Over Memorial Day weekend this year, we visited Asheville, North Carolina. We’d heard good things about its natural areas and outdoor activities, proximity to Great Smoky Mountains National Park (not to mention the Blue Ridge Parkway!), the Biltmore Estate, and its breweries and restaurants. It also happened to be over our eighth wedding anniversary, so we had fun celebrating that on this trip as well!
We ended up loving Asheville and I’m already planning a revisit, maybe in the fall next year, to enjoy the autumn foliage and hit everything we couldn’t squeeze in during our four-day trip. Read on for 12 great reasons to visit!
1. Blue Ridge Parkway
The Blue Ridge Parkway runs between Shenandoah National Park and Great Smoky Mountains National Park. It also runs right through Asheville! Be sure to stop at the Blue Ridge Parkway Visitor Center outside Asheville for supplies and information.
We spent a very pleasant morning and early afternoon taking it northeast to Mt. Mitchell, the highest point east of the Rockies. Along the way, we enjoyed the sweeping views, roadside overlooks, wildflowers, and stunning overlooks like Lane Pinnacle, Glassmine Falls, and Craggy Gardens. Of course, you can also take the scenic route to Great Smoky Mountains National Park by following the Blue Ridge Parkway west instead of east!
2. Breweries & Nightlife
Did you know that Asheville has the most breweries per capita of any city in the US? New Belgium is probably the most famous, but there are tons of options for any kind of beer fan! I have to shout out Bold Rock Cidery, which we visited twice while in Asheville, because both the cider and the food are delicious!
We stayed near downtown, which was a good choice since we were close to plenty of restaurants and nightlife. From tequila bars to wine bars, BBQ to sushi to Indian food, fancy cupcakes to boba tea, there’s plenty of excellent food and nightlife options in downtown Asheville!
3. Great Smoky Mountains National Park
If possible, I always love to check another national park off the list when traveling, and Great Smoky Mountains National Park isn’t too far from Asheville! From Asheville to the Oconaluftee Visitor Center on the east side of the park is only about 1 hour 15 minutes by Interstate (longer–but also more scenic!–if you take the Blue Ridge Parkway).
We spent nearly a full day venturing out to the park. After our stop at the visitor center, we headed toward Clingman Dome, though of course we stopped for photos at viewpoints and a couple of roadside waterfalls along the way. After parking, we walked the half mile up (straight up) to Clingman Dome for the views. We continued through the park along Newfound Gap Road, stopping at so many stunning overlooks along the way that they started to blend together!
We then entered Tennessee, driving through the wacky, strange place that is Pigeon Forge before going back to Gatlinburg for BBQ and moonshine cocktails for lunch. This is probably a good place to mention another advantage of visiting the national park from Asheville–the North Carolina side was much less crowded than the Tennessee side!
After lunch we drove back through the park along Newfound Gap Road again, stopping at overlooks for photos when we were unable to resist. We then traveled through the town of Cherokee (which looked so fun, I’d love to go back and stay there as a base to explore more of the national park!) before reentering a different part of the park. We’d decided to hike to Tom Branch Falls and Indian Creek Falls. There wasn’t great signage on how to get there, but if you follow the narrow gravel road all the way to the parking lot just before the campsite, you’ll be in the right place! This was a lovely, easy hike with two picturesque waterfalls, and definitely worth doing if you’re visiting the North Carolina side of the park!
4. The Biltmore Estate
The Biltmore Estate is definitely one of the places that first put Asheville on the map! Built by one of the Vanderbilts, its America’s largest private residence and basically an entire French chateau and gardens, nestled in the Appalachians. Tickets must be booked in advance, and are a little pricey, but keep in mind that you can easily spend a whole day on the estate (and should plan at least six hours).
The 90-minute audio tour of the Biltmore House (really more like a castle) is what the time on your ticket is for, so either book an early tour and see the rest of the estate after, or book an afternoon tour and arrive on the estate in the morning to see the sprawling gardens first. I definitely lingered longest in the library on the house tour, and could’ve spent the whole day in the conservatory when we toured the gardens!
There’s even more to see on the estate beyond the house and gardens–like Biltmore Village. We really only stopped there for our complimentary wine tasting (be sure to register for a time when you arrive at the estate), but there are plenty of shops and things to see there and on the rest of the estate too! There are even art experiences at Biltmore (like Monet & Friends, when we visited) if you have the time and budget to spare for them!
