College road trip in North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia
 

Hi, I am a sophomore at college in eastern VA and my two friends and I are trying to plan a road trip for our spring break, which is the first week of March. We are planning our first stop in Pittsboro, NC near Chapel Hill because we are visiting someone there, but after that we have an open schedule. I'm interested in going to Asheville and my friends like the idea of trying to camp one or two nights. I was thinking that maybe a West NC, East Tennessee, and Southwest Virginia loop would be cool? We dont want to be driving more than 4 or 5 hours a day. And we have to end up in DC so I can drop off my car at home. Does any one have recommendations for good campgrounds, hostels or other cheap lodging in these regions? Or I guess more importantly, where are some of the definite places to visit in these regions. We are equally interested in quaint towns and outdoorsy stuff :)

Thanks so much!!

Camping in March in the mountains could be pretty chilly. do you have the right equipment?
You might enjoy stopping at Old Salem in Winston Salem on your way toward Asheville.

Thanks for the reply - Yeah, don't worry about weather or equipment, I work at a sporting goods store and have camped a lot so I'm also pretty wary about the camping idea. It would definitely be cold but we have the necessary equipment and are highly motivated to keep costs down, haha.

Also - most campgrounds don't even open until may, so that is another stumbling block for us. But any exceptions or alternatives would be welcome suggestions!

Old Salem looks cool, thanks!

There are a parks around Asheville that you could camp in--Pisgah National Forest.
Then on out around Cherokee and the GSMNP the campgrounds should be open.
I don't know about hostels anywhere, but I'm sure Google would be your friend!
For 3 of you, you might get a hotel room.

Hungry Mother State Park in Southwestern Virginia has camping and I believe the campgrounds are open in March. There probably won't be a lot to do at that time of the year other than hike or fish.

http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/state_parks/hun.shtml

I assume the Biltmore estate is in the mix, right?

Probably depends on their budget. It ain't cheap!

Biltmore Estate looks awesome and is definitely in the mix - but yeah like Gretchen said, it ain't cheap!

I just checked out all the campground options you guys suggested and they look promising - some of them have cheap cabins we can rent overnight that might keep us a bit warmer. And of course all of the parks seem to have great hikes.

Any more recommendations about cool towns or attractions along the route?

Thanks everyone!