Seven Devils North Carolina
History
Seven Devils is a town in Avery and Watauga counties in North Carolina. The population was 313 at the 2020 census. The town, which is located in the Appalachian Mountains, is best known as the site of a popular wintertime tubing resort known as Hawksnest, which claims it has the largest tubing facility on the East Coast, and some of the town’s year-round residents earn their living at the resort. Many others are retirees. Developed in the 1970s as a vacation home community, Seven Devils is home mostly to seasonal residents.
In its early days, Seven Devils featured a campground, swimming lake, horseback riding trails and stables, rental cottages, and a general store. The Seven Devils Golf & Ski Resort opened in December 1968, attracting more visitors and residents. The town of Seven Devils was incorporated on June 30, 1979.
In the early 1980s, Jon Reynolds assumed ownership of the ski area and changed its name to Ski Hawksnest. The resort soon became a favorite among locals and college students, offering low ticket prices, a bar with live music, and a weekend night skiing session called “Nighthawk” that ran from 10:00pm to 4:00am. In 1993, Leonard Cottom, who owned the neighboring Hanging Rock Golf and Country Club, purchased the ski area, changing the name to Hawksnest Golf & Ski Resort. In 2008, under the ownership of Lenny Cottom, Hawksnest closed for skiing to focus on snow tubing and ziplining.
Seven Devils, North Carolina
| Column 1 | Column 2 |
|---|---|
| Type | Town |
| Population: | 313 (2020) |
| Elevation | 3,944 |
| Named For | 7 Founders / 7 Peaks |
Named For
7 Founders / 7 Peaks
In the mid-1960s, seven men from the Winston-Salem area established the unincorporated community of Seven Devils with the vision of creating a recreational resort. The seven founders included four brothers, Herbert Reynolds, Frank Reynolds, Galloway Reynolds and Dan Reynolds, and their partners George Kempton, Ray Smith and Gardner Gidley. They wanted a unique name to attract visitors and decided upon Seven Devils based on a combination of factors. There were seven founders and seven distinct peaks from the ridge line of the Blue Ridge Parkway that viewed the area, and locals often said that “the wind blows like the devil up there in the winter time.”
Indians in the area also said that the wind throughout the hills sounded like seven devils screaming in the night.
Geography
Nearby Locations
| Location | Direction | Distance (mi) | Driving Time (hh:mm) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sugar Mountain | Southwest | 8.5 | 00:18 |
| Grandfather | Southwest | 9.2 | 00:18 |
| Banner Elk | Northwest | 10.6 | 00:20 |
| Newland | Southwest | 14.6 | 00:24 |
| Elk Park | West | 18.1 | 00:32 |
Weather
Genealogy
Nearby Counties
*Avery County was created February 23, 1911 from Caldwell, Mitchell and Watauga Counties.
Seven Devils, NC Gallery
