What to do in Ashville, NC???
 

I've done some research (trip advisor, official visitor guide) but am still unsure how we should spend our time in Ashville. We have 3 days and will definitely visit the Biltmore on one of them. What would you recommend for the other two days? We are going in early November and this is our once a year mini-vacation w/o our kids. Would love to do something outdoors (hiking?). Thanks!

Asheville is the gateway to one of the country's most popular national parks, Great Smoky Mountains. I'm curious about how you could possibly have chosen Asheville as a destination and not known about this. Asheville is renowned for nearby hiking. It's kind of what it's most famous for, other than the Biltmore estate.

I'd hop on the Blue Ridge Parkway and go exploring...check for closures before you decide whether to go north or south; also check out the Folk Art Center/visitor's center (m. 382).

We chose Asheville b/c it is one of the few desitinations within driving distance of our house that we have not visited. I thought it was a good hiking destination, but none of the travel info I have researched even mention this. The official visitors guide suggest a waterfall hike, but it isn't even in Asheville - you have to drive to another town. No info on hiking as a top activity on trip advisor either. I'd like to find info on a good hike, but I haven't had any luck. Maybe I need to research the park itself rather than Asheville, but I know the park is quite large.

Try this link:

http://exploreasheville.com/what-to-...ils/index.aspx

www.blueridgeparkway.org, www.nps.gov/blri, www.visitnc.com, www.ashvillenow.com. These should help.

The GSMNP is a couple hours from Asheville but has a lot of things to do. My husband and I prefer the National Forests in the area for driving and sightseeing, they are much less crowded and closer to Asheville. http://www.cs.unca.edu/nfsnc/ But some of the highest peaks are in the GSMNP, and there is Mount Mitchell (highest in the East) and the Black Mountains along the Blue Ridge Parkway (note there are Parkway closures between Asheville and Mount Mitchell). The GSMNP and Mount Mitchell are in opposite directions from Asheville. Just keep in mind that the weather at the top of the mountains in the Park and along the Parkway can be awful even if it's nice in Asheville. Winter months can bring weather-related road closures at the higher elevations.

The Appalachian Trail runs through the area, and there are plenty of other places to hike without having to go too far. http://www.hikewnc.info/

There are waterfalls-a-plenty within an hour from Asheville. Check out the Pisgah National Forest near Brevard on US 276 for hiking and waterfalls (too cold in November for the swimming holes!). Brevard is in Transylvania County, which has more waterfalls than any other county in the state. http://www.ncwaterfalls.com/

You could spend most of a day strolling around downtown Asheville shopping and eating. There are some beautiful Art Deco buildings. Biltmore Village near the Estate also has shops and restaurants. I like the Fine Arts Theater on Biltmore Ave. for independent films. http://www.fineartstheatre.com/

I like the Beaver Lake area just north of downtown on Merrimon Ave. -- there are easy trails in the bird sanctuary there, and you can walk around the lake or rent a canoe (but maybe not in November?).

There's also Chimney Rock Park and Lake Lure, 30-45 minutes outside of town.

If you like driving, check out the Scenic Byways at http://www.ncdot.org/doh/Operations/...adside/scenic/

If you like ribs and/or BBQ, try 12 Bones Smokehouse in the River Arts Dist. of Asheville for lunch one day (not open for dinner). I love 12 Bones. http://www.12bones.com/

And depending on when in November you'll be visiting, you may be able to visit the Grove Park Inn's National Gingerbread Competition. It starts November 19. My husband and I went last year and had a very nice lunch at the Sunset Terrace dining room before browsing the displays. In any case, the GPI is a great "adult" place to hang out for a while.
http://www.groveparkinn.com/Leisure/...on__Display_8/

So is Editor Doug incorrect that Great Smoky Mountains National Park is in Asheville but actually a couple of hours away? I thought it was kind of snotty for him to post "how could have picked Asheville and not known about this." We are driving 7 hours to get to Asheville so I don't really want to have to drive another couple of hours to hike!

