STR in High Country NC - Beech vs Sugar vs Banner Elk?

[Patrick M.]

Greetings all- I'm looking seriously into the area around Beech Mountain, Sugar Mountain, and Banner Elk as a place to pick up a 2 br or 3 br Short Term Rental. It seems like Sugar has a longer ski season, but there may be more to do year round on Beech (Mountain biking, Land of Oz, etc).

Is this accurate? Does this matter? Or do people just pop in their car and drive from one of these places to another in a heartbeat?

I'm starting to buy some data and look into the numbers, but beyond that - can anyone speak to the differences in STR viability among these places, if there are differences? Thanks for any insights!

[Jeff Gold]

@Patrick M. Beech and Sugar are both popular areas. It really has to do with preference. You can have success with an STR at either location.

The length of their ski season is usually about the same so that wouldn’t be a determining factor.

They are only 20 minutes apart so renters will pick which one they prefer and stay there. Some will go between mountains and some won’t.

This area, like most towns in the app mountains have Year around guests.

We’ve skied both mountains and enjoy both.  You really can’t go wrong at either location so I wouldn’t stress out about it. My guess is the data you pay for won’t really give you an answer. You can have success with an str at both mountains.

You are probably only a few hours away so it may make sense to visit the area and see which one you like better and what your eyes tell you.