Day Trips from Asheville

 

 

Black Mountain

Distance from Asheville: 16 miles east, 20 minutes by car

Population: 8,600

Tourism Information: Black Mountain-Swannanoa Chamber of Commerce, 201 E. State Street, Black Mountain, 828-669-2300 or 800-669-2301, www.blackmountain.org

 

If you’re looking for a quaint, almost idyllic little mountain town, with a pleasant downtown, away from the hurly-burly but with a nice choice of restaurants and activities, you couldn’t do better than Black Mountain.

 

It is short, easy drive from Asheville via I-40, but once you take Exit 64, you’re soon in the town’s small, easy-to-get-around downtown. The main street, West State Street, and side streets from and near it, Cherry Street, Church Street, Sutton Avenue, Broadway and others, are lined with boutiques, galleries and small dining spots.

 

Town Hardware & General Store (103 West State St., 828-669-7723, www.townhardware.com) is a big, old-fashioned hardware store that has added gifts, toys and other items. The Old Depot is a non-profit art and crafts center in the Black Mountain train depot (207 Sutton Ave., 828-669-6583, www.olddepot.org), over a century old. Tyson’s Furniture in Black Mountain and Penland Furniture in nearby Swannanoa are locally popular places to shop for furniture at good prices.

 

Just west of Black Mountain is the final site of the experimental arts college open from 1933 to 1957, Black Mountain College. This is now a summer boys camp and the site of a music and arts festival, Lake Eden Arts Festival (LEAF). For detailed information on Black Mountain College, see the Arts and Crafts and Literary sections of this website. Also near Black Mountain is Montreat College (310 Gaither Circle, Montreat, 828-669-8012, www.montreat.edu), worth visiting for its wooded campus with many early 20th century buildings constructed of river rock.

 

For lunch, go directly to the Veranda Cafe (119 Cherry St., 828-669-8864, www.verandacafeandgifts.com), very popular for its fresh-made soups and sandwiches. For something more at dinner, The restaurant at the Red Rocker Inn (136 N. Doughtery St., 828-669-5991) is a perennial favorite. You can get spaetzl at Berliner Kinder German Restaurant, French and Argentine at La Guinguette or pasta and pizza at the original location of Fresh Wood Fire Pizza. Still up for a cheeseburger? Foothills Butcher Bar (is the place. For something caffeinated, check out Dynamite Coffee or Dripolator Coffee. For craft beer, Pisgah Brewing Company a little west of town makes fine brews.

 

New in December 2022, Pure and Proper (114 E. State St., 828-230-7972, www.thepureandproper.com) has quickly jumped to top of many locals’ fave lists. The owners took the shell of an old Pure gas station, poured in tons of money and created a delightful spot with delicious food all day long Tuesday to Saturday, with brunch Sun-day. For breakfast, there’s Belgian waffles and coffee; for lunch, small plates including a fine shaved ribeye steak sandwich; and small and large plates for dinner ($13 to $18 for small, $32 to $37 for large). Make reservations.

 

Staying overnight? Black Mountain has half dozen B&Bs, the best of which include Arbor House (207 Rhododendron Ave., 828-357-8525, www.arborhousenc.com), built recently but in the Arts and Crafts style, is near Lake Tomahawk (more of a pond than a lake), near the 18-hole Black Mountain municipal golf course, tennis courts and half-mile, lighted walking path. Rooms are $175 to $290 plus taxes. The Victorian-era, 17-room Red Rocker Inn (136 N. Doughtery St., 828-669-5991, www.redrockerinn.com) near the heart of town is well liked and has good food. If you’d rather stay in a motel, there’s a Hampton Inn just off I-40. Rates are around $175 to $300, plus tax.

 

Brevard

Distance from Asheville: 35 miles southwest, about 50 minutes by car

Population: 8,000

Visitor Information: Brevard-Transylvania County Chamber of Commerce (175 East Main St., Brevard, 828-883-3700, www.brevardncchamber.org

 

Brevard is a gateway to some of the best attractions in the Pisgah National Forest, including the Cradle of Forestry and Sliding Rock, to dozens of waterfalls – Brevard and Transylvania County are known as “The Land of Waterfalls” – and to great hiking, fishing, mountain biking and camping in the DuPont State Forest and Pisgah National Forest.

