There's No Place Like Beech Mountain!
You don’t need ruby slippers to follow the Yellow Brick Road in North Carolina. You will, however, need a ticket, comfortable shoes, and perhaps a willingness to accept that flying monkeys are part of the afternoon.
Autumn at Oz returns to Beech Mountain for two remaining weekends, September 18 through 20 and September 25 through 27. Held at Land of Oz, the annual festival is billed as the world’s largest Oz celebration, turning Dorothy’s trip from Kansas to the Emerald City into a walkable, mountaintop production.
And yes, there’s a real, live Yellow Brick Road.
Kansas, With a Mountain View
The experience begins at a replica of Aunt Em and Uncle Henry’s Kansas home, where visitors encounter the twister that starts the familiar story. From there, guests follow Dorothy along the three-quarter-mile Yellow Brick Road, meeting the Scarecrow, Man of Tin, Cowardly Lion, Glinda, the Wicked Witch, and other characters along the way.
Professional performers and live theatrical moments unfold throughout the route before visitors eventually arrive at a temporary Emerald City. According to the festival’s FAQ, the self-paced experience takes about two hours on average, giving guests room to move through the story without turning the Yellow Brick Road into a race.
That pacing is part of the appeal. Rather than watching Oz unfold from a theater seat, visitors physically make the journey, moving from scene to scene as the story develops around them.
Two Weekends Left
There are a couple of ways to stretch the experience beyond Dorothy’s route. The Over the Rainbow Observation Deck provides another look at the mountaintop setting, while a scenic lift ride adds a different perspective altogether.
General admission tickets are $70, with access to the Observation Deck available as an $8 add-on. With only two September weekends remaining, planning ahead makes more sense than hoping the Wizard can squeeze you in.
For North Carolinians, Autumn at Oz also occupies an unusual corner of the state’s event calendar. Plenty of fall outings involve pumpkins, hayrides, or something served with cinnamon. Beech Mountain offers a tornado, a witch, a talking lion, and a road made of yellow bricks.
Sometimes September could use a little weirdness.
And for anyone who spent childhood wondering what waited somewhere over the rainbow, Beech Mountain has two weekends left to go find out.
Find more places for family fun across North Carolina in the Guide to North Carolina family amusement places directory: https://www.guidetonc.com/family-amusement-places