Thanks to everyone else for the links - I will check them out!!

A few weeks ago we spent the weekend in the Asheville area.

We drove to Grandfather Mountain (about an hour, hour and a half north, northeast of Asheville). There is some great hiking there. I think you can google "Grandfather Mountain" to find it.

We also went to Chimney Rock Park and hiked there.

Both areas are beautiful, but my husband and I both preferred Grandfather Mountain.

There is no national park IN Asheville, NC. However, Asheville is considered the major NC gateway to the park, the entrance of which is 51 miles west of town.

The Blue Ridge Parkway (the beautiful, scenic road to the park) begins 2 miles from town.

I'm going to bow out of this discussion now because I don't have anything further to add. But if I were within 50 miles of an absolutely beautiful national park, to me that would be worth at least a day of my time. You must decide for yourself if that's too far to go.

A good website for hikes in/near Asheville:

http://www.romanticasheville.com/hiking.html

I'm guessing you are coming down 75 ? If so, you will skirt the Eastern half of the Park on 40. Other near-by places to visit would include Black Mt., & the BRP as I mentioned before. It is not far. I'd also put your travel time @ closer to 5 1/2 - 6 hours if you are coming from Cincy (barring any traffic issues).

If coming down 75, you could detour through Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg and the park en route to Asheville. You could stay in Gburg one evening and venture over US 441 to Cherokee NC the next day, and then take the Blue Ridge Parkway to Asheville. If you wanted to meander. Traffic through Gatlinburg and the Park shouldn't be too bad in November, depending on Gatlinburg's convention schedule.

Doug, I hope you're taking note of this discussion because it's bothered me for a while that Asheville is not considered its own destination by Fodors. It used to be listed as part of the Blue Ridge NC listings, and now it doesn't appear at all in your NC destinations/hotels/restaurant listings, that I can find. It's listed under VIRGINIA/Blue Ridge!!! Wow!

Comment and question: 1. Asheville <font color="blue"> NC </font> is its own destination -- we go there for the food, the arts and crafts, the history and architecture, <i>as well as</i> its scenery and proximity to the mountains. It deserves a separate listing.

2. Are you reducing online listings to encourage people to purchase the paper/ink books?

&quot;I'm curious about how you could possibly have chosen Asheville as a destination and not known about this?&quot;

Hmmm... Maybe she was thinking about Bilmore being a destination in itself. Maybe she wanted to be spoiled by the Grove Park spa. She could be hoping to do early Christmas shopping. When I think of Asheville I don't think of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Snowroster: Can you help us by telling us your interests? Art, gardening, shopping, etc....

P.S.

I guess since the OP has made such a big deal about &quot;7 hours from our home&quot;, and not wanting to drive another 51 miles, we could benefit from knowing where they are coming from' If SanParis is correct, it is around Cincinnati. Otherwise it might be I81/I77/etc. and they are coming from PA.
Asheville IS indeed a wonderful destination in and of itself. It is not a little mountain town where there would be hiking--like Gatlinburg USED to be!
It is close to GSMNP, and if coming from Cincy area, then drive through the Park from I40 outside Knoxville (exit 407)from PIgeon Forge to Cherokee/Dillsboro, and then up to Asheville.
There are MANY hiking trips available off the Blue Ridge Parkway. Just north of Asheville is Boone State Park and many hikes. There is also a wonderful Appalachian craft shop there. There is also Craggy Gardens where there is a hike to a waterfall.
Going south on the Parkway for a day they could go to Mt. Pisgah, but that time of year it may be in the clouds. closer to Asheville in the Pisgah Forest hike to Looking Glass Rock.
I suggest that the OP google for the Blue Ridge Parkway site and take a look there for hikes, views, etc.

We drove to Grandfather Mountain area (which might be an option to spend a first night there) and toured the Blue Ridge Parkway from there to Ashville. Linn Cove Viaduct is a neat thing to see and you can take a walk under it near the Visitor Center there. Linville Falls is great -- there are a couple of different hikes to see the falls and another that takes you to the river below. Well worth seeing. There is also a hike to a terrific viewpoint where they have built a wooden deck. It was fairly new when we went but if it is not listed anywhere, the people at the Visitor Center knew about it. Wouldn't miss that either. Along with all the stops on the parkway.