 

The town itself, at about the same elevation as Asheville, has a Mayberry-type vibe, and indeed one of the best-known shops in Brevard, a toy store, is called O.P. Taylor’s (get it?). There are a number of art and crafts galleries, clothing boutiques and such.

 

Brevard Music Festival (349 Andante Lane, 828-862-2100, www.brevardmusic.org) is a nationally known classical music festival held at the Brevard Music Center from mid-June to early August. The Brevard Music Center Orchestra, made up of talented high school and college musicians, and guest musicians present about 80 symphony concerts, chamber music sessions, operas and other classical music events. Attendance at the various events totals around 30,000 each summer. Keith Lockhart is artistic director.

 

Princeton has its famous black squirrels, but Brevard is known for its white squir-rels. These are not albinos but a variant of the Eastern gray squirrel. The story goes that in the 1950s a couple of white squirrels escaped after arriving in town in a circus truck, but who knows? About one-fourth of the squirrels in Brevard are white, and each spring around Memorial Day in late May the town holds a White Squirrel Festival (www.whitesquirrelfestival.com), with music and a soapbox derby. A good place to see them is the campus of Brevard College, a small liberal arts school near downtown.

 

Restaurants in Brevard mostly moderately priced or inexpensive:

Square Root Cafe (33 Times Arcade Alley, Brevard, 828-884- 6171, www.squarerootrestaurant.com) is a friendly, popular spot for lunch, hidden in an alley downtown, with wraps, salads, burgers and sandwiches, most around $15 to $18. Dinner is a good bit more expensive, with entrees including salmon, Cornish game hen and trout from $20 to $30, but you can still get sandwiches and burgers. Closed Sun-day and Monday. The Falls Landing (18 E. Main St., 828-884-2835, www.thefallslanding.com) is another good choice for lunch Tuesday to Friday, or dinner Tuesday to Saturday.

 

Rocky’s Soda Shop & Grill (50 S. Broad St., Brevard, 828-862-4700, www.ddbullwinkels.com) has an old-fashioned soda fountain and good hot dogs. Ho-key, but your kids will probably like it. It’s open 11 to 5 Tuesday to Saturday.  Bracken Mountain Bakery (42 S Broad St., Brevard, 828-883-4034, www.brackenmountainbakery.com) has excellent breads and other baked goods.

 

Should you want to stay overnight, there are several chain motels just outside the downtown area, including Hampton Inn and Holiday Inn Express & Suites. The Sunset Motel (523 S. Broad St., 828-884-9106, www.thesunsetmotel) is an attractively redone independent with a 1950s roadside motel vibe, with usually lower rates.

 

Bryson City

Distance from Asheville: 65 miles west, about 1¼ hours by car

Population: 1,500

Visitor Information: Bryson City-Swain County Chamber of Commerce & Visitor Center, 210 Main St., Bryson City, 828-488-3681 or 800-867-9246, www.greatsmokies.com

 

Bryson City is one of the North Carolina gateways to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The Deep Creek entrance to the park, only about 2 miles from Bryson City, is popular for river tubing and also has a nice picnic area and campground. There are three waterfalls just a short hike away from the Deep Creek entrance. Lakeview Drive, which was to have stretched some 30 miles along the north shore of Fontana Lake, was never finished. It is better known as the Road to Nowhere and takes you 6 miles from Bryson City into the Smokies, ending at a tunnel mouth. (See Great Smoky Mountains National Park section.)

 

The early 20th century Bryson City business district, mainly along Main and Everett streets, seems to have been mostly taken over by the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad (45 Mitchell St., 800-872-4681, www.gsmr.com) and businesses trying to cash in on it.

 

The tourist railroad makes Bryson City its headquarters and main depot, running sightseeing train trips through the Nantahala Gorge and, at times, along the Tuckasegee River to Dillsboro. Schedules and fares vary seasonally, and on whether you ride in open-air cars or first class enclosed cars, but adults usually pay from $56 to $99 and children 2-12 start at $32, plus sales and historic preservation taxes, depending on dates and class of service, for diesel train excursions. Rates are higher in October and on steam engine excursions. Meals, if you want to dine on the train, are extra. Tickets on the railroad include admission to Bryson City Model Railroad Museum, good for kids though a bit commercial. January to March the railroad operates on a limited, weekend schedule.

