N.C. Mountain Attractions

If you can imagine our valley as a pendant, then Asheville would be an Art Deco gem held by a setting of blue-green mountains. It's easy to think of Asheville and Western North Carolina in artistic terms. Arts and crafts have been a way of life here since woodcarvers and quilters used their creativity to supplement farm income. That tradition lives on in the rich handiwork of area artists for sale at the Folk Art Center and dozens of galleries.

Asheville and surrounding villages are artwork themselves. Fine craftsmen and architects outdid each other in the days of opulence and speculation at the dawn of the last century. The Great Depression ended the boom, but the buildings lived on, escaping the urban renewal that brought a sameness to America's other cities. In Asheville, you can walk the Urban Trail and learn more about the rich history of our city, from drover crossroad to the era of the grand hotels to today's colorful cosmopolitanism.

These mountain downtowns offer unique opportunities for shoppers. Fine arts and crafts, antiques and a delicious assortment of restaurants are all clustered in central business districts.

In the case of Weaverville, the rich assortment of attractions include The Secret Garden, a mystical spa and tea house where you can luxuriate in a setting straight out of Kyoto; Preservation Hall, a crafts gallery and restoration hardware shop; Mangum and Miya galleries; and fun dining at Blue Mountain Pizza, Weaverville Milling Company, Sunnyside Cafe, Stoney Knob Cafe, North Star Diner and Well-Bred Bakery and Cafe. You can learn more about what's happening in our town at visitweaverville.com and at myweaverville.com.

Indulge your taste buds. Asheville has some gourmet specialties, including mountain trout cooked 47 ways, Southern barbecue and some of the finest microbrew beers in the Southeast. But the gastronomic attraction here is the diversity of dishes to be found, ranging from curry and couscous to Caribbean to aged steaks. As in Europe, dining in Asheville is an event where one lingers to enjoy the flavor and texture of life as well as dinner.

Savor the contrasts. Snack on sushi before giving clogging a try at Shindig on the Green. Try on the latest hiking boots before the opera. Dine at a cool sidewalk table, then burn the calories off dancing at a steamy nightclub. There's a good reason that both Modern Maturity and Rolling Stone called this the place to be.

Outdoor Adventure

Western North Carolina is a mecca for outdoors enthusiasts.

Thousands of miles of trophy trout streams wet the wrinkles of the Smokies, the Balsams, the Blacks and the Blue Ridge, joining into rivers where whitewater rafters and kayakers can take in the mountain beauty up close. Where highland valleys meet climbing hills, some of the most beautiful golf courses in the nation challenge all levels. Our guests get a discount at Reems Creek Golf Club, one of the best.

The Blue Ridge Parkway, one of America's most stunning highways, carries travelers more than 400 miles along ridgelines unmarred by billboards, trucks or any buildings other than the occasional information center. Take a drive to Mount Mitchell, highest peak east of the Rockies, or go south to catch a view of Cold Mountain, of literary and movie fame.

Trailheads along the parkway and other mountain roads beckon hikers to waterfalls, balds and escarpments where rock climbers test themselves against the mountain. Steep trails at two county parks challenge mountain bicyclists.

An hour or so to the west of Asheville, Great Smoky Mountains National Park contains more plant and animal species than any other park in America, and offers visitors a chance to see bears, elk and other animals in the wild, as well as see how pioneers lived in a re-created mountain community.

Closer and to the south, Transylvania County boasts the greatest concentration of waterfalls in the Southeast, many of them visible from roadside overlooks. DuPont State Forest, North Carolina's newest, features easy trails to several magnificent waterfalls.

Nantahala Outdoor Center photo of Dan and Nancy on the French Broad River.

Whitewater and calmwater enthusiasts alike find their own degree of thrill and scenery on the French Broad River, Nantahala River, Pigeon River, and other rivers.

Other outfitters offer fly-fishing trips, rock-climbing classes, guided nature hikes, horseback riding and even llama treks on mountain trails. Afterwards, loosen up with a soak and massage at the region's only natural hot mineral springs. We can arrange it all for you.

Biltmore Estate

No trip to Asheville is complete without a visit to the Biltmore Estate. George Vanderbilt's 250-room home is a monument to America's gilded era. When it was completed in 1896, the French chateau-styled mansion was a summer escape for Vanderbilt family and friends.

Photo courtesy of Biltmore Estate

Today, even those of us of humbler birth can enjoy the collection of fine art and antiques, and stroll through gardens designed by America's father of landscape architecture, Frederick Law Olmsted. Other attractions on the estate include a winery with complimentary wine-tasting, a newly renovated conservatory and restaurants serving dishes prepared from food grown on the estate. Biltmore Estate is open every day, and offers candlelight Christmas tours in November and December by reservation only.

We sell discounted daytime Biltmore tickets for as much as $10 off the gate price, and we offer packages that include Biltmore Estate tickets.

Chimney Rock

Chimney Rock Park, located 25 miles southeast of Asheville, offers spectacular 75-mile views, numerous hiking trails and a 404-foot waterfall featured in the movie Last of the Mohicans.