Even if you don't want to go that far north -- I would definitely look at info on the Blue Ridge Parkway in both directions. We did the hike at Graveyard to both falls on another trip when we travelled it from Cherokee to Ashville. This is just off the top of my head -- don't have time right now to look up our trip info.

I'm assuming that you've already been to GSMNP. There are plenty of things to keep you busy on the Blue Ridge Parkway and closer to Ashville for 3 days.

I just wanted to respond to soccr. There are a lot of destinations in our guides in addition to Asheville that aren't listed on the site here (at present, I'd estimate about 40% to 50% of our content is listed on the site). In the future, this will actually increase, though that's not really my department. I'm an editor on the bookside and write only occasionally for the site. But I think the plan is to get more like 80% or 90% of our content up and available to users. But there are bound to be bumps in the road, and since the Blue Ridge Parkways straddles Virginia and North Carolina, it's not easy to present that in a clear way here.

snowrooster,

Thanks to all for this post and discussion. I've just confirmed a home exchange where I'll be visiting Boone, NC next fall. This helped me realize there's plenty to see and do in the area.

Hi snowrooster

This is your lucky day. We have lived in Asheville since 1964 and know/love the area very well. In addition--we seldom visit GSNP because there are many excellent and varied hikes off the Blue Ridge Parkway--as others have mentioned. You do not have to go to GSNP to hike. This in itself is another vacation. Don't try to add it onto this one. Instead go to BRP website and put in dayhikes just to see the variety. And as others have also suggested when you visit the Folk Art Center or the BRP Center folks there can get you lined up with just the right one for you.

I would save 1 day for Biltmore House and Biltmore Village area. Use another for a BRP drive/hike/ and if there is time, visit the NC Arboretum also off BRP and walk some of the easy trails around it. There is a bonsai exhibit that is world class and it makes a nice ending to a full day. Simply driving along the parkway is lovely--particularly if some fall colors remain.

For your third day (and I would make this Day 1)-as an introduction to Asheville, there are 2 trolley services (Grayline and Asheville Historic) which give a great overview of the city. You can hop on/off at a variety of places and shop, sight see, or explore the city at your own pace. There is a great walk--The Urban Trail--which is self-guided and gives you not only a chance to get outdoors but you also learn a lot about our town in its early days. The trolley will take you past many landmarks but walking will just extend the experience. Pickups are at the Visitors Center as well as other convenient locations and their website is also helpful.( I think it is www.ashevilletrolley.com but trusty Google will get you going).

Good luck and I hope that you enjoy your visit. If you have other questions just email me directly if you like.

If you want to take a slightly different route back to Cincinnati (and haven't already done it -- I think I remember you have been in the Norris Lake area), you can take US 25E (I think it is right off 40) through the Cumberland Gap Tunnel to Corbin then back on I75. It was nice getting off the expressway for a while and going by the lakes and through small towns.

Doug, it's just plain silly to list Asheville in Virginia and you have to admit that. And for what it's worth, I also posted on the &quot;Help&quot; forum and got a gracious response from your colleagues that suggested more openness to the idea that perhaps the guides and website could be improved on this point. Perhaps if YOU visited this area, the only thing that would attract/impress you would be the GSMNP, but to imply that others are ignorant not to consider the park the main attraction is ... ungracious.

Otherwise, my point isn't merely that Asheville deserves a listing. Of COURSE you don't list just every city/town in the country, but if you count up the queries here about Asheville, it's pretty clear that there's substantial interest AND that it's not JUST a gateway to someplace else or a sub-attraction within the larger primary attraction of the Blue Ridge Parkway. (Carmel and Monterey aren't just sub-attractions of the Pacific Coast highway.)