 

The original Bryson City Train Depot, a one-story frame building, was constructed in 1895 by Southern Railway, a successor to the Western North Carolina Railroad. In the early 20th century there were four passenger trains daily between Asheville and Murphy, stopping in Bryson City. The original depot now serves as part of the head-quarters of the Great Smoky Mountain Railroad.

 

Horace Kephart, author of Our Southern Highlanders and who with Dr. Kelly Bennett of Bryson City helped lead the effort to establish the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, lived in an apartment above the former Bennett’s Drugstore (32 Everett St.). The drugstore, which closed in 2010 after some 100 years in the same family, is now a used bookstore called Friends of the Marianna Black Library Book Store.

 

The former Swain County Courthouse (Main and Everett Sts.), designed by architects Frank Pierce Milburn and Richard Sharp Smith and completed in 1908, is a small but striking example of Neoclassical Revival architecture, with a gold-colored octagonal cupola. The columns at the front are Ionic. The courthouse building is now used as a visitor center and houses the charming Swain County Heritage Museum on the second floor.

 

Kituwah (off U.S. Hwy. 19 between Bryson City and Cherokee, near the confluence of the Tuckasegee and Oconaluftee rivers) is considered one of the “mother towns” and a mythical birthplace of the Cherokee. Kituwah was probably occupied starting around 8000 BC. British soldiers burned the town during the Anglo-Cherokee War in 1761. The Eastern Band of the Cherokee repurchased the 309-acre Kituwah site, where today only an earthen mound remains, in 1996.

 

The former Bryson City Bank, a handsome brick building completed in 1908, houses The Bistro at the Everett Boutique Hotel, formerly Cork & Bean (24 Everett St., 828-488-1934). The Bistro is the best restaurant in Bryson City. It’s open for dinner only Wednesday to Sunday. Entrées like mountain trout, meatloaf and shrimp and grits are from the low $20s to mid-$30s. For a quick lunch, it’s High Test Deli & Sweet Shop (145 Everett St., 828-488-1919, www.thefillingstationdeli.com), in an old gas station. This joint (counter service only, with a few seats outside on the sidewalk) does sandwiches as well. The Cuban is muy bueno. Most sandwiches and subs are around $8 to $10. Open for lunch only, Tuesday to Saturday.

 

Places to stay:

The Everett Boutique Hotel (16 Everett St., Bryson City, 828-488-1976, www.theeveretthotel.com) is the class place to stay in town, with 10 beautifully done rooms and suites on three floors of an old bank building. You’ll enjoy all the modcons such as large flat-screen TVs and memory foam beds, but also amenities like 11-foot ceilings and wood shutters. Sorry, there’s no elevator. Rates aren’t cheap: $259 to $399 a night double, plus tax. Breakfast in The Bistro is included.

 

Fryemont Inn (245 Fryemont St., 828-488-2159, www.fryemontinn.com), a rustic inn on a hill above Bryson City, completed in 1923, has poplar bark shakes on the outside, and a large stone fireplace and chestnut paneling inside. The inn has 37 rooms in the main lodge, plus cabins and cottage suites. This is historic, not luxurious. The Fryemont Inn celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2023. The original owners were Amos and Lillian Reginia Rowe Frye, both attorneys. Lillian Frye was the first woman to graduate from the University of North Carolina School of Law and the first woman to be admitted to the bar in North Carolina. Rates at the Fryemont Inn range from around $205 to $370, plus tax, for two persons, including breakfast and dinner. The main lodge is closed late November to mid-April, although cottages and cabins are open year-round (no meals served in winter).

 

Hemlock Inn (911Galbraith Creek Rd., 828-488-2885, www.hemlockinn.com) won’t suit everybody, but it you want to be out in the country on 55 wooded acres and you don’t mind rustic, no-frills rooms with no TVs and country cooking served family style, you may be among those who become repeat guests here. Rates are around $246 to $266, plus 11% tax and 20% service, for a double room with breakfast and dinner. Blessings are said before meals, and alcohol can be consumed only in rooms.

