Asheville, NC has been on my bucket list for a while! This has been one of my favorite trips ever! Asheville has so much to offer. If you like hiking, amazing views, and great food, this trip is for you!! Keep reading to learn all of the details. Prices and links at the bottom.
**Before I continue, you MUST download the app “All Trails”. Please believe me that this app is the only way you won’t get lost in the middle of the woods! It is amazing and a must have for hiking these unmarked areas. DO NOT rely on Google Maps.**
**ALSO, masks were required EVERYWHERE. Literally everywhere. Be prepared**
Below is a makeshift map I have created to give you an idea of the areas you will be visiting on this trip. Although I call this the “Asheville Trip”, we actually weren’t in Asheville that much. Each day we visited a different area. Understanding the placement of the these areas helps to make sense of the schedule.
DAY 1
We started our trip by heading out at 5:45am. Our first stop was Downtown Waynesville, NC which is about 30 minutes before you get into Asheville. We arrived to Waynesville around 1:00pm. For lunch, we ate at Smoky Mountain Sub Shop. BEST SANDWICHES EVER. We both ordered a grilled chicken and cheese sandwich (mine on the yummiest gluten free bread) and they were amazing!
Downtown Waynesville was so cute. It is more of a retirement, laid back area. There were lots of cute shops to check out if you have the time.
After our delicious lunch, it was time to hike! YAY! Purchase Knob in Waynesville was our first hike, and I think it might have been my favorite. It looked like a scene out of the Sound of Music. It was breathtaking! However, this was the trickiest hike we did. We did get lost on the trail but found our way back thanks to YouTube! Don’t be intimidated. You can find it and it is WORTH IT! Just take my word for it.
When leaving from Smoky Mountain Sub Shop, on the All Trails App search “Purchase Knob”. Hit directions and it will open in google maps! It will be about a 30 minute (beautiful) drive! This will get you headed in the right direction and will take you to the parking area for Purchase Knob. Do not go the entire way that All Trails says because it will take you past the gate. I researched several warnings that said many people get locked in because they parked past the gate. I recommend watching this YouTube video multiple times. It will make sense once you watch it. I even had this video pulled up as we hiked. He explains it perfectly! Also, refer to my DIY map again! You will be hiking the red line 😉
MUST WATCH VIDEO https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5-cR2WFkk4
This is about a 5 mile hike (round trip). I think it took us around 2 hours to complete. This was considered an “easy” hike, but I struggled! It’s pretty steep and feels so long, but the view is worth it and you will leave feeling so accomplished.
After our hike, we headed to our Airbnb. Our Airbnb is located in Candler, NC (refer to my first map at the top). From the Purchase Knob parking lot, you will enter the Airbnb address and head there. It’s about an hour long drive from Purchase Knob. Prior to leaving for our trip, I emailed the Airbnb host to let them know we will be checking in late around 6pm rather than 3pm. Warning!! The driveway for this particular Airbnb is pretty scary! It is steep with 4 very narrow turns. We took my husband's Ford F-150. To get around the turns, you have to stop, back up and then head forward. We were scared to death the first few times. Just take it slow and be extremely cautious!! Eventually, you get used to it but it was a bit unexpected. Once you get to the top and see your view for the next few days, you will see it’s very much worth it! People have visited from all over the country and even from Scotland and the U.K.!
For supper, we ate at White Duck Taco Shop. There are several locations but we ate at the Riverside location. It was such a neat place and is a must try for Asheville! The menu consists of unique tacos (many gluten free options, just ask) and the BEST cheese dip I’ve ever had! Micah’s favorite was the spicy buffalo chicken taco and my favorite was the fish taco! We called ahead and just ate in the truck but outdoor picnic tables were available if you tell them it’s a “for here” order.
After White Duck, we headed downtown to French Broad Chocolate Lounge. We parked in a parking garage and waited in line to get some yummy desserts. There are a few gluten free options such as chocolate mousse (not my fav), creme brûlée’, and ice cream! Micah loved the chocolate cake!
After dessert, we headed back up the scary driveway and rested up for tomorrow’s adventures!
DAY 2
ZIPLINING!!
For breakfast, we just snacked on muffins and bananas that we brought with us because we were afraid how a big breakfast and zip lining would mix.
