Come See Our Knob

Yosef the Mountaineer is the big guy enjoying the view.

 From Maine to Mississippi, more than two thousand mountains are known as knobs, based on an old German word for a prominent hill. These include the highest point in West Virginia, Spruce Knob, and six of the South's 20 highest peaks, Blackstock Knob, Waterrock Knob, Celo Knob, Black Balsam Knob, Roan High Knob, and Luftee Knob.
 The ones that keep me busy, Elk Knob and Howard Knob, are more pedestrian. Elk Knob is the 52nd highest mountain in North Carolina, and I've made the four-mile roundtrip hike 324 times, as of July 12. Howard Knob ranks among the 300 highest, and I've frequently driven to the top.

The massive 1979 windmill

 Howard Knob became famous as the site of an experimental NASA windmill, 1979-83, and as a backdrop for football games at Appalachian State University.
 The mountain is commonly called Howard's Knob, but the U.S. Board on Geographic Names eschews the apostrophe-s. The knob is named for Benjamin Howard, the grandfather of Boone. His daughter Sallie married Jordan Council, the father of Boone. Howard was a neghbor of Daniel Boone's family in Wilkes County, and Daniel stayed in Howard's hunting cabin during his western explorations.
 Since the windmill days, the mountaintop has been accessible by car. Watauga County put a park on the summit, and this year it's become a destination. The new park sign lists the summit as 4,396 feet above sea level, which is shorter than the 4,420 shown on topographic maps. I'm assuming this reflects more modern LiDAR measurements. Elk Knob (officially 5,520) is 5,577 on LiDAR.
 A new horseshoe-shaped skybridge offers a panoramic view of the High County, including the university campus and peeks into the stadiums at ASU (home of the national champions in 2005, 2006, and 2007), and Watauga High School (state champions 2025). On the ridge behind the ASU stadium stand three windmills that are heirs to the project that once stood on Howard Knob.  The Blue Ridge Parkway follows the blue horizon past Grandfather Mountain.
 It's well worth the drive up the hill, less than 10 minutes from King Street in downtown Boone, staring on Cherry Street. You'll be able to park within 100 feet of the overlook.  

ASU's football stadium and windmills are on the western end of this panorama.

Boone United Methodist Church has built the Boone United Trail, which climbs halfway to Howard Knob, and may complete its journey not that the right-of-way has been cleared. Watauga High School is in the background.

Before the Skybridge, this was the Howard Knob overlook.