Asheville, NC is the perfect Southeastern getaway town!
After months of extended time at home in 2020, and our planned European vacation being cancelled, we began researching a getaway vacation closer to home. With air travel still a little restrictive, we opted for a location that was within driving distance. We have always heard great things about Asheville, North Carolina so we opted to spend our Anniversary with a week exploring Asheville.
Asheville was put on the map by the Biltmore Estate at the turn of the 1900s, and has remained a popular weekend getaway. Situated in the valley of the Blue Ridge Parkway, there are plenty of scenic views and trails to be discovered.
A highlight video of our getaway to Asheville.
As with most of our vacations we cash in Marriott points. The Renaissance Asheville Hotel was the perfect location to be able to walk to the small downtown area filled with restaurants, art galleries, and local shops. Our room on the 11th floor was the perfect spot to view the sunset each evening.
How We Spent Our Time in Asheville
We began our week with an e-bicycle tour with Flying Bike Tours. This was out first experience riding an electric bike, and I was amazing how easy it was to ride up hills without much effort! I highly recommend the 2.5 hour tour with guide.
This bicycle tour was a great way to get a taste of the city and see places that we would like to go back and see more of. Our tour began in the South Slope area with a short bike up to Basilica of St. Lawrence, then a ride down the quiet streets of the Historic Montford Neighborhood. We meandered through the Reed Creek and Glenn’s Creek Greenways and then up and across to the Omni Grove Park Inn. To end the tour we got a short history of the area and architecture from Pack Square.
Monday, July 6 Jonathan and I celebrated our 18th Anniversary. We were spoiled with some amazing food from Tupelo Honey and dessert from French Broad Chocolate. Get the Shoo Mercy Sweet Potato pancakes at Tupelo Honey! This ensemble of food is worth every calorie!
On Tuesday we dodged early morning and late afternoon rain showers to visit some trails along the Blue Ridge Parkway and the NC Arboretum.
Once we drove up into the mountains we were met with dense heavy fog. We first hiked the Craggy Pinnacle which should have yielded an amazing panoramic view, but we were met with white clouds in all directions. We just missed the brilliant pink and purple blooms of the Catawba rhododendron bushes. These bushes brighten the trails in late Spring during May and June.
We also spent some time exploring the Craggy Gardens Trail. We saw some unique wildflowers and wild blueberry bushes along this trail.
After coming down the mountain from the Blue Ridge Parkway we drove to the West side of Asheville to visit the North Carolina Arboretum. This Botanical Gardens was so well put together with colorful garden themed lego displays sprinkled throughout the grounds. I found a lot of inspiration among each of the carefully laid out areas to explore.
Entrance to the gardens is well worth the $16 car entrance fee. If you visit the North Carolina Arboretum on Tuesday you can save 50% on the entrance fee.
Wednesday was a beautiful day to check out the Biltmore Estate. The Biltmore house was open for tours, but it was necessary to purchase a tour time slot in advance. We got to the property shortly after opening to spend time walking through and checking out the gardens. The gardens are pretty extensive, and not a feature you want to miss. There is sure to be something blooming in the gardens during each season of the year. Since the Summer heat and humidity were heating up, we left the property to grab some lunch and then came back in time for our 2:45 house tour. We did opt for the audio tour, which I would recommend to understand the stories behind each of the rooms.
Thursday was a day to relax before we headed home. We enjoyed more amazing food at Isa’s French Bistro, followed by a deep massage at Unity Spa, and dinner at one last local favorite, Packs Tavern.
In my search for outdoor things to do in the Asheville area, I came across The Never Ending Flower Farm in Barnardsville, NC. My mind has been in garden mode this year and I thought it was be fun to go pick a bucket of flowers, on our way out of town, to take back home. There is so much joy infused into bright colored Summer flowers. It was as good for my soul to be able to pick them as it was to give them away.
I’ve been asked what it was like to travel during COVID19 and navigating local regulations. We purposefully chose a location we knew we could do a lot of outdoor activities. At the time of our visit, North Carolina was mandating masks to enter all buildings, so we carried and used a cloth mask to walk through the lobby of hotel, to walk to table at restaurants, shop in stores, and tour the inside of the Biltmore House.
Along with Charleston, SC, I would rank Asheville, NC on a list of top 5 cities in the Southeast for a getaway vacation.
Have you ever been to Asheville? Do you have favorite restaurants or places to visit? I would love to hear your Asheville experiences in the comments. If you have questions about visiting, I would love to chat!