We booked the earliest option at 9:30am. We lucked out and were the only 2 people on our tour. Navitat asks that you arrive around 30 minutes before your scheduled time. Navitat is in the Barnardsville area and was about 45 minutes from our Airbnb. We woke up at 7:00am and left the Airbnb at 8:00am.
This gave us time to get gas and arrive in plenty of time to get our nerves out!
Weeks prior to our trip, I purchased two zip lining tickets from the company Navitat. We had a wonderful experience with Navitat. Navitat has a zip line course (Mountain Top Tour) and an obstacle course (Tree Top Tour). We chose the Mountain Top tour which includes 3 incredible zip lines! I was SO nervous beforehand, but I would do it again 100 times. There is nothing to worry about. We also purchased photos and rented a Go-Pro (all prices are listed below) which I highly recommend. Expect a pretty scary and bumpy van ride to your first zip line. That was the only part that made me nervous! Zip lining was such an incredible experience and I am SO glad we did it! Navitat’s zip line course is one of the best in the nation and is competing for the fastest zip line! Be prepared to fly through the air at 60mph!
Navitat website: https://navitat.com/asheville-nc/
We completed our zip line tour around 12:00pm. From Navitat, we headed to 12 Bones Smokehouse (the Asheville location). It’s about a 30 minute drive. We called in our order and ate in the truck. I think tables were available outside as well. My dad claims 12 Bones has the best ribs in the country, so Micah had to try! (He agrees they are the best!) All of their meats and sauces are gluten free. I ordered a pulled pork plate with beans and jalapeño cheese grits! YUM! This was such a neat area. Asheville is super artsy, and driving by 12 Bones was a great way to see some cool wall art.
I also had a wardrobe change because I wanted to look a little nicer for the Biltmore! BTW don’t wear a dress to Biltmore. Just don’t. Trust me. It’s VERY windy both inside and out!
After we finished our lunch, we headed to the Biltmore Estate. From 12 Bones, Biltmore is about 15 minutes.
The Biltmore Estate is America’s largest home. Built in the late 1800s, this home is hidden on about 8,000 acres of Asheville. It’s absolutely unreal. It’s so interesting to learn about and even more amazing to see it in person. I purchased our tickets a couple of weeks in advance. We chose the self-guided tour. Our scheduled ticket time was 2:45pm. However, you can arrive as early as you’d like to view the exterior and gardens. We arrived around 1:00pm and toured the gardens and got some ice cream/ lemonade. It was about 3:00pm when we finally entered the home. I think it took about 1.5-2 hours to complete the entire tour. This is a must see if you are visiting Asheville. Websites say that it takes 6-8 hours or even a couple of days to tour the entire estate. In just 4 hours, I feel that we were able to experience most of Biltmore! It’s perfect for an afternoon visit!
Remember to have the email containing your electronic tickets ready at hand. You will have to show them 2-3 times.
Biltmore website: https://www.biltmore.com/
Address: 1 Lodge St
From the Biltmore, we planned to pick up supper, head back to the Airbnb and enjoy supper with our beautiful mountain view. However, I needed some new sunglasses (because I left my Ray bans on top of Purchase Knob 😅) so we googled the Asheville Mall. It was a wonderful mall, and I found some beautiful $7 Sunglasses😆, perfume, and matching Office t-shirts for Micah and I! So it was a success! After that, we saw a Blaze Pizza across the street. Even though I try to eat local on vacations, we were so hungry. Blaze Pizza doesn’t have any Mississippi locations, so it felt new to us! We shared a gluten free pizza and it was delicious.
After pizza, we headed back to the Airbnb for a fire and s’mores!! The Airbnb host asks that if you want a fire, let them know several hours prior. I emailed our host that morning, and we had no issue having the fire. The hosts provides you with firewood, matches, lighter and even s’mores supplies if needed. We brought our own because I need my gf graham crackers! The fire pit was one of my favorite parts. Watching the sunset was so beautiful! We also hopped in the hot tub and saw a beautiful double rainbow!
DAY 3
We started Day 3 by calling in a biscuit order at Biscuit Head in Asheville (the Haywood rd address- 20 minute drive from Airbnb.) It opens at 8:00am so we arrived around 8:15am and enjoyed our yummy biscuits (mine gf) in the truck.
