I am taking a trip soon and will stop for a night (possibly two) in Mt. Airy, the inspiration for Andy Griffith’s Mayberry.
I am a big Andy Griffith Show fan and I’ve always wanted to visit his hometown. I can view the different attractions online, but I suspect some of them will feel a little forced and meh. I dunno, maybe not.
Once I see the AG museum and the Andy & Opie statue, is there much else worth seeing or doing? Additional nearby attractions do not necessarily have to by Andy-related.
My main question is whether a single afternoon/evening is enough time to spend there?
Hi, former Mount Airy resident here. It’s a nice place to visit, but I think you’d have a hard time filling up much more than a half-day. Get a pork chop sandwich at Snappy Lunch (get there early, they close at like 1:00 or something), and get dessert at Miss Angel’s bakery. (The latter isn’t Andy-themed, I just like it.) Take the squad car tour. The Mount Airy Museum of Regional History is pretty good, or at least it was the last time I was there, which was … eek, 20 years ago. Other than that … how do you feel about granite quarries?
Just last night wife and I watched an episode of the Weakest Link and one of the contestants was from Mr. Airy. I recognized the town as the archetype for Mayberry, and had an urge to see it someday. A highly trivial coincidence I guess,
My wife and I and her family were there for a weekend 15 years ago and all I can offer is a nice Italian restaurant named Gondola at the corner of N Main St and Lebanon St. The food was very good, the staff were excellent (it was my late MIL’s birthday and they fussed over her like she was a regular) and the other diners were very forgiving of the toddler we brought with us who squealed with delight about every 2 minutes. Hell, they were way beyond forgiving, it started becoming a game between all of them.
I bet they would love to hear someone has fond memories of dining there, especially so long ago. If you go, mention it for me, please? TIA.
Pilot Mountain park is pretty cool. Pilot Mt has some nice trails around a kind of odd natural feature. It sort of looks like the mountain slid down and left a central spike.
If you’re a fan, you MUST go at least once! Take the police car tour starting at Wally’s Gas Station. Tour the Andy Griffith Museum. Walk down “Main Street”. If you’re really lucky, you can stay in Andy Griffith’s childhood home owned by Choice Hotels, I believe. Very cool. The actors would occasionally visit Mt. Airy. Sadly, they have all passed on by now.
Yes, this. It’s a small town and there just isn’t much there there. There is a wine store there called Uncorked Mayberry that has a number of NC-made wines, so if you like that sort of thing you could check that out once you’ve exhausted your Andy-related activities. There’s also an independent bookstore/coffee shop on the main drag and an antique mall.
Pilot Mountain isn’t really a mountain; it’s a geological feature called a monadnock. It’s part of a a popular state park here in NC. It’s about 15 miles from Mount Airy. If you like hiking and scenic vistas it’s great, but it can get crowded on weekends. There’s also a winery near there (JOLO) that has some pretty nice views, and the wine and food are very good (there’s actually quite a few wineries in the general Yadkin Valley area).
Yes indeed. It was well worth it (note that I am a big fan of the show). Most of it is just re-created, of course - Wally’s fillin’ station, the courthouse, the patrol cars - but within the Andy Griffith Museum are authentic props from the show. What I found most intriguing was that they had several actual scripts from a few episodes of The Andy Griffith Show, with edits and cues penned in by some of the actors.
Surprising.y, the museum had almost nothing of Ron Howard (Opie) and Francis Bavier (Aunt Bee). I know Bavier did not get along with Griffith, but what about Howard? The museum worker I spoke with said that, as far as he knows, Howard, who is the last remaining cast member, has never been to Mr. Airy.
Also cool was Griffith’s boyhood home, where you can actually stay for about $200/night. As a young’un Andy would walk from there to town where he would buy a pop and a hot dog.
There is no shortage of souvenirs, of course. All I bought was a “Nip It!” fridge magnet.
Yes, Pilot Mountain was definitely a highlight. Thanks for pointing me in that direction.
