Asheville - largest town in the region with 85,000 residents. Downtown has a self-paced walking tour to see its collection of art-deco buildings. Center of restaurants, nightlife, culture, shopping, and nearby mountain activities.45 minutes northeast of Brevard.
Blue Ridge Parkway - Some of the prettiest stretches of this National Park System roadway rim Asheville and are perfrct for leisurely driving or hearty cycling. For hikers, plenty of trails are nearby. A good introduction starts at milepost 389, south of downtown, where the Parkway meets U.S. 25 (Hendersonville Road). Drive onto the Parkway and you're instantly transported into a dense hilly forest. You'd never know a bustling little city was so close. Drive North on the Parkway to see the Visitors Center and Folk Art Center.
Blue Ridge Parkway Visitors Center – Built in 2007, contains a 70-seat theater and exhibits about the Blue Ridge Parkway. Open 9-5 daily. Location: Parkway milepost 384, about 1 mile south of the Parkway intersection with US 70 (or 1 mile north of the US 74-A exit). From Asheville, follow 70 East or 74-A East to the Parkway. Just two miles from Folk Art Center.
Folk Art Center – The most popular attraction on the Blue Ridge Parkway, at mile marker 382. Large gallery space for local artists, and art for sale. Home of the Southern Highland Craft Guild. Open 9-6 (closes at 5 Jan-Mar). Location: 7 miles east of downtown, one mile north of Parkway intersection with US 70 (Tunnel Road), two miles north of Blue Ridge Parkway Visitors Center.
Bonus Hike: If you have the energy, try hiking a section of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail, which passes in front of the Folk Art Center, going North along the Blue Ridge Parkway. You can follow it for 2.5 miles - about 3 hr round-trip - then turn left on a very short side trail (the tree on the right side of the trail here has a small red dot along with a white circle) to Lunch Rock for a nice view overlooking the Haw Creek valley.
Craggy Gardens - If you want to extend your Parkway drive, continue North as the road steepens. Craggy Gardens Visitors' Center is an 18-mile drive from the Folk Art Center.
* Max Patch - Save part of the day for a trip to Max Patch, a lofty bald meadow along the Appalachian Trail. From this 4,600-ft summit, you'll see an awe-inspiring 360-degree view of the Blue Ridge mountains. It's 40 miles from Asheville, the last stretch up a gravel road, but worth the drive. From the parking lot, it's a fairly easy 1+ mile hike to the summit. Directions: From Asheville, head west on I-40 to exit 7 (Harmon's Den). go right on Cold Springs Road to State Route 1182 (Max Patch Road). Turn left for the parking area.
Biking - Check out the Blue Ridge Bicycle Club website for road and mountain bike rides in the area. Gun down Butter Gap Trail's 4 miles (Oct to Apr only). Bring a map from BioWheels at 81 Coxe Ave. Ride the fast trail counterclockwise for the best, moderately technical downhills, linking Cat Gap, Long Branch and Fores Road 471, passing a waterfall near the end of Butter Gap.
Or try this 7-miler in Pisgah Forest -- start at Trace Ridge Trailhead with a 2.5-mile ascent up forest Road 5000, then fly down rolling singletrack on the Trace Ridge Trail.
If you don't want to bike on city streets, try the Carrier Park Velodrome at 500 Amboy Rd.
Disc Golf -- Try a 9-hole round at Fletcher Community Park, 85 Howard Gap Road, Fletcher.
NC Arboretum – 426-acre arboretum includes 36 acres of impressively landscaped gardens. From a Visitor Education Center (with frequent exhibits and a café), the Grand Garden Promenade leads to additional gardens, and a well-regarded bonsai collection. There are miles of hiking and biking trails (see Hiking section for more details). Parking fee ($6 per car) is waived on Tuesdays. Location: From Brevard, take 64 East 3 miles to NC 280 intersection. Continue straight on NC 280 for 12.4 miles. Turn left onto NC 191, and drive 7.3 miles. Entrance is at intersection of NC 191 and the Blue Ridge Parkway.
Brewery Tours - Highland Brewing Company runs a tour of its brewery (and free beer tastings!) every weekday at 4:00pm. After the tour, sit at the outdoor patio and enjoy more beer (and sometimes music). Check out their website here: http://www.highlandbrewing.com. Directions: Take I-40 East to its intersection with I-240 and 74-A (exit 53B). Stay in the far right lane, and take Exit 8 off I-240, which is 74-A. At the end of the ramp, turn right onto Highway 74-A. Go straight through one more stoplight. Get into right turn lane & make hair-pin right turn onto Old Charlotte Hwy. Take second left into Blue Ridge Motion Pictures (past the guard shack and up a long, winding driveway). At the top of the driveway, continue straight ahead to the last building on the left. Confused? Call them weekdays at (828) 299-3370.
The WNC Cheese Trail
Several dairy farms in Western NC have joined a group known as
The WNC Cheese Trail. Several of them are close to Asheville, such as Blue Ridge Mountain Creamery and Looking Glass Creamery in Fairview.
Downtown - There's far too much to do and see in downtown Asheville to list here. Of course there's Biltmore House (expensive to visit) and Biltmore Village next to it (free to visit). The 1.7-mile downtown self-guided walking tour, known as the Asheville Urban Trail, is fascinating. For gardens, try the Asheville Botanical Gardens next to UNC-Asheville. Find out what's happening this week by picking up a copy of Mountain X, the local weekly independent newspaper, or read the on-line version here.
Bookstores
Lots of local bookstores to find, including Battery Park Book Exchange at the SW corner of the Grove Arcade, which includes champagne, coffee and dessert bars.
Crafts
For crafts, head to the River Arts District. Perhaps view Akira Satake's ceramics at 125 Riverside Drive, Studio C, and next-door Yuzu Patisserie
akirasatake.com and
yuzubycynthia.com
Downtown has lots of arts & crafts stores. Try Lexington Glassworks at 81 S. Lexington Ave.
Haywood Road
For a break from Asheville's tourist-heavy downtown, check out the variety of locally owned shops and eateries in West Asheville's Haywood Road neighborhood (or online
onhaywood.com). One such place is VILLAGERS, an urban homesteading shop with beautiful pottery and gardening tools. 278 Haywood Road or
forvillagers.com.
Restaurants
Plant - Food & Wine Magazine says it's one of the country's best vegetarian restaurants, you can find gluten-free beer and biodynamic wine to pair with Asian dishes like curry tofu with Thai basil. plantisfood.com
Limones - Fusing Mexican with French-influenced California cooking. 13 Eagle St.
Cúrate - Spanish tapas, rated one of the best restarant experiences in the US by GQ in March 2013 here. Address: 11 Biltmore Avenue. Website: curatetapasbar.com
Breakfast Places
- Biscuit Head - homemade sausage, biscuits, eggs for breakfast & lunch. 733 Haywood Rd and 379 Biltmore Ave.
- Vortex Donuts - 32 Banks Ave., vortexdoughnuts.com