 

 

Cherokee

Distance from Asheville: 51 miles west of Asheville, about 1¼ hours by car; the route via the Blue Ridge Parkway takes about two hours

Population: population of town of Cherokee 2,200; population of Qualla Bound-ary Reservation 9,600; membership in Eastern Band of the Cherokee 14,000; popula-tion of Swain County 14,000

Visitor Information:  Visit Cherokee, 498 Tsali Blvd. Cherokee, 800-438-1601, www.visitcherokeenc.com

 

Cherokee is a tourist-oriented town that is the main gateway to the North Caroli-na side of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. It is on the Qualla Boundary Reservation, home to the Eastern Band of the Cherokee.

 

For decades, Cherokee has been known for its tacky “faux Indian” motifs, “Indian chiefs” in Hollywood style dress standing in front of tourist gift shops, black bears in cages and mom ‘n pop motels and restaurants. We admit it: As kids we used to love to go to Cherokee on our way into the Smokies. We’d stop and buy a toy bow and arrow or spear.

 

But times change, at least in some ways. Unfortunately there are still some caged bears on display and plenty of tacky tourist gift shops. But there has been a resurgence of interest by local Cherokee in their own history, and the town of Cherokee now has several decidedly non-tacky sights including a museum, high-quality Cherokee crafts co-op and gallery, an updated outdoor drama and a replica 18th century Native American village. An effort is underway to develop a Cherokee Heritage Corridor, with a new Cherokee History Museum and an eagle aviary.

 

Qualla Arts and Crafts (Tsali Manor Dr.  Cherokee, 828-497-3103, www.quallaartsandcrafts.com) is the best place to buy high-quality Cherokee art and crafts, including baskets, dolls, masks, pottery and carvings. Probably the best-known Cherokee craft is basket making. The Cherokee used river cane, white oak and honey-suckle to weave baskets, either leaving them in their natural colors or colored with boiled black walnut or bloodroot to produce darker colors. Top contemporary examples of baskets sell for up to $1,000 or more, and historical museum-quality examples are virtually priceless. The store also has a museum gallery of Cherokee art and crafts, with displays that are not for sale.

 

Museum of the Cherokee Indian (589 Tsali Blvd., Cherokee, 828-497-3481, www.mci.org, daily 9-5 year-round, $12 adults) has self-guided tours of permanent interactive exhibits on 13,000 years of Cherokee history from the Paleo period through the Trail of Tears and modern times. There is a museum store.

 

Oconaluftee Indian Village (NC 1361, Cherokee, 828-497-2111, www.visitcherokeenc.com, Tue.-Sat. 9:30-4:30 mid-Apr.-mid-Oct., adults 13+ $25 chil-dren, $15) is a replica of a Cherokee settlement of around 1760. Cherokee guides knowledgeable about local culture, history and crafts provide tours.

 

Unto These Hills (Drama Rd. off U.S. Hwy. 441/Tsali Blvd., Cherokee, 828-497-2111, www.visitcherokeenc.com, Jun.-mid-Aug, adults $35-$45, children $25-$35, VIP tickets $60) is an outdoor drama in the 2,800-seat Mountainside Theater. It traces the Cherokee people from their earliest days through the peak of their power to the heartbreak of the Trail of Tears, when in 1838 the U.S. government forcibly removed most of the Eastern Cherokee to Oklahoma, and ending in the present day. Some 6 million people have seen the play since it first opened in 1950.

 

But the biggest practical change in Cherokee in recent times has been the coming of the  Harrah’s Cherokee Hotel & Casino (777 Casino Dr., Cherokee, 828-497-7777, www.harrahscherokee.com). There is a somewhat smaller Harrah’s casino in Murphy, at the western tip of the state. The Cherokee complex employs more than 2,900, making it one of the largest private employers in Western North Carolina. There are another nearly 1,000 employees at Harrah’s in Murphy. One of the four hotel towers at Cherokee rises 21 stories, the highest building in North Carolina west of Charlotte.

 

Following a $650 million expansion, the 150,000 square-feet casino has more than 5,000 video gaming slot machines. Live games including roulette, blackjack and craps were introduced in 2012 and sports betting in 2019. A poker area and sports betting area were recently added.

 

With the addition of a new 700-room , 19-story tower in 2021, the hotel has more than 1,800 rooms, making it the largest hotel in the state. Weekday rates are as low as $100 or even less, plus tax, but on weekends the rates jump to $500 or more. Some rooms are reserved and comped to regular gamblers. The expansion also included an 83,000 sq. ft. convention center.