Particularly in an era of &quot;staycations&quot; and trips to destinations within the USA, people are interested in more than just the standard list of top 20 tourist destinations. I would think that would justify taking Asheville a little more seriously, rather than assuming that we're requesting a guide to it because we're local-yokel boosters.

If you had asked, perhaps we would have suggested a &quot;Blue Ridge Mountains&quot; section that would include everything from Boone to Cashiers -- including Blowing Rock, Grandfather Mountain, Banner Elk, Little Switzerland, Asheville, Hendersonville, Black Mountain, and so forth, including many of the places noted here. There's a lot more than a parkway and a national park.

To Snowrooster: You've gotten some good suggestions, and I think you're going to find plenty to do -- the posts here have given you a good start.

What is the big deal with Doug and the classifications. And we don't know if snowrooster is coming from Cincy or elsewhere. Where did Norris come from? Is it BIg Al in disguise? Maybe they are coming from FL!! Oh GEEZE. Who knew.

Snowrooster is from the Cincinnati area, according to most of her posts. She also recently posted about places to eat around Knoxville while on a family trip to Norris Lake.

maj's suggestion to use US 25E is a good one considering that I-40 in downtown Knoxville is closed, clogging the city's bypass.

From Corbin you can take 25E to Cumberland Gap and then either continue on 25E to I-81, or take a sharp turn when you exit the tunnel onto US 58 through a beautiful valley in Virginia that follows the path Daniel Boone took when exploring the area. That will take you to Kingsport, Tenn., where you can catch I-26, which is a straight shot into Asheville.

Gretchen: the big deal is that Asheville's only listed under Virginia. It's one of NC's larger cities, and about 100 miles from the Virginia border.

It really doesn't make sense to me, either, that you can't find Asheville under NC on the guide webpages. I didn't even know it was listed under Virginia until soccer pointed that out.

Yes, I'm in Cincinnati. We have been to GSMNP when visiting Gatlinburg and we also spend a lot of time in the Knoxville, TN area as my inlaws have a house on Lake Norris. Not to mention all of the beautiful hikes we have been on in the Cincinnati/N Kentucky area. I just assumed there would be some nice hikes in the Asheville area and there would be no cause to drive an extra hour to find one. It appears from many comments that is indeed the case.

Thanks again for the great advice. I need to spend some time checking out all the links! If anyone has a FAVORITE hike in the Asheville area, let me know.

Actually you won't have to drive far, just hop on the Parkway (link above) or you can hit a variety of places coming or going (or both).

Like others, I would recommend getting on the Blue Ridge Parkway. There are many pulloffs where you can park, and trails as well. I'm not a hiker, so I don't know which trails to recommend or what shape they're in. Mt. Mitchell state park is only a couple counties over from Asheville, and accessible from the Blue Ridge Parkway. Mt. Mitchell is the highest point east of the Rocky Mountains, and there are trails all along it to hike. And the views are beautiful!

Other than hiking, I would definately recommend that you just park somewhere in downtown Asheville and walk around. It's very pedestrian friendly, and there are a ton of shops, galleries and restaurants to keep you busy.

Mt. Mitchell is not currently accessible directly from Asheville via the Parkway due to closures.

Take a day and go down to Chimney Rock and Lake Lure. It is a beautiful area and Chimney Rock Park has incredible hiking trails and the views are incredible. Weather permitting, you have to take the kids on the Lake Lure boat tour. A friend of mine is the skipper and you will have a great time. You can also go horseback riding, gem mining, and there is all sorts of stuff in Lake Lure. The best part about it, there are no stop lights! Peaceful...

lodging tip - my mom and I stayed at the Princess Anne Hotel and loved it. Very charming.

I guess they may be on the way, but regarding mid-town Knoxville and I40, you don't need to do that anyway. You can take I640 from north Knoxville off I75 to get to I40 east of Knoxville.

