TO ASHEVILLE, WITH LOVE

The first hint of spring and I’m dreaming of Asheville, North Carolina. It usually happens late February, early March, and it’s a yearly phenomenon for me. The call to the mountains (if I may be so cliché), the Blue Ridges, and the crunchy mountain town where anything seems possible.

It was a love affair that began inexplicably and long ago when I first visited Asheville as a teen on a family trip with my Dad and sister en route to Charleston, SC. My second visit, a decade or so later on a family trip to New Orleans, solidified the appeal. Something about the unique small town with good food and a particularly memorable storefront, its window full of star shaped paper lanterns in vibrant colors, just spoke to me (I'm pretty sure that starry window is still on display), and I knew I had to visit on my own (with friends). Now, with five visits under my belt, I’ve determined it should be an annual escape. I still have a long list of things to explore.

Just seven or so odd hours from my home in Pittsburgh, a trip to Asheville (AVL) is easily driveable, the perfect escape for a long weekend. Asheville nails the “spring break” vibes of my adulthood. In Asheville, it’s usually a bit warmer than the weather at home, making the much longed for spring season seem “sprung” into sudden reality -- even on the cold days. I’ve been laughed at before, told that everywhere I travel to is so “crunchy” aka earthy, hippy, outdoorsy, and most likely a place with mountains and good beer. Crunchy. I don’t mind that statement, it’s usually true. Sometimes in my head I lovingly refer to Asheville as the Eugene, Oregon of the east coast (another small college town that is near and dear to my heart).

Mountain town. Beer mecca. Free spirited. Artsy. These are all ways to describe Asheville, and just some of the reasons that I return again and again to this place. Asheville is the perfect blend: a hint of southern culture -- and cooking, a musical twang in the air, and the come as you are vibe that means a night on the town can be dressed up or down, in case there’s still mud on your boots from trails hiked earlier in the day. That twang though? That’s the fiddles and banjos of Appalachian folk and bluegrass music performed live in pubs and breweries on any given night, just pick up a free copy of the Mountain Xpress and you’ve got the key to the city!

But before the afternoon brewery crawls, and an evening of craft cocktails and dancing, hit the Blue Ridge Parkway for a day of mountain hikes or take a short drive to Great Smoky Mountains National Park. A perfect day in Asheville is one of many parts flowing naturally (and as deliciously as the beer) from one to the next.

On a girls’ trip to Asheville in 2018, I introduced a friend to Asheville and “the hiking life,” chasing waterfalls at DuPont State Forest’s Triple Falls Trail before kicking back in Adirondack chairs on the lawn at New Belgium Brewing Company overlooking the French Broad River. On that girls’ trip, we stayed in an AirBnb tipi in the forest, and a tiny house in town when we decided to extend our visit an extra night. We experienced four seasons in one day, and packed every moment with fun. That was the trip where I truly “learned” Asheville, and got good at it - the best places, the secret places, keeping a flexible schedule, and where to grab a late night bite to eat in a city where most restaurants close around 9pm.

In 2020, I spent the last weekend pre-shutdown in Asheville and lived life to the fullest. It was the first time I’d visited the town with a significant other, and the first time staying in an AirBnb that was walking distance to all of downtown -- just a few blocks from the glory of the South Slope Brewery District! Perfect for the revelry of an ‘end of the world’ weekend. It matched girls’ weekend in levels of fun but with a different twist. We woke up early to try kundalini yoga for the first time (when in Asheville), and swindled our way into BOGO admissions to an amazing show by Songs From The Road Band at the incredible Wicked Weed Funkatorium.

Asheville is one of my favorite places to revisit and explore, and one of my favorite places to “trip advise,” or share tips with friends. After all, so many of the hidden gems of Asheville and the surrounding area were passed on to me by friendly locals or fellow travelers. This is part of the tradition and lore of a small city where there is always something more to discover.

The Best of Asheville (IMHO)

BREWERIES & OTHER REVELRY

Don’t miss the South Slope Brewery District, and while you’re there, explore! Plan to bar hop a little and see what you like. There are some that I’ll return to again and again while others I inexplicably continue to pass by. A few stand outs for me are Burial Beer Company, with a deliciously dark, poetic, earthy on the edge of morbid brand, I love the vibe and the epic beers and art they create. Funkatorium is Wicked Weed’s sour house, with an amazing and creative selection of fruited and barrel aged sours, and a kick ass venue for live entertainment. I usually end up stopping here a few times when I’m in town, and love the creative stories that accompany some of their beers. Also, be sure to check out Wicked Weed’s main location just up the hill in town. I love visiting Asheville Brewing Company for their delicious pizza, groovy vibes, and tasty beers that I consider quintessentially Asheville. It could be that they are the first brewery I ever tried from Asheville - at the Bonnaroo Brewers’ Tent in 2008. Green Man Brewery is another classic, with multiple locations and a more old school hometown feel. Lastly, I’ll name drop Hi-Wire Brewing, simply because I love the circus theme.