The rock for which the park is named rises straight above the limits of the Piedmont, giving an aerial view of Lake Lure and points east. Visitors have the choice of hiking challenging trails or taking an elevator to the observation area. Admission is charged to the park. Ask Dan and Nancy for discount coupons.

Great Smoky Mountains Railroad

The Great Smoky Mountains Railroad offers round-trip excursions through some of the most spectacular scenery in western North Carolina, including views of the Great Smoky Mountains and Fontana Lake. Steam- and diesel-powered trains carry visitors along 53 miles of track, through two tunnels and over 15 bridges.

Excursions include half day to full day round trips, dinner trains, mystery theatre dinner trains, and raft/train combos. We can help arrange your trip.

Cherokee

Cherokee is not so much an attraction as home to a collection of attractions worth a day trip. It is the westernmost point on the Blue Ridge Parkway, and easternmost edge of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Foremost, Cherokee is home to the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and their reservation.

One attraction is Oconaluftee Indian Village, a re-created Cherokee Village of the 1750s. Regular tours by Cherokee guides present history, crafts, early homes and mountain forest demonstrations of beadwork, pottery, blowguns, and much more in a beautiful forest setting.

Another cultural attraction is the Museum of the Cherokee Indian, which details the advanced culture of the tribe. At the time before the tribe was split and marched on the Trail of Tears, its members excelled in weaving, pottery and agriculture, and had their own written language. Their story is told in an outdoor drama, Unto These Hills.

Harrah's Cherokee Casino provides yet a different attraction for those who feel lucky.

For a calendar of upcoming events, visit ExploreAsheville.com.

To learn more about local attractions, visit RomanticAsheville.com, WNCguide.com, AshevilleNC.com, AshevilleNow.com and CarolinaGetaways.net. Also see AshevilleGuidebook.com with exerpts from the Ultimate Guide to Asheville and the Western North Carolina Mountains by Lee Pantas, the "Best Selling Guidebook To Asheville & The Western North Carolina Mountains."

To contact Inn on Main Street:

Dan and Nancy Ward
Inn on Main Street
88 S. Main St.
Weaverville, NC 28787

E-mail: relax@innonmain.com

Call (828) 645-4935 to reach guests,
or (877) 873-6074 toll-free for reservation information.

Nancy and Dan's
Top 10 Cheap Thrills

This list isn't meant to be a suggestion of how to spend your limited vacation time. But it does give you an idea of how local folks have fun off the beaten path without spending a lot.

1 - A soak in the woods at Hot Spring Spa. A gurgling brook, a Jacuzzi full of hot mineral-rich water, a bottle of wine and a whole lot of privacy under the stars are the attraction here. And it barely costs more than a lap past the McDonald's drive-thru.

2 - Gourmet pizza and some of the finest microbrew on the planet would be reason enough to visit Asheville Pizza and Brewing Co. But they also show recently released (but not quite first-run) movies for $2. What a deal.

3 - Picnic on the Parkway. The 1.5 mile hike to the top of Craggy Gardens and back is just long enough to work up an appetite for lunch at one of the most beautiful, sunny and pleasantly breezy picnic areas around. If you make the hike around Labor Day, bring a bag for wild blueberries.

4 - Become a flower child. Admission to the N.C. Botanical Gardens at UNC-Asheville is free but priceless. The collections of wildflowers and enchanting paths are pleasant for even the most botanically challenged.

5 - The Urban Trail. What a fun and educational way to make your acquaintance with Asheville. And each stop along the self-guided walk is marked with a whimsical sculpture guaranteed to make you smile.

6 - DuPont State Forest. North Carolina's newest state forest, snatched from a developer by a conservancy group and turned over to the state. What were intended to be roads are now trails for hikers, horses and wheelchairs, making it one of the most comfortable and accessible hiking areas. And with good reason: There are several spectacular waterfalls within a short hike.

7 - Weaverville Art Safari. OK, so it only happens twice a year. But this self-guided studio tour is a great opportunity to pick up bargain artwork while getting a peek at how creative mountain dwellers live. Last weekend of April and first weekend of November.

8 - Farmers Market. One of the only retail places open on Sunday morning, it's also a fun source of plenty more than 'taters and 'maters. Pick up some canned jams, whirlygigs and gee-haw whimmydiddles, Amish cheese and sourwood honey. Sears doesn't sell this stuff.

9 - A trip to the mall. Except this time it's the Grove Arcade, the first shopping mall in the Eastern United States, which spent the past several decades as a drab government office building. It has been restored to its '20s glory with marble, brass, leaded glass and reconditioned Art Deco details, and hosts dozens of charming little shops.

10 - Folk Art Center. Another rare shop open on Sunday morning, is on the Blue Ridge Parkway. It's the retail outlet for the Southern Highland Craft Guild, some of the most talented craftspeople in America. Often you can watch demonstrations on chair caning, spinning wool, making brooms or any of dozens of other skills and crafts of Southern Appalachia.

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