Someone said that there is not a National Park IN Asheville - that the closest National Park was 51 miles away - Great Smokey Mountain National Park. While GSMNP is indeed 51 miles away, The Blue Ridge Parkway actually IS a National Park. And, I will tell you my favorite trails from various pull-outs near Asheville - most of these are short day hikes, and longer hikes may be extended from any of these. Great Circle Drive from Asheville, get on BRP headed south - and you might want to visit the NC Arboretum at the Bent Creek access (there are 11 tunnels to go through from Asheville to Hwy 276 (also known as Wagon Gap Road and is referenced in the book &quot;Cold Mountain&quot;), take Hwy 276 to Brevard, take hwy 280 to I-26, take I-26 back into Asheville. Hwy 276 is a lovely 15 mile road through Pisgah National Forest. Pink Beds, Cradle of Forestry, Sliding Rock, Looking Glass Falls, several great hikes off this road, the Fish Hatchery and Wildlife Interpretive Center are all things to do along this short stretch of Hwy 276. On the Parkway itself, I love the 3 mile round trip hike to the top of Mt Pisgah (rigorous but short to a 6600' summit and worth the views - great blueberry pickin' in July) and stopping for lunch at Pisgah Inn (open April through Thanksgiving) (try the trout) is a nice way to break the day up and views from the restaurant are awesome. Graveyard fields is a little further south on the BRP and has a great waterfall hike option.
Also, another drive from Asheville, Chimney Rock Park is fun and Santa may be seen there practicing climbing there the next two Saturdays (Dec 7 &amp; 14th). Chimney Rock Park has recently been purchased by the State of NC. Anyway, great short hikes and they often have guides and special programs available. fun lunch spots in Lake Lure/Chimney Rock (21 miles south of Asheville) and the views from Chimney Rock Park are really stunning. If you are adventurous, try The Needle hike!!!!
In Asheville: I haven't yet tried the trolley tour, but think it would be an excellent way to orient to the layout and interesting history of Asheville as a day 1 intro to the Asheville area. Also, a company called LaZoom bus tours have special event comedy and beverage tours that sound interesting, different and fun. They don't run on a regular basis, so you have to check their website and calendar.
And, I really love just walking around downtown. The &quot;Urban Trail&quot; is great and chock full of history. I believe you can get a &quot;trail&quot; map with marker history/info from the Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber is in a brand new building, really nice facilities, great views of Mt. Pisgah, and even a really nice gift shop. Downtown walks - Pack Square to Haywood to Wall Street and to the Historic Grove Arcade (Indoor &quot;Mall&quot; built in the 20s). Great sidewalk dining, coffee shops, gift shops and galleries.
Arts &amp; Crafts - Folk art center on the Parkway and many many specialty craft stores in the area. And, if you're into antiquing - lots of fun antique shops in Asheville.

Staying in Asheville - try the abundant B&amp;Bs for something different and very Asheville. I recommend Oakland Cottage B&amp;B (www.oaklandcottage.com) as very very reasonably priced and one of the few that is pet and family friendly; and depending on the size of your group, www.VacationInAsheville.com has a variety of Vacation Rentals - most are best for larger family groups sharing a house for 3 or more days, but BreakAway cabin is nice for a couple or a small family. The staff at www.VacationInAsheville.com are great for helping find things in the area once you are in town (I'm one of them!!).

Great thread! We have just moved to the area and are wondering what is a good time to visit Asheville and its surroundings. We are very interested in short hikes (with a 1.5 year old daughter) so please take this in mind when recommending a good time.

Head down to Chimney Rock. Very sweet place for short hikes and incredible views.

Joshpal asked for hikes in the area - short good w 1.5 yr old (on your back?)!