Be sure to give the smaller local breweries lots of love, but it’s pretty epic that New Belgium Brewing Company and Sierra Nevada Brewing Company both have east coast brewing operations set up in the Asheville area (New Belgium is right in town)! They are definitely worth the visit if you haven’t been before, and the drive up to Sierra Nevada will make you feel like you’re entering Beer Disney World.

A few intriguing places that are next on my list include The Whale, a craft beer bar featuring some more unique or hard to find (the “whale,” get it?) brews from North Carolina and beyond! DSSOLVR is a brewery/beverage company with punchy design, wild social media...I’m just dying to see if the beer tastes as good as their branding.

If cocktails are more your thang, don’t miss Antidote (right next to the Funkatorium), a wonderful multi-story bar with period decor, hidden nooks and cocktail recipes that will take you back to the prohibition era. There’s also a rooftop for overlooking the South Slope while you drink! Antidote is the cocktail lounge for Chemist Spirits & Distillery, so many of their drinks feature their own products.

Sovereign Remedies is my go to for a nightcap, and usually a late night bite to eat. Their cocktails and fresh, seasonal food has sometimes surprised, but never disappointed my taste buds. The vibe is usually just what I’m looking for, low key but classy, dark, sophisticated, cozy, with tall tall windows to let in the lights of the city at night. The service is always fantastic. BTW...they’re open during the daylight hours, too!

HIKING BOOTS, REQUIRED

With so many hiking destinations in the Asheville area, I almost hate to offer suggestions -- so I won’t go into too many specifics. I always find the Asheville Trails website to be very helpful in discovering and planning hikes. Absolutely, spend some time driving and exploring the trails from the Blue Ridge Parkway! I love the craggy rocks and tunnels of crooked rhododendron that are synonymous with the trail experience in this region. I have yet to visit Asheville when the rhododendrons are in bloom -- around June, typically. Having that experience is at the top of my list!

If you love waterfalls, there are many to explore, often on very accessible trails that don’t require a lot of time or stepping. DuPont State Forest is one of those places where you can take a short hike to multiple falls. Catawba Falls in Old Fort, NC is a popular 100-foot waterfall with an easy trail that passes many smaller falls along the way.

If you are looking for great mountain views and gains in elevation, hikes to one of the many mountain balds (either rocky or otherwise treeless spaces) will provide just that. In 2020, I hiked to Looking Glass Rock, a hiker couple with a Baby Björn on my tail, bragging about their Taco Bell lunch. They definitely kept me on my toes, not willing to let them catch me. Black Balsam Knob is another iconic bald that has been on my list but has never worked out to hike for one reason or another.

Max Patch is a special place that I learned about from a last minute local tip back in 2018, and altered plans to race to the mountaintops just in time to catch sunset. The drive was up and up through winding mountain roads, a bit harrowing in my little old Scion xA adventuremobile, but the sunset was one I’ll never forget, and plan to return to. Max Patch is a famed location along the Appalachian Trail, offering miles and miles of hiking opportunities.

Mt. Mitchell, the highest peak east of the Mississippi, offers great views accessible either by road or trail if you’re up for a full day of hiking, or a longer backpacking adventure. Great Smoky Mountains National Park is a short drive from Asheville with amazing hiking opportunities along Newfound Gap Road. My Dad and I shared barbecue after a rainy day of National Park hiking in October 2018, at the “cheekily” named Butt’s On The Creek in Maggie Valley, NC. How could you pass up a name like that?!

If you’re staying very local or are short on time, but still want to take in some nature, check out the North Carolina Arboretum, with botanical gardens and walking trails right in Asheville.

My next hikes in Asheville will definitely include a Mt. Mitchell summit hike, and Browning Knob along the Blue Ridge Parkway, where you can hike to an old plane crash site from the 1980s!

LOCAL HAPPENINGS

Live music is always on tap in Asheville. Check out the Mountain Xpress free paper (or website) for a list of daily live performance locations. The Asheville drum circle is another iconic Asheville musical tradition that I have yet to experience. To catch it, head to Pritchard Park, right in the middle of town on Friday evening. Larger concerts and events can be found at The Orange Peel, right near Wicked Weed in town.

As you might have caught on, Asheville is a very artful town. There are murals and street art aplenty along with galleries for browsing -- even the breweries take their art pretty seriously. One famous landmark to add to your list is the Stay Weird silo in the River Arts District -- right across the French Broad River from New Belgium!

