Asheville, North Carolina

We often like to take road trips from the Cincinnati area for the weekend to get away for a quick break. When we are with the kids, we look for the shortest drive possible. However, with a group of adults, I’m willing to go a bit further. So when our friends in Florida asked us to meet them in Asheville, NC for a long weekend, I was sold! We packed up and left on a Thursday morning after all of the kids were on the bus to school. It is about a 6-7 hour drive depending on how many stops you have to make on the way. Here is a snapshot of our experience and how we packed a lot of fun things into such a short time period. Be sure to Google any and all things mentioned for more details dependent upon your interests.

Where To Stay

Asheville has grown leaps and bounds since we last stayed there about a decade ago on our way to the beach. There are plenty of places to stay whether you are right downtown in a hotel or you are further out. We chose to be close enough to walk to food and bars, but still be able to retreat back to our lodging away from all of the action. The Asheville Swiss Chalets were perfect for the eight of us. We rented two 2-bedroom chalets right across the street from each other – the Lucerne and the Matterhorn. It was a good 20-25 minute 1-mile walk straight downhill to Wicked Weed Brewery which is a nice starting point for exploring. At the end of the evening, the dark and completely uphill walk was not appealing, so we either used Uber or Lyft without any problems.

Our Itinerary

We arrived Thursday in time to change clothes and walk into town for dinner. We started at Wicked Weed Brewery and ordered drinks and a bunch of appetizers – soft pretzels, nachos, popcorn and boiled peanuts. Then we moved on to Bhramari Brewing Company for another beer and more hot pretzels with an amazing black patent honey dipping sauce. Catawba Brewing was our third stop and we enjoyed empanadas from a food truck while we were there. We ended the night at Green Man Brewery which probably had my favorite atmosphere in their new 3-floor Greenmansion. All of these breweries were within walking distance of one another and we also passed many other restaurants and bars and live music along the way.

The Biltmore

On Friday morning we started at Biscuit Head for breakfast. It’s no joke when they say go early. We were there right at 8:30 and after we ordered, the line to get in had tripled. After the biggest and yummiest breakfast ever (which included a flight of gravy with our biscuits and also jalapeno and blackberry jam bacon = YUM), we headed to the Biltmore.

Andy and I had been to the Biltmore before, but both of us wanted to return with the group. And we had planned our trip dates around the fact that the Chihuly exhibit was still there for the final weekend. It was extremely crowded but worth it. Two in our group had never been to Biltmore and agreed it’s definitely worth visiting if you have never been there before. We all toured the house. I highly recommend paying extra for the handheld audio tour. It gives you so many more details than just strolling through it on your own (and there’s a kid’s version). It’s still on my bucket list to do the additional behind-the-scenes tours.

The Breweries

After the Biltmore, we headed back towards the breweries. We covered Asheville Brewing first for a late lunch and had delicious pizza. Then we stopped in the Funkatorium which is where you will find Wicked Weed’s sour beers. We moved on to Twin Leaf Brewery and met some locals at Burial Beer. They informed us of the Friday Night Drum Circle so we followed them to Pritchard Park for quite an experience. Afterwards, we trekked to the Thirsty Monk for another drink and some food flights. Yes, flights of food – one of them had sausage, habanero fig jam, cheese and cracker. So good, but too dark for photos. Some of the group headed home and the late-nighters saw a Fleetwood Mac cover band at The Orange Peel.

The Food

Saturday morning we got up early again for another big breakfast. Sunny Point Cafe did not disappoint. We arrived around 8:15 and they had opened at 8:00. The cars were already parked all along the street and we waited at least 45 minutes to get a table. But they serve coffee while you wait so that’s a bonus. The black bean and sweet potato empanada is a must. And basically so is everything else on the menu. No one was disappointed.

The Hiking

After breakfast we wanted to at least get one quick hike in before the afternoon heat. Although it was the first weekend in October, the high for the day was 86! After lots of research we decided to head to DuPont State Forest and do the 3-mile hike to three waterfalls – High Falls, Hooker Falls, and Triple Falls. We followed online directions and parked at the Hooker Falls Access. It was about a 45-60 minute drive outside of the main area in Asheville. But well worth it. If you are a fan of “The Hunger Games” movie, this is also where scenes were filmed. There are so many places to hike around Asheville that we cannot wait to return and explore some more.

Another reason we chose that area for hiking was to stop at Sierra Nevada on the way back to town. That did not work out. We believe they were having a special event because they had parking attendants and a line out the door. So we skipped that and headed back to town. Our final evening we started at White Duck Taco Shop for food. And again, it’s worth the hype. There is a reason people stand in line for these tacos. Just do it. My two favorites were Bangkok Shrimp and the Black Bean. I ate them before I even thought to take a picture. Then we bar hopped to catch college football on TV and ended up in Social Lounge on Broadway – the food smelled and looked amazing. Andy and I stopped in two more breweries – Lexington Avenue Brewery and One World Brewing. Then we had a fun time at a dive bar called Tiger Mountain playing Heads Up before calling it a night. (Apparently you don’t want to be there after 10:30 unless you are into a young dating scene with a loud DJ). Sounds like so.much.beer.and.drinking. HA! Luckily, many places will sell you a half pint. Plus, Andy and I don’t mind sharing a pint or a flight either.

Why We Will Return Again

Sunday was back to reality as we packed up, ran through Starbucks, and headed home arriving just in time for dinner. We were so glad to revisit Asheville and see all the changes over the last decade. And although we visited many, many breweries, there are still more to explore. Asheville currently has over SIXTY breweries. 6-0! Not into beer? It seemed many more of them in Asheville offered a full bar or at least wine or ciders.

Not into drinking? The food, hiking, and historical areas like the Biltmore are still worth the trip.There were numerous Bachelorette parties and 40th Birthday parties happening over the weekend. In talking with locals, it seems as though Asheville is becoming quite the weekend destination city like we found Nashville to be the last time we were there.However there were so many places and options all within a small area so we never felt like 8 of us couldn’t get a table and enjoy ourselves. So although the popularity has picked up, we didn’t feel it was overcrowded the weekend we went and we cannot wait to return – with or without the kids!

(And as a quick side note…if you haven’t been stopping at the Kentucky Artisan Center in Berea right on I-75 at Exit 77 during your travels…it’s well worth the visit. A great place to stretch your legs, use the very clean restrooms, grab food, and maybe pick up a souvenir or gift.)

Have you been to Asheville? Your favorite place? Food? Drink? Attraction?

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