We are heading to Asheville in August. We plan to hike and golf. We have decided to rent a home or condo (we have two couples going). We don't necessarily need to be in Asheville city propoer.

We want to be in a beautiful area, relatively close to hiking and golf. As we look on VRBO.com and other sites, we see tons of towns in the Smoky Mountains. Can anyway suggest a couple of towns/cities to focus on? The search is overwhelming with so many towns to choose from.

Thanks.

We stay in the Black Mt./Swannanoa area a lot. Very close to the Parkway & Asheville. If you are serious hikers, Hot Springs is a goo dplace to start as the Appalachian Trail cuts through there. There will be lots of hikers there. I'll also suggest the Chimney Rock/Lake Lure area, but it will likely be hotter there.

We love the town of Black Mtn - an easy 20-minute interstate ride into downtown Asheville. I'd consider the Lake Lure area as too far from Asheville - 45 minutes of pretty, but very windy roads. I've also heard good things about Waynesville. I know nothing about golf though.

Take a look at Brevard, NC. It is less than an hour south of Asheville. I'm less familar with golf in the area (though there seems to be plenty of courses near by) but the Pisgah National Forest near Brevard is a great place for hikes. Checkout the Cradle of Forestry, Sliding Rock, Mt. Pisgah, Looking Glass Mountain, Graveyard fields, etc. Also check the Horsepasture River/Whitewater Falls.

Mike Honeycutt

Thanks to all - great suggestions - I now have a direction!

Look on up the Parkway in Weaverville or Burnsville also. Or in Dillsboro or Sylva. Black Mountain is a nice little town and very close to Asheville. Brevard has really developed in the past few years and has an incredibly excellent music camp there now. If it is in season, the rentals may be more difficult/expensive.

Keith Lockhart will be the music director there this summer by the way.

i'd recommend asheville proper if you can swing it, unless you're trying to stay in the middle of nowhere. asheville is close to everything, particularly golfing. another option is mountain air country club- they have all these activities on-site and it's gorgeous!

https://carolina.vrmreservations.com...h=/Default.asp

Mountainaire is beautiful, but it IS in the middle of nowhere.

if not staying in asheville, i'd recommend weaverville. close by and a cute, quaint town in its own right. i do fireworks there every year on the 4th and they have the best bakery anywhere around here (well-bred bakery)

Check out the Arbor House in Black Mountain - it's gorgeous, right on a lake with a beautiful view of the mountains.