Then, we headed to our first hike of the day- Craggy Pinnacle.
The Craggy is a well known hike in the Barnardsville area. To my understanding, Craggy Gardens is a longer hike and Craggy Pinnacle Trail is shorter. We chose to hike the Craggy Pinnacle Trail and loved it!
Before you leave Biscuit Head, search Craggy Pinnacle Trail and open in Apple Maps. It’s a beautiful 45 minute drive along the famous Blue Ridge Parkway to get to Craggy. These directions from All Trails will take you right to the Craggy parking lot. From the parking lot, you will see the Craggy Trail sign. Take the path to your right and keeping heading up. Craggy is known for its rhododendrons (in June) and unique trees. At the top, you can expect an amazing 360 views of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
When you get to the 360 overlook, don’t forget to (carefully) hop over the stone wall and get a picture on the edge like you see above. You can finish this hike in 30 minutes to an hour.
From Craggy Pinnacle Parking lot, search “Black Balsam Knob via Art Loeb Trail” on All Trails. This drive will be about 1.5 hours. It is about halfway between Canton and Brevard. You will back track on the Blue Ridge Parkway about 30 minutes and then an hour of new Blue Ridge Parkway road. I just wanted to drive a fair amount of the parkway to feel like I have experienced it. It’s an incredible drive with lots of overlooks you must stop at!
All Trails will take you to the “parking lot” for Black Balsam. It’s more on the side of the road, and this was very crowded. This doesn’t bother me as it lets me know I’m headed in the right direction.
Black Balsam Knob reminds me of Ireland or somewhere. It’s different than the other hikes but equally as captivating. This hike is considered “easy” but it was pretty steep. It was all about 5 miles to hike. We stopped on top of the knob and ate the lunches we packed. There are several knobs to hikes, but "All Trails" will take you to THE Black Balsam Knob. Just follow the app as you hike. Feel free to venture out and explore. The view is pretty much the same from every knob. Honestly, the view hiking up was my favorite. This area was the hardest to capture on camera. It was very beautiful though!
We finished up our hike at Black Balsam Knob around 1:00pm. Once we got to the truck, we plugged in our Airbnb address and headed back. It was about an hour long drive back to our Airbnb and we arrived around 3:00pm. We were exhausted, so we relaxed our sore muscles in the hot tub and then took a long nap. Around 7:30pm, we headed to downtown Asheville for dinner.
On this night, we ate outside at Farm Burger. We called in the order on our way and picked it up at the window as we walked up. We both loved our burgers (mine gf, of course). Micah tried the fries, but they were not gluten free.
After our burgers, we walked around downtown a little and got some dessert from French Broad Chocolate Lounge again. To be honest, downtown Asheville makes me feel a bit uncomfortable. This small town girl isn’t used to city life. Be prepared for people on the street approaching you. I’m sure downtown has a lot to offer (Early Girl Eatery looks like a great breakfast spot), but I preferred to be at our beautiful Airbnb to enjoy the sunset. We ended our night by watching Friends, eating some popcorn, and heading to bed pretty quickly for our early start in the morning.
DAY 4
For our last day, I needed to squeeze in one last adventure. I woke up around 5:15am to see the sunrise. Worth it! And we headed out the door around 6:15am. It’s not necessary to start your day this early but it ended up being perfect for us. We just ate a quick breakfast in the Airbnb to save time.
The adventure for Day 4 was DuPont State Forest in Hendersonville. This beautiful Forest is mostly known for its waterfalls. There are many to see, but we chose a 3 waterfall hike. Before leaving the Airbnb (for the last time😢), search “DuPont State Forest” and choose the second option- “High Falls and Triple Falls Tour”. You will feel like you are driving in the middle of no where (you kind of are), but "AllTrails" takes you straight to the parking lot. We arrived an hour later at 7:15am.
This trail allows you to see 3 beautiful waterfalls- Hooker Falls, Triple Falls, and High Falls. I was determined to visit these waterfalls because the first Hunger Games movie was filmed here! So cool! The entire movie was actually filmed in North Carolina.
This hike is about 5 miles and took us about 3 hours. It’s basically a giant loop that leads you to 3 falls. I kept my AllTrails app open for this entire hike to make sure we stayed on track.
