Family Fun in Asheville, North Carolina

When one thinks of Asheville, North Carolina one thinks of The Biltmore Estate and the mountains. Asheville is more than that and it is a great place to take the family. It is ideally situated in between several locations that would make up a terrific vacation for the entire family. There is so much to see and do in Asheville that it would take up several vacations to see it all.

First the city of Asheville itself is full of shops, restaurants, galleries, and places to visit. There are many Bed and Breakfast places in the city itself where you can stay for a long weekend and visit the city of Asheville at your leisure. The center of town is a little different from other cities. Sometimes on the square you will have peaceful political rallies from the protests against the war to women’s rights. Mixed in this you have some of the finest restaurants in the state where you can get a bite to eat and then you can go shopping for paintings, sculptures, or jewelry at one of the galleries downtown. There are also the museums and art centers in Asheville. You can choose from the Asheville Art Museum to the Folk Art Center to see all of the creative arts of the Asheville area.

Then there is the Biltmore Estates where you can spend an entire weekend just exploring the rooms of the house itself and also especially in the springtime or summer check out the gardens of Biltmore. These gardens are so beautiful with different colors with so many different flowers growing and the winery has some of the best selection of wines and condiments. The best times to visit the Biltmore Estate are during the Spring/Summer time and during Christmas where the house itself is lit up with the Christmas Lights. Truly a beautiful sight with the old house lit up. The new hotels that have been built to accommodate visitors make this tour an easy weekend visit.

There is the Great Smokey Mountains and all of its beautiful views of nature and places to visit. One can take a ride on the Great Smokey Mountains Railroad and see the scenery of the mountains via old fashioned steam engines. One can visit Chimney Rock Park to see more picturesque scenes. There is also the Pisgah National Forest where one can go hiking on trails that go deep into the forest. Here too you can pan for gold and minerals and camp out and even play golf if you want to.

There is Grandfather Mountain where you can ski or hike whatever your preference. You can visit the Linville Caverns and see how nature has sculptured beauty out of stone by the power of water throughout the caves. You can also visit Mount Mitchell which is the highest mountain in the eastern United States. There and along the Blue Ridge Parkway are picnic areas and scenic spots so beautiful that some of Hollywood’s famous films have been filmed here such as Last of the Mohicans.

Since this is the land of the Cherokee Indians one can visit traditional Indian villages and lands to see how the Indians once lived off of this land. There are traditional costumes and dances and one can visit the Oconaluftee Indian Village to see all of the Indian crafts.

One can even visit the homes of Carl Sandburg and Thomas Wolfe and walk around them. At Carl Sandburg’s house the children can feed the miniature goats and other animals there. There are also historic tours of Asheville and the surrounding areas.

Asheville has a lot of places and fun spots to visit with the whole family from sports to food to art. Again it will take several vacations to do all of the things one wants to do or see in Asheville but it is worth it to see it all.