Boone's Saturday Market Has a Winter Address on Poplar Grove Road

The Watauga County Farmers' Market's main season at Daniel Boone Park ends on October 31. Its official 2026 season runs through November 28, and on December 5 a winter market opens indoors on Poplar Grove Road, with many of the same farms and makers.

From now through March 27, 2027, the only Saturday without a farmers market in Boone is December 26. What does change is the address. Once the Horn in the West Drive season wraps, Boone's local food runs out of one building at 252 Poplar Grove Road, and it pays to know that address before the weather turns.

The Calendar From Here to March

These are the dates and hours the market organizers have posted for the rest of 2026 and early 2027:

1. Tuesday, October 27: The last summer King Street Farmers' Market of the year. Blue Ridge Women in Agriculture runs it Tuesdays from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m., May through October, in front of Watauga County Social Services at 126 Poplar Grove Connector. October 27 is the last Tuesday in that published range.
2. Saturdays, October 24 and 31: The last two main-season Saturdays at the Watauga County Farmers' Market, 591 Horn in the West Drive, 8 a.m. to noon. The market puts its main season at "May through October."
3. Saturdays, November 7 through 28: Holiday Markets at the same park, same hours. November 28 is the Saturday after Thanksgiving and the last date of the official 2026 season.
4. Saturday, December 5: The Winter King Street Farmers' Market opens at the Watauga County Agricultural Conference Center, 252 Poplar Grove Road, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
5. Saturday, December 26: No market. Blue Ridge Women in Agriculture lists this as the only exception to the winter schedule.
6. Saturday, March 27, 2027: The last winter market of the season.

The Saturday market ends one weekend and opens in its winter home the next, and the only break comes the day after Christmas.

Why Poplar Grove Road Matters More After November

The summer Tuesday market sets up on Poplar Grove Connector. The winter Saturday market moves into the Agricultural Conference Center at 252 Poplar Grove Road. That's also the main pickup point for the High Country Food Hub, the year-round online farmers' market run by Blue Ridge Women in Agriculture.

So from December through March, one address hosts both the Saturday market and the Wednesday online-order pickup. The Food Hub takes orders online Thursday through Monday. Boone pickup is Wednesday from noon to 6:30 p.m. Its listings cover produce, meat, dairy, bread, artisan foods, cut flowers, body care products, and plants.

The Saturday market at the Ag Center isn't all indoors either. The market listing says vendors are spread across the parking lot, the conference center, and the warehouse. Parking is in front of and behind the building, and the building is wheelchair accessible from the parking lot. Blue Ridge Women in Agriculture calls it an all-weather market that stays open "in most cases" through rain, snow, or ice. For the rare closures, it posts updates on Facebook at @KingStreetMkt and on Instagram at @kingstreetmarket.

Many of the Names Come With It

The two markets have different organizers, sites, and hours. Their vendor rosters still overlap. Compare the Watauga County Farmers' Market's 2026 main-season lineup, as published in the Watauga Democrat, with the featured vendors on the Winter King Street Farmers Market listing, and a set of familiar names turns up on both.

The winter list also has names that don't appear on the summer Saturday roster, including Four Sisters Bakery, Magpies Bakery, Old Beech Mountain Farms, Carringer Farms, Forgotten Ways Farm, Beverly's Gourmet Foods, and B.A.D. Compost. If your summer routine ran through one bakery stall at Horn in the West, winter puts different bread on the table.

One caution about that table. The winter listing calls its roster "Featured Vendors Include" and doesn't date it, so treat it as a strong indication, not a confirmed 2026–27 lineup. The King Street Market newsletter is where week-by-week vendor news goes out.

What Changes Besides the Address

The hours shift later. The Daniel Boone Park market runs 8 a.m. to noon. The winter market runs 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. That's two hours later to start and an hour later to close. If your habit is arriving at opening, an 8 a.m. arrival in December means waiting in the parking lot for two hours.

The produce turns to storage crops and cold-hardy greens. The winter listing names winter squash, potatoes, greens, turnips, onions, beets, and carrots. Its broader product list runs to Brussels sprouts, cabbage, leeks, sunchokes, sweet potatoes, spinach, and microgreens. Meats, eggs, honey, jams, baked goods, skincare, plants, and crafts are all on the list too.

The coffee is free. The winter listing promises a complimentary cup of hot coffee, along with live music from local artists, cooking demonstrations, and community organization tables.

SNAP matching runs through a different program. The Watauga County Farmers' Market accepts SNAP/EBT and takes part in Double Up Food Bucks, which it runs locally in partnership with Blue Ridge Women in Agriculture. The King Street Market is part of the WNC Double SNAP Network, which the listing says doubles up to $75 of SNAP/EBT purchases per day. Details are on each market's own pages.

The Weeks the Saturday Market Doesn't Cover

The Saturday calendar has one gap, December 26, plus whatever Mondays through Fridays you can't make it out on a weekend. The Food Hub covers those weeks, and for anyone whose week runs outside Boone, its satellite pickups matter as much as the main site. Each one carries a $5 fee:

• Deep Gap: Bald Guy Brew Coffee Roasting Company, 714 Old US 421 South, Wednesdays 3:30 to 5:30 p.m.
• Valle Crucis area: Mast General Store, 3565 Hwy 194 S in Sugar Grove, Thursdays 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. The Food Hub lists it as a new location.
• Banner Elk: Apple Hill Farm Outpost, 414 Shawneehaw Ave S, Thursdays 3:30 to 5:30 p.m.
• Blowing Rock: Blue Ridge Conservancy's Deborah I. Swartzel Education Center, 416 Aho Road, Thursdays 4 to 6 p.m.

The Food Hub also sells gift certificates. With the November Holiday Markets ending on Thanksgiving weekend, a certificate works as a stocking-stuffer for someone who already shops local. It also covers the week the Saturday market takes off.

Before Next Season

This year's Saturday season at Daniel Boone Park has six Saturdays left as of this week, two more main-season markets and four November Holiday Markets. The market's site already shows its 2027 vendor application as open. The market calls itself "Boone's Town Square since 1974." In the Watauga Democrat's report on the 2026 main-season opener, Market Director Michelle Dineen Smith said, "Every purchase supports the people doing this work and helps strengthen a local food system and creative economy rooted in this place."

For a Saturday morning on December 5, put 252 Poplar Grove Road in your phone and plan to arrive after 10.

Our team works with plenty of people who split their time between the High Country and somewhere else, and questions like where the Saturday market goes in December come up often. If you're new to Boone, or helping someone settle in for their first winter here, the Leslie Eason Team is glad to share what we know about how the year runs. Contact us anytime.