The Valle Crucis Conference Center

07/15/2026

Your donations will help make new Hermitages a reality AND support the existing ministry of retreat!

06/26/2026

Amazing program offerings for Fall 2026! There's something for everyone. Come learn, grow, and make new friends with us!

06/23/2026

If you’ve visited the Hermitages at the Valle Crucis Conference Center, you know how special they are as a place of respite, prayer, and renewal. They are truly a powerful gift of ministry.

And if you’ve tried to book a Hermitage in the past few years, you know how difficult it is to find any time at all in them! The Hermitages stay 85-90% occupied most months of the year. Guests from all over the Southeast treasure their time in retreat here. Expanding this ministry would enable more guests to find the balm of peaceful quiet.

Bishop José McLoughlin has pledged $150,000 to create up to two more Hermitages!

Bishop José’s generosity highlights his enduring love for the holy ground of the mountains and the people of western North Carolina.

Now is your chance to make this gift even more meaningful.
With two new buildings will come the need for robust infrastructure to support them - a new well and plumbing lines, electrical wiring, grading, and all the background work that makes new retreat lodging possible. And the existing Hermitages will need some sprucing as well!

Your donations will help make the new Hermitages a reality AND support the existing ministry of retreat!

Donation link: https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/donation-form/bishops-hermitage-challenge

06/20/2026

Welcoming Week One of the 56th (?!) North American Academy of Piping and Drumming home to the Valle tomorrow. Unless, of course, they're still in New York...

It's Scotland's first World Cup appearance in 28 years, and fans ha...

04/29/2026

Local folks! You got teenagers or young adults kicking around the house this summer, looking for a job? We need kitchen help in a big way. Hours are flexible, but generally in shifts between 7 a.m. and 2 p.m. or 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. Currently it's mostly weekend work, but our high season kicks off in early June, and there will be plenty of weekday work as well. Our philosophy is one of mentorship - how to prepare scaled up buffet-style food, teamwork, taking care of people through hospitality, etc.

The VCCC is a beautiful place to work. Pay is competitive with similar jobs in Boone, starting at $15/hour, and depending on experience, can be higher. Free meals, of course. If you know of anyone older who is looking for a part-time job, that would be awesome, too. We need people who are reliable and can get here on their own, who have a solid work ethic, and who are not afraid to try new things.

Have them contact Margaret directly, [email protected].

04/17/2026

Snapshots of what you can experience here at the Valle Crucis Conference Center.

04/07/2026

Most days in the Valle are as close to heaven as you can get. But some days, we are reminded that not everyone is as honest or kind as maybe they should be. Over the weekend (probably late Easter Sunday or Monday), there was a hit and run here. Someone smashed hard into our kitchen fence, totally snapping two posts, knocking an entire section down, and pushing a propane tank a couple of feet. Luckily for everyone (including the culprit!) the propane tank wasn't damaged, but the fence is kaput.

Whoever did this probably has some obvious damage to their vehicle. Our security cameras were at just the wrong angle to catch anything significant, but we are guessing it was someone hiking the trail, so they were probably from out of town, and we will never know whodunnit. I'm going to assume stupidity over malice and figure whoever did it didn't mean to and didn't know who to tell, but...we ain't hard to track down, and they could have left a note.

Remember: Be kind. Be honest. Own up to your mistakes.

04/02/2026

Okay, so we aren't actually raising the roof on the Apple Barn by 20 feet to accommodate high-flying acrobats. Hope you enjoyed all the wonderful silliness from across the Internet yesterday, April 1!

We DO love to host all sorts of events at the Apple Barn, though - including yours! Planning a wedding, bar mitzvah, Quinceañera, hoe-down, revival, family reunion, concert, fundraising event, or other shenanigans? The Apple Barn is an affordably priced, beautifully rustic space - with all the amenities you could want.

Some examples of gorgeous decoration from the Valle Crucis School PTSO volunteers, who have created a wonderland for school dances out of nothin' but an old barn...