First, we visited Hookers Falls. This fall was pretty out of the way. It’s a super steep hill to hike down and up and it wasn’t that impressive. However, this is the only area that you can swim in on this hike! Personally, I don’t feel like this hike is worth it. But if you are wanting to swim, this is the spot!
Next was Triple Falls. I believe this is the particular fall that Hunger Games filmed at when Katniss found Peta and his wounded leg disguised and hiding. It was really neat to see and very beautiful!
The last waterfall was the biggest- High Falls. This beautiful waterfall is 70ft high. This, of course, was my favorite. It was something pretty amazing to experience.
Pictures don’t do it justice! We were brave and walked out as closely as we felt we could. There are warning signs of serious injury and death at these falls, and the rocks are EXTREMELY slippery. Please please please be extremely cautious!! The water is stronger than you realize, even in ankle deep areas! You can easily be knocked off your feet.
Keep following All Trails, and you will end at this gorgeous view of High Falls. We were back at the truck around 10:00-10:15am. To get back home from DuPont, we would have to go through Asheville. We were craving White Duck Taco Shop for our last meal of our trip. There is a White Duck in Hendersonville, but we would have been waiting about 45 minutes for it to open. We decided to just go back to the Riverside location in Asheville. We arrived around 11:15am and called in our order. At 11:30am, we were able to pick it up and ate at the outdoor picnic tables. We ordered the same tacos but tried the gf dessert! So yum and the perfect way to end our trip.
We hit the road at 12:00pm and made it home around 6:45pm.
This trip was easily my favorite I have ever been on. It was such a success, and I was so proud to have planned such a fun trip. It has given me so much confidence, and I can’t wait to plan my next trip!
Below are the costs of everything we spent:
Airbnb (3 nights)- $627.36
Biltmore Estate (self-guided)- $136.96
Navitat (Mountain Top Tour)- $211.89
*all photos- $35
*Go-Pro rental- $40
Food- approximately $250
Gas- approximately $150
The total was around $1,400.00!
My goal was to keep it under $1,500, so I was pretty excited! This trip is filled with so much to do but was incredibly affordable. If you are looking for an adventure, this trip is for you!
One last tip: I would not suggest traveling to Asheville in the winter or spring. You most certainly will not make it up the drive to this particular Airbnb and everything will be dead. I suggest June-October. July was beautiful. Everything was very green and the weather was so comfortable around 76-80 degrees everyday! I would love to visit in the fall as well when the leaves are changing colors.
If you’ve read this far, thank you for sticking around! And if you are planning a trip to Asheville, happy travels and good luck! 😊
ASHEVILLE, NC ITINERARY
DAY 1
Depart from home (5:30am)
Arrive to Waynesville, NC (1:00pm)
Lunch at Smoky Mountain Sub Shop
Hike Purchase Knob
Check into Airbnb 6:00pm
Supper at White Duck Taco Shop
Dessert at French Broad Chocolate
Lounge (9:00pm)
DAY 2
Breakfast at Airbnb 7:30am
Head to Navitat (8:00am)
Arrive at Navitat (9:00am- 12:30pm)
Lunch at 12 Bones SmokeHouse
Head to Biltmore Estate (1:00pm)
Arrive at 1:15pm -ish
Tour Gardens 1:15-2:00pm
Ice cream/ Lemonade Break
Hop in line for 2:45 ticket time
(2:30pm)
Tour Biltmore Estate (about 2 hours)
Asheville Mall & Pizza!
S’mores at the Airbnb 8:00pm
DAY 3
Breakfast at Biscuit Head 8:00am
Head to Craggy Pinnacle Trail 8:30
Hike Craggy Pinnacle (9-10ish)
Drive Blue Ridge Pkwy to Black
Balsam Knob
Hike Black Balsam Knob
(11:30-12:30ish)
Dinner at Farm Burger (7:30pm)
Walked around Downtown and got
dessert from French Broad
DAY 4
Breakfast at Airbnb
Head out at 6:15am
Arrive to DuPont State Forest at
7:15am
Hiked 3 waterfall trails(7:30-10:00)
Lunch at White Duck Taco Shop
11:30am
Head home (12:00pm)
Arrive home around (6:00-7:00pm)
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