – well-behaved, leashed pets are welcome. The service dog on our tour would absolutely not go into the vortex room though!

Mystery Hill
129 Mystery Hill Lane, Blowing Rock, NC
Mystery Hill Website | 828.264.2792