5. Grove Park Inn & Grovewood Village
Another piece of the Vanderbilts’ legacy in the Asheville area is Grove Park Inn. Multiple US presidents and other famous people (like Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, and Harry Houdini) have stayed at the inn over the years. F. Scott Fitzgerald even lived there for about a year in the 1930s. If (like us) you don’t have the budget to stay at the inn, you can still check it out and enjoy a drink or a meal on the Sunset Terrace. We were told by locals that the aptly-named terrace is the perfect place to watch the sunset in Asheville, although having a mid-afternoon appetizer and cocktails there was very enjoyable too!
Near Grove Park Inn is Grovewood Village, the historic site of Biltmore Industries, where the children of estate workers learned weaving and woodworking. Today, you can see some of the historic buildings, shop for modern arts and crafts, and view modern artisan’s workshops. We wouldn’t have even known it was there had we not decided to visit the Estes-Winn Antique Car Museum, which is also housed in Grovewood Village and has a great collection.
6. Architecture
Biltmore is, of course, a stunning piece of architecture, but we saw really interesting architecture throughout Asheville, especially in the downtown area. You’ll find an eclectic mix of different styles, including Gothic, Neoclassical, Beaux Arts, and Art Deco. The Grove Arcade is definitely worth a visit, both for its beautiful architecture and fun shops. The Basilica of St. Lawrence is also said to be a marvel, but we didn’t get a chance to stop and see it on this trip–next time! You can read more about the city’s historic architecture on the Romantic Asheville site.
7. Waterfalls
There are a plethora of waterfalls in the Asheville area! I had grand plans to hike to a bunch of them, but in the end we only ended up doing the waterfall hike when we were at Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The Asheville Trails blog has some great articles on waterfalls near Asheville and short Asheville waterfall hikes. On our next trip I want to do the Dupont State Forest Three Waterfalls Hike (Triple Falls, High Falls & Hooker Falls) and visit Bridal Veil Falls, a beautiful waterfall that was also a Hunger Games filming location.
8. Antiquing & Shopping
There were lots of cute shops in the downtown area, including a fun gift store called L.O.F.T. of Asheville, Lexington Park Antiques, and fun bookstores that we never seemed to hit during opening hours, like Malaprop’s or one in the Grove Arcade. But I have to give the biggest shoutout to the Antique Tobacco Barn. With its 75+ vendors and 77,000 square feet of retail space, it’s probably the biggest antique store I’ve ever visited. If we lived in the area, I would’ve done some serious financial damage, but our suitcases dictated how much we could buy!
9. Spring Wildflowers or Fall Colors
The area is known for its beautiful fall foliage, and I absolutely want to go back to see the green rolling mountains turn to reds and golds. But springtime was also a fun time to visit, because there were gorgeous wildflowers everywhere we went. The pink catawba rhododendrons were stunning, but I also loved the azure bluets and other beautiful flowers we saw on our trip.
10. Art
Asheville is full of art. We didn’t even seek it out by visiting the Asheville Art Museum, but we still managed to find art, like at Grovewood Village, where you can see artisan workshops and purchase beautiful jewelry, art, and home decor. On our next trip I plan to visit the River Arts District, a neighborhood of galleries and art studios where you can take classes, shop, or see demonstrations. You can even create your own art on your trip, like through the 30-minute hands-on glass experience at the non-profit North Carolina Glass Center. It’s definitely on my list for next time!
11. Southern Comfort Food
During our trip, we had all kinds of interesting southern comfort foods, from BBQ staples to new experiences, like deep-fried deviled eggs! One place that stood out was Biscuit Head, an Asheville institution whose motto is “Put some south in your mouth”. Their menu was so interesting–who knew you could do so many creative things with biscuits!?
12. Outdoor Activities
One of the reasons we were interested in Asheville was because of its reputation as a mountain biking hotspot. There are great trails in Pisgah National Forest or at Bent Creek Experimental Forest. We didn’t end up doing any mountain biking since it was a bit early in the year to have started back home, but Ryan got the chance to chat up other mountain bikers a few different places.
Of course, if it wasn’t obvious already, there’s also plenty of fantastic hiking to be had in and around Asheville. A fellow hotel guest highly recommended tubing to us, and when we saw people tubing at Tom Branch Falls it certainly looked like fun! There’s also horseback riding and other adventure sports available in the area. Basically, whatever outdoor activities you’re into, there are options around Asheville!
I hope this has given you a brief overview of Asheville, and some reasons to book your own ticket to this city! As I’ve mentioned, we definitely plan to go back for a fall trip sometime so we can explore some areas we didn’t have a lot of time for on this trip: waterfall hikes, mountain biking, and art. I’d also love to check out some Hunger Games filming locations–a lot of scenes were filmed around the area, and as we drove around, some of the environment seemed familiar because of those movies.
How about you? Have you visited Asheville? What U.S. city do you find underrated, or in which would you most like to spend a long weekend?