 

The complex’s 3,000-seat Events Center draws national entertainers. Caution:  Smoking is allowed in most of the casino, though not in the restaurants, and the to-bacco smoke can be overwhelming.

 

Harrah’s Cherokee has a golf course, Sequoyah National, and several restaurants including BRIO Tuscan Grill, Wicked Weed Brewpub, Gordon Ramsey Food Market, Guy Fieri’s Cherokee Kitchen + Bar, Noodle Bar, Selu Garden Café buffet and Ruth’s Chris Steak House. The food court has a Dunkin’ Donuts and a sandwich shop. The casino and hotel complex is the only place on the Qualla reservation where liquor by the drink, wine and beer are available.

 

The hotel complex also has a spa, fitness center, bowling alley and a heated, glass-enclosed swimming pool, open year-round.

 

Profits from the casinos and resort complexes mean that each adult member of the 14,000-member Cherokee tribe gets up to $14,000 a year. Also, tribal members get sizable checks, usually totaling over $100,000, when they turn 18.

 

In addition to the huge casino hotel, Cherokee has a number of chain motels including Hampton Inn, Fairfield Inn & Suites, Comfort Suites, Baymont, Best Western and Holiday Inn Express & Suites along with some 1950s and 60s-vintage independent motels. Dining in Cherokee is mostly limited to buffets and fast food due to the unavailability of alcohol outside the casino. One local dining institution is Peter’s Pancakes & Waffles (1384 Tsali Blvd., Cherokee, 828-497-5116 or 800-697-0752, www.peterspancakesnc.com), very popular for its breakfasts ($7 to $13). It’s open from 6:30 am to 2 pm.

 

The Great Smokies park entrance and the Oconaluftee visitor center are just 2 miles from Cherokee. d Lake Inn (86 Lily Pad Lane, Flat Rock, 828-693-6812, www.hliresort.com) is an upscale resort on 26 acres, with a good restaurant. In-season rates start at around $220 double.

 

 

Burnsville/Spruce Pine

Distance from Asheville: Burnsville is 36 miles northeast of Asheville, about 45 minutes by car; Spruce Pine is about 50 miles northeast of Asheville, about an hour by car

Population: Burnsville 1,700, Spruce Pine 2,200

Tourism Information: Yancey County Chamber of Commerce, 106 West Main St., Burnsville, 828-682-7413, www.yanceychamber.com and Mitchell County Chamber of Commerce, Spruce Pine, 828-765-9483 or 800-227-3912, www.mitchell-county.com

 

We lump these two mountains towns together, because although Burnsville is in Yancey County, and Spruce Pine is in Mitchell County, they are only about 15 minutes apart. If you visit one, you’ll probably also visit the other.

 

Confusingly, Mt. Mitchell, the highest mountain in the East, is in Yancey County, not Mitchell County.

 

One of the main reasons to visit the area is Penland School (67 Doras Trail, Penland, 828-765-2359, Gallery 828-765-6211, www.penland.org), a nationally known crafts school on a 460-acre campus, with many crafts studios in the area. Penland is about equidistant from Spruce Pine and Burnsville. Spruce Pine is a mineral and gem mining area, with several dig-it-yourself mines.  Both Spruce Pine and Burnsville have small, quaint downtown areas with decidedly unquaint suburbs along U.S. Highway 19.

 

Buck House Inn on Bald Mountain Creek (5860 Bald Mountain Rd., Burnsville, 828-536-4140 or 855-405-5005, www.northcarolina-mountain-vacation.com) is a restored 1904-vintage country house with Colonial Revival stylings. It has chestnut walls, ceilings and floors, and the property is on 8 acres in a beautiful rural setting. Rates in the B&B’s four rooms are Moderate.

 

Hendersonville/Flat Rock

Distance from Asheville:  26 miles south, about 30 minutes by car

Population: 18,500 in Hendersonville and Flat Rock, 119,000 in Henderson County

Visitor Information:  Visitors Information Center, Historic Hendersonville, 201 S. Main St., Hendersonville, 800-828-4244, www.historichendersonville.org

 

If you include the suburbs just outside Hendersonville proper, this is the second-largest city in Western North Carolina, after Asheville. Henderson County also is the second-largest county by population in Western North Carolina.