The Blue Ridge Parkway (BRP) has many short hike accesses. From around Thanksgiving through Easter the BRP can close on very short notice, so always best to call - you can find a good number to call online - use the number for &quot;road conditions.&quot; I'm from Asheville, so the hikes I'll list are within a short drive (1 hour) to Asheville. Mount Mitchell (highest point east of the Mississippi) spur road off the parkway is about 25 miles north of Asheville. There is a visitor center there and in season a restaurant is open - great for pie! There is a very short hike - may even be a handicapped accessible hike - that goes to an observation tower and a great place for viewing - feels like you can see all of NC from up here. A bit closer and a definite must see is the Craggy Garden Visitor Center. Go through the tunnel just north of the Craggy Garden Visitor Center and there is a parking lot on the other side of this tunnel. Park there and hike to Craggy Bald. It's about a 1 mile hike and again, the best views around. The hike is really fun, taking you through Rhodo tunnels then out to a spectacular bald. Views at the Visitor Center are great too, restrooms are open in season and there is a good little gift shop, hiking maps, parkway maps, ranger, etc. available there. There are more hikes, and longer hikes, but the short one to Craggy Bald is a must do!!! CAUTION. The tunnel just past the visitor center has been closed - due to construction. We're ready for it to open again and hope it will open soon, but do call. The closed tunnel also makes access to Mitchell only available via highway 80 from Marion, NC - and you can't get to the Mt. Mitchell spur road from Asheville right now - or at least check.

2nd favorite area is South of Asheville - the Mt. Pisgah area I spoke of in an earlier post. I just love to hike to the top of Mt. Pisgah - it's rigorous but short (1.5 miles). There is a gas station at Pisgah Inn, just another mile or two North from the Mt. Pisgah trail head parking area. This is one of the ONLY gas stations on the entire parkway. There is a store here and Pisgah Inn. Have lunch, snack, a cute little gift shop, and/or stay the night. Rooms are reasonable - nothing fancy. But, views are stunning from every room, and the restaurant is good. The elevation is high (ISH) so bring warm clothes, even in the middle of summer.

Continue South: Graveyard fields is another favorite hike. Further south - Sam's Knob is a wonderful hiking area - again, drive down a spur road. Devils Courthouse, a bit south again, is a very short hike from the parking lot.

Or, turn towards Brevard on Hwy 276 and there is just so much to do on Hwy 276 (just 15 miles of road packed with great hikes and things to do) - Pinkbeds is a favorite picnic spot, Cradle of Forestry (fee area) has an educational movie and interpretive center. Sliding Rock (fee area) can be packed with tourists, but a fun thing to do at least once. Wear shorts over your bathing suit and the water is COLD in the pool at the bottom. Just a mile or two past Sliding Rock (closer to Brevard, but still &quot;above&quot; Looking Glass Falls is a great hike called Moore Cove Falls. Pull off at a parking lot by a bridge over Looking Glass Creek. This is a great woods hike to a &quot;cave&quot; with a trickling water fall over it - watch the slippery rocks, but a favorite in the summer - great to get a shower under to cool off and a fun picnic area. Looking Glass Falls, take the spur road (this spur road is at the confluence of Looking Glass Creek and the Davidson River) to the Fish Hatchery and NC Wildlife Interpretive center - at the base of John's Rock. Hike to Pickleseimer (sp) fields - and another of my favorites but too long w a 1.5 year old, up and over Cat Gap and Ceder Rock - an 8 mile loop trail from the Fish Hatchery. This is all called the Davidson River area and here is a link to hiking: http://www.hikewnc.info/trailheads/p.../davidson.html.

Again, I work at Oakland Cottage B&amp;B - really family friendly - www.oaklandcottage.com, 866 858-0863. Rates are reasonable for B&amp;Bs and children of all ages are welcome there. The staff are very friendly and they have hike information at the B&amp;B. Or, try one of the smaller cabins (BreakAway Cabin is easy access to the Blue Ridge Parkway via Ox Creek Road) at www.VacationInAsheville.com.

Hope this helps!!! Lots of great short hikes (and long ones) in the area.

Hi there,

Thanks for the great tips. I have a much more basic question: given the fact the we will be traveling with a 1.5 year old (so we will not be very &quot;efficient&quot;), how many days should we plan on exploring the area. We are coming from Atlanta so we can reserve any number of days. We are interesting in both hiking/outdoors and galleries/shopping.

Also, what is the best month to visit the area?