– By Ariel Frager –
I didn’t really understand why I loved Asheville so much. The quaint city of just under 100,000 residents trades in music and art, good food and drink and the stunning natural areas surrounding the city. I just felt good there. I liked the vibe, the friendly folks and the never ending vistas of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Western North Carolina was battered by Hurricane Helene in late September 2024. Asheville was particularly hard hit and swaths of Downtown and the River Arts District were washed away by the flooding. The area is rebuilding and is enthusiastically welcoming visitors to help boost the local economy and to share its considerable charms with all y’all.
Blue Ridge Mountains
Things to do with Kids in Asheville
Big, little and kids at heart will find plenty to do in Asheville. There are a host of parks with playgrounds like Buncombe County Sports Park and Jack Rusher Park, affectionately known to locals as “Castle Park” with a wooden turreted play structure and a tot lot for the preschool age set. Lake Louise Park and Charles D. Owen Park both feature lakes for fishing.
The French Broad River flows through Asheville but runs north instead of south like most rivers. Cutting through the ancient rocks of the Appalachian Mountains, it is thought to be one of the oldest rivers in the world. The French Broad is a perfect spot for a family river rafting. The friendly folks of Nantahala Outdoor Center offer affordable half and full day river adventures from their outpost in Marshall, NC, about a 30 minutes drive from Ashevlle.
Brave teens and their even braver parents will enjoy zip lining through the tree canopy with Nativat. Located right in Asheville, there are plenty of tree top tours for families to enjoy as long as kids are 13 years old and above.
Where to eat and drink in Asheville
Asheville is a farm to table paradise. Inventive chefs, locally grown veggies, farm raised meat, craft beer and cocktails help make dining out in Asheville a winner for the whole family.
Highland Brewery is Asheville’s oldest craft beer and the city boasts both a Downtown Tap Room and welcomes visitors to the brewery facility. While they don’t serve food at the Eastside Brewery, they host a rotating crew of food trucks. The Downtown Tap Room is located in the S and W Market, a thriving food hall located in a historic 1929 building that anchors Downtown Asheville with the choice coffee, food, beer and cocktails.
Omni Park Hotel sunset
The best place to catch the sunset and a bite is the Historic Omni Grove Park Inn. Built on the western facing slope of Sunset Mountain in the Blue Ridge Range in 1913, the Arts and Crafts grandeur of the building competes with the spectacular sunsets. The hotel has a variety of dining options, all facing west.
While visiting North Carolina, families ought to give Asheville BBQ a try. A number of BBQ joints are temporarily closed to do the damage sustained from Hurricane Helene. Luella’s Bar-B-Cue is open and hungry for visitors to enjoy their ‘cue. Husband and wife team of Jeff and Ashley Miller cook up a range of BBQ styles including regional specialities from the Carolinas, Texas and Memphis. Known as one of the Asheville Foodoptians, the Millers serve up delicious down-home delights.
Omni Park Hotel fireplace
Shopping in Asheville
While it’s often a challenge to get kids to browse cute shops when traveling, Asheville’s arts scene helps imbue a sense of excitement and fun. Woolworth Walk, located in the center of Downtown Asheville is a former Woolworth’s department store that has been converted into an art gallery featuring 175 local artists. Wandering through each cubicle, visitors will enjoy surveying the wide spectrum of local artistic talent. Woolworth Walk has preserved the original soda fountain for a bit of 1950’s fun.
I was late to the party to discover the popular charms of Asheville based East Fork Pottery. I wandered into the Downtown Asheville Flagship store and fell in love with their handcrafted, rustically elegant pottery. My food looks and tastes (OK, not really tastes better) better on East Fork plates. As a certified B Corp, East Fork has been instrumental in the Western North Carolina hurricane recovery support and is currently donating a percentage of their proceeds to help folks impacted by the LA fires.
Where to Stay in Asheville
Asheville had a host of unique and fun accommodations prior to Hurricane Helene. Many of the bigger chain properties have reopened. More and more choices are opening up as the rebuilding of the area continues.
Renaissance Hotel Downtown has everything travelers need within walking distance of Downtown Asheville. I stayed at the AC Hotel Asheville, located a bit of a longer walk to Downtown but it’s a new hotel with spacious rooms and a decent gym and yummy breakfast. Families can channel their inner robber baron and treat themselves to historic luxury at The Biltmore Estate. The Vanderbilt family built the chateau style estate in Asheville as a mountain summer home. Completed in 1895, The Biltmore retains its title of being America’s largest home. The 8,000-acre property is lush with gardens and grounds, onsite shopping, a golf course, and other Gilded Age era pursuits.
Like in Sedona, Arizona, Asheville also is known for its vortex; a natural concentration of spiritual, electric, and magnetic energy. The rocks in the ancient Appalachian Mountains surrounding Asheville date back to more than 500 million years old. Maybe that’s why I liked it there, the place just exuded good energy from the friendly people, beautiful outdoors, tasty food, and the backward flowing river. Visitors can soak up all the good vibes and Asheville sure could use some love right now too.
Ariel Frager loves to get outside to play, be it surfing, traveling the world or walking the dog. She is a school counselor and mental health therapist during the week and pursues her passion for exploring new places and cultures as a travel writer. Ariel’s writing has been published in a variety of print and online outlets including: Travel + Leisure, Gear Junkie, Bearfoot Theory, Family Vacationist and others. Ariel writes about outdoor and family adventures in her beloved Pacific Northwest and beyond. She lives in Portland, Oregon, with her family.