Old Colony Players
Directions & Lodging

From This Day Forward is produced in the Old Colony Amphitheatre in Valdese, NC. Other Old Colony Players' productions are staged in the Old Rock School auditorium. The Town of Valdese is located in Burke County in Western North Carolina. The town is 7 miles east of the County Seat of Morganton, North Carolina in the beautiful foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Valdese is conveniently situated along US Highway 70 and Interstate 40 with easy access to the Blue Ridge Parkway, a famous National Scenic Highway.

The natural beauty of the area includes such points of interest as Linville Gorge Widerness area, Lake James and Lake James State Park, Catawba river, Wilson's Creek, John's River, South Mountains State Park, Pisgah National Forest, Linville Falls, and Table Rock, Shortoff and Hawksbill Mountains. Hiking trails are plentiful in the area, especially in the state and national parks. Visit the ranger stations to register and obtain trail maps.

Many people visit the Tri-County Area (Burke, Catawba, Caldwell Counties) for the many furniture stores and furniture factory outlet stores located in the area. The Hickory Furniture Mart and the Catawba Furniture Mall are both located in Hickory, NC. The Furniture Mall is located in Lenoir, NC. Highway 321 between Hickory and Lenoir is known as "Furniture Alley" for the many stores that are located along that highway.

Valdese is served by two airports in the area. The Morganton-Lenoir Airport on the Burke/Caldwell County line is a general aviation airport with a lighted, instrumented runway and aviation facilities capable of handling business aircraft. Hickory Regional Airport located on the Burke/Catawba County line is a general aviation and commercial airport served by US Airways commuter flights.

VALDESE AREA MAP
(Not to scale)

APROXIMATE MILEAGE TO KEY CITIES
Charlotte, NC	60 Miles Southeast
Hickory, NC	13 Miles East
Asheville, NC	65 Miles West
Statesville, NC	41 Miles East
Lenoir, NC	13 Miles North
Boone, NC	42 Miles Northwest
Spartanburg, SC	72 Miles South
Hendersonville, NC	77 Miles Southwest

• To Valdese from Hickory, Statesville and points east.Travel Interstate 40 Westbound (I-40) from Hickory to Exit 113. This is the Mineral Springs Road exit. Exit right off I-40. Turn right (north) onto Mineral Springs Road. Mineral Springs Road becomes Eldred Street in Valdese. Continue on Eldred Street 1 mile to the intersection with Main Street. Turn left (west) onto Main Street. Follow along Main Street .8 mile to Church Street. There is a large sign at the intersection of Main and Church Street pointing the way to the Old Colony Amphitheatre and the "Trail of Faith." Turn right onto Church Street and go .3 mile to the entrance to the Old Colony Amphitheatre and "Trail of Faith" parking lot on the right.
  
• To Valdese from Asheville and points west.Travel Interstate 40 (I-40) Eastbound from Asheville to Exit 111. This is the Flat Gap Exit. Exit right off I-40. Turn right onto Millstone Ave. Travel 25 yards, turn right (north) and cross over I-40 onto Carolina Street. Continue on Carolina Street 1.1 mile to the intersection with Main Street. Turn left (west) onto Main Street. Follow along Main Street .5 mile to Church Street. There is a large sign at the intersection of Main and Church Street pointing the way to the Old Colony Amphitheatre and the "Trail of Faith." Turn right onto Church Street and go .3 mile to the entrance to the Old Colony Amphitheatre and "Trail of Faith" parking lot on the right.
  
• To Valdese from Lenoir, Boone and points north.There are two sets of directions from Lenoir that follow major highways. (1) Travel west on Morganton Blvd out of Lenoir. Morganton Blvd is US Highway 64/NC Highway 18. Continue on Hwy 64/Hwy 18 to the intersection of Kirksey Drive and Hwy 64/Hwy 18 in Morganton. Turn left (south) onto Kirksey Drive. Follow Kirksey Drive to the intersection with Highway 70. Turn left (east) onto Hwy 70. Follow Hwy 70 east to Valdese. Hwy 70 is Main Street. Follow Main Street to Church Street and turn left (north). There is a large sign at the intersection of Main and Church Streets pointing the way to the Old Colony Amphitheatre and the "Trail of Faith." Turn left on Church Street and go .3 mile to the entrance to the Old Colony Amphitheatre and "Trail of Faith" parking lot on the right. (2) Travel Highway 321 south to Hickory. Turn Right (west) onto I-40. Follow the directions for Hickory above. If traveling from Boone, take Hwy 321 south to Lenoir and follow the directions from Lenoir above.
  
• To Valdese from Rutherfordton, Spartanburg, SC and points South.From Rutherfordton follow Hwy 64 east to the intersection with I-40 in Morganton. Turn right (east) onto I-40. Follow I-40 Eastbound to Exit 111. This is the Flat Gap Exit. Exit right off I-40. Turn right (north) onto Mineral Springs Road. Mineral Springs Road becomes Eldred Street in Valdese. Continue on Eldred Street 1 mile to the intersection with Main Street. Turn left (west) onto Main Street. Follow along Main Street .8 mile to Church Street. There is a large sign at the intersection of Main and Church Street pointing the way to the Old Colony Amphitheatre and the "Trail of Faith." Turn right onto Church Street and go .3 mile to the entrance to the Old Colony Amphitheatre and "Trail of Faith" parking lot on the right. From Spartanburg travel I-85 Northbound to the exit at US Hwy 221. Turn right onto Hwy 221 and travel north to Rutherfordton. Follow the Hwy 74 Bypass to Hwy 64 and follow the directions above from Rutherfordton.
  
• To Valdese from Charlotte. There are many routes to travel between Valdese and Charlotte, but these are the most commonly used routes. (1) Travel Interstate 77 (I-77) Northbound to the intersection with Interstate 40 (I-40) in Statesville. Take I-40 Westbound and follow the directions above from Statesville. (2) Travel Interstate 85 Southbound to the intersection with Highway 321 in Gastonia. Turn right off I-85 onto the off ramp then turn left (north) onto Hwy 321 north. Travel Hwy 321 north to the intersection with I-40 Westbound in Hickory and follow the directions above from Hickory.

DOWNTOWN VALDESE
(Not to scale. Only limited streets indicated.)

AREA LODGING
Days Inn	I-40 Exit 105, 2402 South Sterling Street, Morganton, NC	800-329-7466 or 828-433-0011
Hampton Inn	I-40 Exit 105, 115 Bush Drive, Morganton, NC 28690 (Old Rock School)	800-HAMPTON or 828-432-2000
Holiday Inn	I-40 Exit 105, South Sterling Street, Morganton, NC	800-HOLIDAY or 828-437-0171
Red Carpet Inn	I-40 Exit 105, Bush Drive, Morganton, NC	800-251-1962 828-437-6980
Super 8 Motel	I-40 Exit 103, 1100 Burkemont Ave, Morganton, NC	800-800-8000 or 828-430-8778
Comfort Inn	I-40 Exit 103, 1273 Burkemont Ave, Morganton, NC	828-430-4000
Rainbow Inn (Economy Express Inn)	I-40 Exit 106, Bethel Road, Morganton, NC	828-437-7811
Sleep Inn	I-40 Exit 105, 2400-A South Sterling Street, Morganton, NC	800-753-3746 or 828-430-9000
Icard Inn	I-40 Exit 119, 3450 Miller Bridge Road, Connelly Springs, NC	828-397-5573
Hickory , NC	Many motels are located in the area Hickory Metro Convention & Visitor's Bureau	13 Miles East
This list is presented as information only and is not an endorsement of the facilities.

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