 

Hendersonville and Flat Rock have attracted visitors from the South Carolina Low-country and elsewhere in the South for more than a century. More recently, Henderson County has become a retirement destination, and the mayor of Hendersonville pro-claimed it “the Friendliest City for Retirees in America.”

 

Population growth in Henderson County is the fastest in the four-county Asheville metro area, due in part to the availability of level, buildable land. From 1970 to today, Henderson County’s population jumped nearly tripled, from 42,000 to almost 119,000.

 

For visitors, Hendersonville has a well-preserved Main Street lined with shops, bou-tiques and restaurants. Parking is free along Main Street, though sometimes it’s difficult to find an empty space. In summer many of the shops have bear statues on the side-walk, cleverly decorated by local artists to make a statement about the shops. (The Bear-footin’ bears are a fund-raiser for local non-profits.) There are historic neighborhoods near downtown, including the Fifth Avenue and Druid Hills neighborhoods. The commercial strips along U.S. Highway 25 and U.S. Highway 64 are more typical examples of suburban sprawl, with chain stores, strip malls and fast food restaurants galore.

 

In part because of the relatively flat land near Hendersonville, many residential de-velopments have sprung up in the area, including around Flat Rock, long a resort desti-nation for wealth South Carolina planters.

 

Henderson County is known for its apples, with around 200 apple growers producing about two-thirds of the state’s apple crop. The North Carolina Apple Festival (www.ncapplefestival.org) celebrates Henderson County’s leading crop. Held Labor Day weekend in early September for more than 60 years, the Apple Festival occupies most of Main Street in downtown Hendersonville, with aa parade, music, craft booths, freshly picked apples and cooked products like cider and apple pies. The four-day festival attracts 250,000 people. President George H.W. Bush attended one year. The festival is free.

 

Carl Sandburg was already famous for his poetry when in 1945 he moved to Connemara, a 264-acre farm in Flat Rock near Hendersonville. There he lived with his wife Paula Steichen Sandburg, brother of the photographer Edward Steichen, until his death in 1967.

 

Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site (81 Carl Sandburg Lane, Flat Rock, 828-693-4178, www.nps.gov/carl/index.htm) is the first national park site devoted to a poet. The house, a white one-and-a-half story on a raised basement with Greek Revival columns on the front porch, was built around 1839 as a summer cottage by a South Carolina railroad magnate. It sits on a knoll above a small lake. On the National Park Service guided tour, you’ll see the Sandburg house much as it was in the 1960s, as if the family had stepped out for a walk. At the barn and outbuildings you’ll see descendants of Paula Steichen Sandburg’s herd of dairy goats. The farm has some 5 miles of hiking trails. Admission to the farms and grounds is free; a guided tour of the house has been $5 adults, $3 seniors, children 15 and under free, but tours currently are free, as they are weekends only now due to an access issue with the lake dam drainage. See more information on the Carl Sandburg Home in the Literary section.

 

The State Theatre of North Carolina is Flat Rock Playhouse (2661 Greenville Hwy., Flat Rock, 828-693-0731, www.flatrockplayhouse.org), located across the road from the Carl Sandburg site.

 

Its original Main Stage, a barn-like (but now air-conditioned and comfortable) theatre in Flat Rock, dates to 1952. Flat Rock puts on around a dozen productions a year in Flat Rock, all highly professional and featuring many Equity actors and often elaborate sets. Many of the productions are musicals or comedies, appealing to an older audience. The theatre also operates a college apprentice and intern residence program in the summer and fall.

 

Hendersonville doesn’t have the quantity or quality of restaurants of Asheville, but it has several good dining choices:

 

Postero (401 N. Main St., Hendersonville, 828-595-9676, www.postero-hvl.com) is our choice for the best dining in Hendersonville. It has it all:  A pleasant ambiance in what was an old bank building, with seating on the main floor and on a loft above, very good service, an ever-changing menu of New American dishes, creative but not over the top, with entrées around $24 to $32 at dinner Tuesday to Saturday. Postero is popular for lunch Wednesday to Saturday. Closed Sunday and Monday.

