Lees-McRae College is a small Presbyterian-affiliated liberal arts college that has been part of Banner Elk since 1900. Its campus, a cluster of stone buildings set among the trees at 3,700 feet elevation, gives the town an academic character unusual for a community this size. The college was founded by Edgar Tufts, a Presbyterian missionary who arrived in the mountains in the 1890s and set up schools and a hospital to serve the isolated Appalachian communities.
The college hosts cultural events open to the public, including theater productions and concerts, and its wildlife center rehabilitates and displays native Appalachian animals including bald eagles and hawks. For anyone spending time in Banner Elk outside of ski season, the campus is worth a short walk.