Specialty shops in Asheville are pretty fantastic, and you can easily pass time exploring the city at the Grove Arcade, an indoor mall with intricate design and unique shops and restaurants. The Asheville Bee Charmer is one of my favorite stops with a wide selection of specialty honey and other bee products, including a honey tasting bar! French Broad Chocolate is a sinful stop in town for bonbons, caramels and one of a kind chocolate bars like Chai Masala, 100% Dark, and Scorpion Pepper.

FOR THE FOODIES

There are plenty of good eats in Asheville, so I encourage you to discover your own favorites. I’ve never taken the time to plan a meal at many of the “top” restaurants in town, usually because the brewery scene takes precedent. These are a few of the restaurants I’ll return to again and again.

Brunch at Over Easy Café is a great start to a day of adventure. Fair warning, you probably won’t be able to resist their signature mimosa with pink ice cubes, just like I can never resist the huevos rancheros. Yum! Be prepared for a wait at this popular spot, but don’t let it scare you away! There is plenty of shopping on the surrounding streets, so it’s the perfect opportunity to stop into, say...The Asheville Bee Charmer!

Simple, in West Asheville, is a cute spot for breakfast/brunch and has a juice bar, too! I discovered this place as a local recommendation from our kundalini yoga instructor when the popular Sunny Point Café was too busy. The barista created custom immune boosting shots for us, and there was no wait.

If you’re in need of a pick me up, Double D’s Coffee is housed in a red double decker bus right in the middle of town. Their selection of coffee drinks was nothing spectacular, but it was nice to sip coffee and visit with a friend from the unique upstairs seating section on the bus!

Tupelo Honey is a small chain restaurant specializing in southern cuisine (with a location coming to Pittsburgh, soon!) that I have visited on most trips to Asheville. They’re usually busy and the food never disappoints. I love the biscuits and honey that they serve with dinner and their ability to combine sweet and savory flavors, i.e. pork and peaches, creates mind blowing goodness.

Chai Pani is a cool spot for quick and tasty Indian Cuisine right across from the Grove Arcade. This is the place where we learned about Max Patch, so maybe that’s part of the reason this place is warm and fuzzy in my mind. Could also be those tasty Indian spices.

Sovereign Remedies late night (or anytime) bites! This place I highly recommend (see Breweries section), you won’t be disappointed. Pizza at Asheville Brewery...if you don’t listen to me, you’ll definitely walk past it like fifty times. It will lure you in, especially during your South Slope brewery crawl.

I always hear good things about Biscuit Head, a chain featuring - you guessed it, biscuits! So I’ll make it a point to check it out on a future visit. White Labs Kitchen & Tap is another unique spot that an AirBnb host recommended to me. They offer pizzas and more, focusing on fermentation, as part of White Labs, a producer of yeast cultures and offering an extensive “yeast bank” for the craft beverage industry.

SPEND A FEW HOURS DOING...

If you’re headed to Asheville, you’ll surely start to see and hear a lot about the Biltmore Estate. If you have an interest in big old mansions and gardens, have been a fan of Downton Abbey, or enjoy self guided tours wearing old school headphones...do it! I really enjoyed it when we visited on a family trip back in 2013. It was beautiful, fascinating to see the size of the house, the ornate rooms, and the upstairs/downstairs division of living quarters. The downside is the price. If you’re visiting the Biltmore, expect to pay $65-100 per ticket with various options.

I’m not sure if others love hot tubs quite as much as I do, but less than an hour from Asheville is the small town of Hot Springs, NC. Famous for the natural hot springs where you can take a private soak in fresh mineral water at Hot Springs Resort and Spa. If you go there in the evening, I don’t recommend doing it how we did in 2018, racing from Asheville to Max Patch and on to our soak in Hot Springs. It’s a cute small town, but no options for food later in the evening. We weren’t returning to Asheville after our soak, so our dinner from a tipi in the woods was a feast of trail mix! I definitely recommend bringing a bottle (or two!) or some cans from local breweries, to enjoy al fresco from the warm waters.

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Whatever you do, in town or in the region, Asheville is a place where anything seems possible. Opportunities abound. If you see something that looks fun, something that you’ve never tried before...this is the place! Asheville is definitely somewhere you can let loose, and let your freak flag fly, if only a little.

“When you get to Asheville...send me an email,” if you haven’t heard it, give this song by Steve Martin and Edie Brickell a listen, and maybe it will be the first song on your Asheville Road Trip playlist. Have you visited Asheville? If so, share some of your favorite spots or special finds in the comments section below! Until next time, Live Wildly and Stay Weird.