 

Another good upscale choice is Brandy’s on Main (111 S. Main St., Henderson-ville, 828-513-1240, www.brandysonmain.net). It’s best known for its aged steaks ($28-$42 a la carte), but it also has seafood and other dishes. There’s a piano player, warm lighting and art on the walls. Closed Sunday, Monday and Wednesday.

 

West First Wood-Fired (101B First Ave. West, Hendersonville, 828-693-1080, www.flatrockwoodfired.com) has some of the best pizza in the area. The main dining room is a large rectangle, anchored at the far end by the open wood-fired pizza oven blazing away. Dominating the left side of the room are two large, striking paintings, said to be portraits, more or less, of the owner's grandparents. The other long wall is brick. Personal pizzas at lunch are around $79 to $12, and 11-inch pizzas at dinner are $11 to $17. Closed Sunday.

 

We think the best German food in the Asheville metro area is at Haus Heidelburg (630 Greenville Hwy., Hendersonville, 828-693-5759, www.hausheidelburg.com) with schnitzels, sausages and sandwiches from around $9 to $23. Daily for lunch and dinner.

 

If you’re staying overnight, the U.S. Highway 64 strip off I-26 has a number of chain motels, including Hampton Inn, Best Western, Red Roof, Fairfield Inn & Suites, Comfort Inn and Ramada. Of these, the Hampton Inn is probably the best choice.

 

Hendersonville has more than a dozen B&Bs. Among the best are the 16-room The Charleston, formerly the Claddagh Inn, (755 N. Main St,, Hendersonville, 828-693-6737, www.theCharleston.net), with rooms from about $159 to $239; The Henderson (201 Third Ave. W., Hendersonville, 828-696-2001, www.thehendersonnc.com) close to everything downtown, with rooms from $189 to $300; and 1898 Waverly Inn (783 N Main St.,  Hendersonville, 828-693-9193, www.waverlyinn.com), a comfortable 15-room inn at the end of Main Street, with rates from $129 to $327. In nearby Flat Rock, Highland Lake Inn (86 Lily Pad Lane, Flat Rock, 828-693-6812, www.hliresort.com) is an upscale resort on 26 acres, with a good restaurant. In-season rates start at around $220 double.

 

Hot Springs

Distance from Asheville:  37 miles northwest of Asheville, 50 minutes by car

Population: 550

Visitor Information: www.hotspringsnc.org

 

Hot Springs is one of the small mountain villages that leaves us cold, but in the 19th century it was a leading mountain resort with a big resort hotel, Warms Springs Hotel. It was named “Best Small Mountain Town” by Blue Ridge Outdoors magazine, so we guess we’re missing something. It does have 108-degree hot mineral springs (the hottest in North Carolina) and is at the junction of the Appalachian Trail and the French Broad River. We do like the nearby  Max Patch Bald, a high-elevation heath bald on the Appalachian Trail with panoramic views of the mountains. Avoid the bald during thunderstorms – in 2010 a woman was killed by lightning just as her partner was about to propose marriage to her.

 

Magnolia House, (204 Lawson St., Hot Springs, 828-206-4146, www.magnoliahousehotsprings.com) formerly Mountain Magnolia Inn, has the great house and two cottages for rent.

 

Sylva

Distance from Asheville:  48 miles southwest of Asheville, about an hour by car

Population: 2,600

Visitor Information: Jackson County Chamber of Commerce, 773 W. Main St., Sylva, 828-586-2155, www.mountainlovers.com

 

Sylva is dear to our hearts because it was the birthplace of mountain writer John Parris, whose daily columns in the Asheville Citizen-Times were collected in many books, beginning with Roaming the Mountains in 1955.

 

Other than that, it’s just a little mountain town. The old Jackson County Court-house in Sylva, set on hill, is worth a look. Sylva is the closest town to Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, so it draws students and others for shopping and eating. It does have a good independent bookstore, City Lights (3 East Jackson St., Sylva, 828-586-9499 or 888-853-6298, www.citylightsnc.com) with an adjoining café and coffeehouse. In fact, the entire little town is caffeinated, with three or four coffee houses.

 

Blue Ridge Inn (756 W. Main St., Sylva, 828-586-2123) is a motel in downtown Sylva. Rates in-season are around $120 plus tax. There is also a Comfort Inn and a Holiday Inn Express & Suites in the Sylva area.

