travlover2

Looking for local music, handicrafts, and small towns to explore. LOts of suggestions for summer hiking, but where to go for 5 days in winter?

leahinsc

Burnsville, Black Mountain, Blowing Rock, Waynesville, Hendersonville, ...

Pat2003

Carl Sandburg Home in Flat Rock, Arboretum in Asheville, Flat Rock Playhouse. If you are a hiker you will be able to hike on many trails in February including those in Arboretum. I suggest going to Saluda for dinner at Purple Onion.

cmcfong

Penland for exceptional crafts. NC publishes a small book which lists craftsmen and artists throughout the state. I believe you can order it off the NC tourism site.
If you go to Black Mountain have lunch at Veranda, absolutely delicious soups, sandwiches and desserts.

obxgirl

We purchased this book in Asheville which was a great guide to artisan studios, shops and galleries in Asheville and the surrounding towns.

"The Craft Heritage Trails of Western North Carolina"

cmcfong

OBXgirl, that is the booklet to which I referred. Thanks for supplying the title!

Litespeed_Chick

It may be the mountains, but it's still the South. February is early spring. In 5 days you will probably have 3 that are fine for hiking.

For local music, try Jack of the Woods or Westville Pub, they both have websites where you can find a calendar of offerings.

travlover2

Is there another town where we should spend a couple of nights? Comments so far have been incredibly helpful. Any more "must see" music venues, bars, shops, towns??

rupertpiper

The HGTV Dream Home is open for tours in the Lake Lure area. I heard the tickets were $20. That's a very pretty area to explore: Lake Lure and Chimney Rock (park). Plus, as another responder said, early February is early spring down here. You'll need a jacket, but outdoor activities are very possible.

leahinsc

on the HGTV dream home tour. We looked into going and decided not to after we found out that you had to buy tickets at visitor's center in Hendersonville, drive to Lake Lure, park and wait, spend 30 min on a bus, tour house for 30 min and then another 30 min back with no guarantee on what time you'd be touring.

mahoneycutt

With the weather in Asheville lately, *every* day is a good hiking day

Let me suggest one stop shopping for hiking, handicrafts, small town, etc - Brevard, NC.

Brevard is about 30 minutes south of Asheville. It has great hiking in the Pisgah National Forest, tons of water falls (Horsepasture River is one of my favorites), and plenty of restaurants, antique shops, etc.

The Cradle of Forestry in America is a good place to see some old cablins, has a nice little museum, and is very manageable.

About 20 minutes beyond the Cradle of Forestry is the Blue Ridge Parkway. Mt. Pisgah has a moderate 1.5 mile hike (on way) with great views from the TV tower on top.

Let me know if Brevard doesn't meet your needs.

Mike Honeycutt

Pat2003

Mike, the Cradle of Forestry is closed in February but a wonderful place to visit. Agree with you about Brevard. We love this charming little town, especially now after my sister moved to Cedar Mountain. We are thinking about buying a land there but a real estate market in that area is so insanely expensive. You can hardly find 1 acre of nice property under $100,000.
Leah, Mike why a real estate is so expensive there?

It takes about 7 minutes, 4 miles, from the Cradle of the Forestry to Blue Ridge Parkway. The trail to Pisgah Mtn. is short but difficult and in February it has snow and ice on it. Besides, during most of the winter the parkway is closed between routes 276, 151 (?) and 191 so there is no access to Mt. Pisgah trail unless you want to hike on the parkway in order to get there. On route 276 just off intersection with routes 280 and 64 (?) you will find many wonderful trails. Some are near the Forest Ranger station.

Pat2003

travlover2, for local music (as local as it gets) go to Saluda. Make resevation for dinner. Check this website for details
www.purpleonionsaluda.com

In February these are performers
Thursday February 2 Every Mother's Dream
Saturday February 4 Menage
Thursday February 9 Jon Shain
Saturday February 11 Buckerettes
Thursday February 16 Sam Anderson
Saturday February 18 Mel Jones & His Bag of Bones
Thursday February 23 Tom Fisch
Saturday February 25 Wild Hog Band

Litespeed_Chick

As to other small towns to spend the night...I would say not really. All the small towns I can think of that would be fun to explore (Brevard, Black Mountain, Sylva) are close enough to Asheville to be a day trip.

mahoneycutt is right, brevard is a good base for your hiking. Although the Parkway can be closed/icy in February, it is WAY WAY up (altitude, not miles) from the entrance to Pisgah in Brevard. If the weather is marginal, you would just stay down low...near the entrance. Still plenty of hiking.

leahinsc

Re: land prices...I think it depends where you are looking and what you are looking for in terms of prices. I know there are wonderful lots to be had for under $100K per acre but do you want a breathtaking view? That's where the bucks start adding up.

Pat2003

Leah, thank you. This is very helpful. My sister found for us 3-acre lot but it is on the top of the mountain with almost 360 degrees view that includes view of Mt. Pisgah and is adjacent on two sides to Pisgah National Forest. She says it would be very easy to build on. There is also paved driveway leading to it. We thought that $150,000 was an outrageous price. You helped me to understand why anyone would want to pay this much money. Thanks

Pat2003

Leah, I forgot to add this lot is located close to Asheville but on the road going to Brevard where my sister lives. Well, actually she lives in Cedar Mountain but she says nobody knows where it is but everybody knows of the closest town, Brevard.
Thanks again

Litespeed_Chick

Pat - I got married in Cedar Mountain, and you're right...everybody was like "where the hell is that?"

I hate to say it, because it does sound awful, but bordered on 2 sides by Pisgah, and a 360 view sounds like one of those properties where the sky is the limit on pricing. $50k an acre is not all that horrid. Also, having dabbled (and I do mean dabbled) in real estate development, I can tell you building a road up a mountain is an expensive nightmare/money pit, so that driveway is worth a lot.

Pat2003

Litespeed_Chick, thank you. I guess we were so surprised because it would be a lot of $ for the area where we live now but not so much for the Asheville/Hendersonville/Brevard areas. We are going there next week to take a closer look.