Looking for some recommendations on North Carolina cities for fall break (in three weeks!). Prefer something near the mountains with some nearby trail hiking for family and possibly a quaint downtown without being too touristy. We've rented a house in Highlands, Cherokee, and Saluda in past years so just wondering if there are some towns out there I don't know of. We enjoy renting a nice cabin, cooking from home/bonfires, and taking day trips to explore surrounding areas.

Blowing Rock is a really nice little area. A slightly different part of NC than Cherokee. Very quaint town and its right on the Blue Ridge Parkway and near the Pisgah National Forest for exploring and hiking.

Blowing Rock is good and a lot of the area around it. Ski areas have lots of housing. Banner Elk and environs.
Burnsville, Spruce Pine, above Asheville.

We love Blowing Rock, but it can become overwhelmed with tourists, especially that time of year. Boone rightfully gets knocked for it's somewhat ugly outlying areas, but does have a cool little downtown area with a college town influence.

We also like West Jefferson just north of Boone - it seems to get fewer tourists.

Black Mountain is our favorite near Asheville, but I'm guessing it may get overwhelmed during leaf season too.

Either way, you probably want to think about booking something soon.

I should add that my husband's granny lives on 100 acres in Black Mountain outside of Asheville so we are very familiar with those towns too! Thank you all!

We love Black Mountain too; Arbor House is a really nice place to stay.

Brevard is a great little town near Asheville with many trails and waterfalls nearby!
Blowing Rock is nice but I do think it can get very crowded during the season.