 

The 2017 dark comedy, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, was mostly filmed in and around Sylva, although the three billboards in the movie were actually placed near Black Mountain, because the setting was better for filming.

 

 

Waynesville

Distance from Asheville:  31 miles west of Asheville, about 35 minutes by car

Population: 10,500

Visitor Information: Haywood County Tourism Development Authority, 44 N. Main St., Waynesville, 828-452-0152 or 800-334-9036, www.visitncsmokies.com

 

Waynesville is an engaging quaint small town with a walkable downtown with brick sidewalks, many shops, galleries and eateries. It has drawn a sizeable number of retirees.

Probably the biggest event of the year in Waynesville is Folkmoot USA (www.folkmootusa.org), which brings dance and folk music groups from several countries to various venues in Waynesville.  It is held during the last two weeks of July.

 

Near the main downtown is Frog Level, which is trying to evolve into the town’s entertainment area. So far there’s not too much there beyond Frog Level Brewing Company (56 Commerce St., Waynesville, 828-254-5664, www.froglevelbrewing.com) and Panacea Coffee House Cafe (66 Commerce St., Waynesville, 828-452-6200, www.panaceacoffee.com).

 

The best places to eat in town are Chef’s Table (30 Church St., Waynesville, 828-452-6210, www.thechefstableofwaynesville.com), which leans toward fine dining with appetizers like goat cheese risotto balls and entrées such as Prime ribeye and roast duck, from $25-$48 for dinner, with an extensive wine list. Closed Sunday. A local favorite is the more casual and homey The Sweet Onion (39 Miller St., Waynesville, 828-456-5559, www.sweetonionrestaurant.com), focused on updated Southern dishes such as bacon-wrapped meatloaf and mac and cheese with blue crab. Sandwiches and salads at The Sweet Onion for lunch is around $12 to $16, while dinner entrées are mostly in the $18 to $28 range. Closed Sunday and Monday. For good BBQ, go to Haywood Smokehouse (79 Elysinia Ave., Waynesville, 828-456-7275, www.haywoodsmokehouse.com). It also has locations in Dillsboro and in Franklin.

 

Not in Waynesville but in the Cruso area near Canton, Springdale Resort at Cold Mountain (200 Golfwatch Rd., Canton, 828-235-8451, www.springdalegolf.com) has a pleasant restaurant, Rocky Face Tavern. Mains for dinner (currently Friday and Saturday only) are $24 to $40. Open for lunch Wednesday to Saturday, brunch Sunday.

 

For overnight stays, Waynesville has around a dozen B&Bs. Among the best are Andon-Reid Inn (92 Daisy Ave., Waynesville, 828-452-3089 or 800-452-3089, www.andonreidinn.com), a 1902 house with five bedrooms about a mile from down-town; Yellow House on Plott Creek (89 Oakview Dr., Waynesville, 828-452-0991 or 800-563-1236, www.theyellowhouse.com), a lovely old house with 10 rooms and suites with beautiful grounds, in a rural area just outside Waynesville (the Plott hound, a coonhound by trade, is the state dog of North Carolina). Oak Hill on Love Lane (224 Love Lane, Waynesville, 828-456-7037, www.oakhillonlovelane.com), a 1900 home within strolling distance of downtown. You’ll pay around $200 to $325 a night at these little inns, breakfast included, depending on the date and the room.

 

The Swag (2300 Swag Rd., Waynesville, 828-926-0430, www.theswag.com), now under new management, is on 250 acres on a 5,000 foot high mountaintop out-side Waynesville adjoining the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. It has won national acclaim for its beautiful grounds, good food, views and rustically appealing lodging, but it comes at a price – $875 to $2,100 a night double, including gourmet meals. The inn has 18 rooms and cabins.

 

 

All content copyright © Lan Sluder except selected photographs used by permission and brief quotations or other fair use text, which are owned by the copyright holder.

We have made every effort to confirm the accuracy of information on this website, and in the Amazing Asheville book and ebooks, but travel information is subject to frequent change, and no warranty is made, express or implied. Please notify us of any errors or omissions, and we will attempt to correct them as soon as possible. All opinions expressed are those of the author, Lan Sluder, unless otherwise noted.