Charleston+Kiawah+Asheville+?
 

Hi all - looking for some suggestions on our itinerary to South and North Carolina this year in late April. We are traveling from Canada to Charleston for a wedding and want to see some sights. We are married in our late twenties, we like trying new food, wine/brewery tastings, beach, hiking, wilderness, live music, walking around and window shopping. We are focused on budget though (our CAD dollar is not doing so well) and seeking private rooms in hostels, VRBO, or B&Bs. We have not booked flights yet, plan to return either April 30/May 1 with flying into Charleston, likely out of Asheville. We plan to have a rental car.

April 20-24 Charleston (including wedding festivities)
April 24-26 Kiawah Island
April 26 - April 30/May 1 - Asheville , ?mountains
April 30/May 1 fly home

Please give suggestions on itinerary and towns/areas to stay in for the tail end of our trip. We would love to hike in the smoky mountains, but think it may be too far given our time. Please give suggestions on good 1/2 day hikes near Asheville. Or, should we split up April 26-April 30/May 1 to two different places so we can get closer to the hiking trails? We don't want to spend all of our time in the car so considering that option. Feeling overwhelmed by all of the hiking options nearby and seeking recommendations in this regard since we would only have 1-2 days for exploring hiking trails in the area since want to spend time in Asheville as well.

Thanks in advance!!

For example, last year in Glacier NP we did the Crypt Lake hike and that has been one of our favorite hikes yet. Looking for something similar if anyone is familiar with that hike.

The Smokies are only 2 hours from Asheville so seeing them would definitely be possible.
You could also hike in the Pisgah Forest.

Thanks Gretchen. Would you recommend another town as a base to exploring the smokies? We aren't set that it HAS to be the smokies, and would be happy with hikes closer to Asheville in e.g. Pisgah Forest if there are some rewarding hikes (sights, waterfalls, moderate challenge). Just don't want to drive >1 hour each direction to our base in Asheville if it makes more sense to have another base.

I'm thinking spend 3 nights (driving from Kiawah island so probably somewhere that isn't more than ~1.5 hours from Asheville as that would be a long driving day) as a base somewhere for great hikes and then spend 2 nights in Asheville to wander downtown, food, music.

I've ordered it in this way since Asheville would fall on the weekend therefore more likely I think to have bands playing. And would be closer to airport for our departure.

Further thoughts on the base and hiking aspect??

You could go up or down the Blue Ridge Parkway from Asheville. The Linville Gorge is a little north. Looking Glass Falls is a little south.

RE Hiking: Just stay in downtown Asheville. There are hundreds of great hiking trails within 1 hour. Check with the folks at Diamond Brand Outdoors http://www.diamondbrand.com/downtown or Mast General Store right in the middle of town and they will be able to direct you to trails in the national forest that will suite what you are looking for. Then after a day of hiking you can come back to town and enjoy the great restaurants, breweries, and music venues that Asheville offers.

There's only one hotel on Kiawah and it is fancy!

Have you booked or investigated lodging on Kiawah yet? It's been several years since I've been, so maybe things have changed, but historically lodging on the island has been pretty heavily geared toward weeklong rentals (with the exception of the hotel suewoo mentions). Not to say that you won't find an owner willing to rent to you for a few days, but I'd start researching that soon if you haven't.

Agree on just staying in Asheville. You'll be driving a ways to get to hikes no matter where you stay; if you're based in town, you'll have easier access to restaurants, etc. I wouldn't make a special point to see the Smokies if you're spending time in Asheville; the scenery is just as lovely (sometimes lovelier) in the Blue Ridge/Pisgah and it saves you driving.

I'm not a trail expert, but have hiked the Mt. Craig trail (conveniently very near Mt. Mitchell, if you want to tick that box) and enjoyed it. A friend of mine who's an avid hiker really loves the Linville Gorge trail.

For your Kiawah stay, there is another hotel, a new hotel, Andell Inn. It is part of Kiawah Island, and is located in Freshfields village. You'll have access to Kiawah's beaches.

Linville Gorge is a beautiful area. On a camping trip long ago when DD was about 3, she admonished her brother as he was on an overlook "don't fall into the Linville gorgeous". LOL

Hi everyone! Thank you all for your responses! We decided to book 2 nights on Kiawah island. I found a rental for 2 nights on VRBO after staying 4 nights in Charleston. I think we lucked out in that apparently it's not quite high season yet, so there were some rentals on Kiawah that were not week long. We will then stay 4 nights downtown Asheville in one of the private room youth hostels. We plan to be out exploring the majority of our trip so don't mind the basic accommodation!

I think we will have plenty of hiking options closer than the Smoky mountains. I like the idea of just basing out of Asheville instead of splitting up the trip further. I have a tendency to over-plan and think I will aim to leave it more open for flexibility :)

Has anyone on here been to the Rocky mountains Canadian or US side? How would you say they compare to the mountains in this area??

Not at all alike. These mountains are very old compared to the Rockies. Covered in forests. Beautiful in a different way but not craggy and about half as tall.