Roots & Ridgeways

I had the opportunity to attend the Grandfather Mountain Scottish Highland Games in Linville, NC, this past summer.

My short review: We will definitely be going back!

Quick Tips

If you only have a minute to read this, here’s the sitch:

This year, parking was in satellite campuses off the mountain. Shuttles transport you to and from the mountain. It was $10 cash per adult for the shuttles. Parking itself was free. Check their facebook page for updated parking info.

Bring cash, bug spray, sun screen, a raincoat, and umbrella. The mountain get’s random bouts of rain. Even if the weather isn’t calling for rain – trust me – bring the umbrella. The mountain is also cooler. It was 65 degrees in the middle of July.

Spectators can set up their own lawn chairs and blankets in surrounding area around the events field. It is first-come-first-serve. You can bring coolers.

Saturday is the busiest day. Sunday less crowded.

Many people – spectators and competitors – wear kilts. Let your legs breathe!

Buy tickets online in advance. Download the events schedule ahead of time. You might not have cell phone service.

For a full rundown, keep reading.

Location

The iconic Grandfather Mountain is located in Linville, NC, in the Southern Appalachian range. From the Mile-High Swinging Bridge to the famous “Forrest Gump Curve”, there’s countless places to enjoy. You can even drive to the peak of the mountain, which is a huge help when you have a 1-year-old and can’t quite swing a full-blown hike.

For more info about my Grandfather Mountain travels, read my article here.

Events Overview

Torch Light Ceremony

The Torch Light ceremony takes place on the opening night. We did not attend in person, but I can imagine it would be akin to an Olympic torch ceremony.

Kirkin’ o’ the Tartan

We attended the Kirkin, which only takes place on Sunday mornings. “Kirk” is the Scottish Gaelic word for church or ‘blessing’. The program explains,

“A kirkin’ can be thought of as the gathering of families to enter into the House of the Lord to worship and praise. The colorful woven tartans that are displayed during the service are symbols of the love and togetherness of family. Worshippers are encouraged to reflect with thanksgiving on their own family and cultural heritage, whatever it may be.”

They essentially held a Presbyterian worship service, with beautiful accompaniment by a live band. A musician even sang in Gaelic to the hymn, “Be Thou My Vision.”

Despite the rain, a large group of families gathered on the lawn to worship the Lord.

Parade of the Tartans

More than 100 Scottish clans marched around the track in their traditional Clan tartans. The parade took place mid-morning on Sunday. For an updated schedule, make sure to visit their website.

The Highland Dancers

The Royal Scottish Official Board of Highland Dancing (RSOBHD) oversees the dancing competitions. To our delight, many of the dancers traveled from Scotland to compete in several traditional dances, including the Lilt, Tulloch, Flora, Hornpipe, and Jig.

The Kilted Athletes

The Scottish athletes competed in all six events – the Hammer Throw, Weight Toss for Heigh, and the Sheaf Toss. It was extremely impressive seeing kilted men shotput huge stones across the field.

The Scottish Cultural Village

Spectators can walk through over 100 Clan tents in the Scottish Cultural Village. It was a treat to visit Clan Buchanan, of whom Gibson (my family) is a Sept or branch of.

Musicians

Several pipers (bagpipes) clad in tartans serenaded the spectators throughout the day. They were joined by Celtic harpists and fiddlers. I am convinced these traditional Scottish instruments are destined to be played on a misty morning in the mountains.

Merchants

There were dozens of striped merchant tents set up around the games, selling anything from Scottish trinkets to traditional tartans to pottery. A lot of the merchandise was similar to the Carolina Renaissance Faire.

My husband buys a bottle of hot sauce every time we take a trip, so naturally, he found “Highland Hot Sauce”.

I may be biased because I come from the Gibson family, but Gibson Bagpipes was an incredibly neat tent. As a musician myself, I knew that a good clarinet costs nearly $1,000. Safe to say, I was not surprised that a handcrafted, professional bagpipe was $6,000!

Food

While the Scots may be renowned for their Whisky rather than their food, we found some delightful treats. Our favorites were the sticky toffee pudding (I was shocked to find out the pudding was actually cake), the shortbread, and the Shepherd’s Pie.

Tickets

Pricing varies from $25-40 per adult, depending on the day you attend (as of 2026). You can purchase ticket packages or even be an official event sponsor (Chieftain). For all information, visit their website here.

Parking / Shuttles

As of 2026, parking itself is free. Unless you are competing or part of a Scottish Clan (and have a special parking tag), all spectators park off of the mountain. This year, they had four designated parking spots around Linville, NC. Two of them were at public schools. We ended up parking at the Sugar Mountain Resort.

Check their facebook page for the most accurate satellite parking spots. The event hires a shuttle company to transport spectators from the satellite spots to the entrance of the games.

This year, the shuttles were $10 per seat roundtrip. Bring cash. You will pay at the satellite parking spot.

We attended on Sunday morning. Other articles suggesting arriving as soon as the shuttles start running. For us, that meant 7am. We arrived closer to 8am and had plenty of parking and shuttle bus space.

I believe Saturdays are the busiest day, so plan accordingly.

For all updated information about parking, visit their website here or their facebook page here.

Conclusion

Despite the drizzling rain, we thoroughly enjoyed our visit to the Scottish Highland Games. I love seeing people do things they’re passionate about.

Let’s get back to our roots!