Archive for the ‘asheville water sports’ Category
Off the Blue Ridge Parkway, behind the Arboretum, is a great locally known forest called Bent Creek. Locals love to walk the trails, jump in the creeks or gathered pools of water, and walk their dogs with comfort. We love it there. It’s a little known secret to visitors of the area I am pleased to share with you in hushed tones. There are miles and miles of walking trails, also dirt bike trails. Just about any outdoor sport can be exercised there. It’s originally created as an experimental forest, the first one in the southeast actually, so it’s quite reverred and protected.
It’s only just minutes from the Asheville pet friendly cabin you will be staying in. From the cabin take 240 to I-26 going towards Spartanburg. Get off at the first exit and turn left on Brevard road. Follow the signs to the Arboretum. When you get to the front, go left onto the parkway and follow it til you are exactly behind the Arboretum. You’ll see lots of cars parked there.
My neighbor takes her horses out to ride at Dupont State Forest. Another hikes there on a regular basis. There are so many activities one can do there, including mountain biking. There are miles of multiuse trails, waterfalls and lakes straddling Henderson and Transylvania counties. DuPont’s trails are used by hikers, bikers, horseback riders, fishermen. The scenery is spectacular and if you ever wanted to feel you were in the frontier, this is it. You can go for miles and not see another person, still have that all alone in nature appeal.
From your Asheville Pet Friendly Rental Cabin it’s about 30 minutes away. Take your pups with you and hike til you all drop. Prepare your picnic at the cabin and take off for the day. You can set it up anywhere. Just be sure to walk out with your garbage. Take poop bags with you too. You’d want to keep it pristine.
Asheville’s French Broad River front has been going through a revitalization for years now. So many wonderful things are along the river. The folks in charge of keeping this revitalization up and happening is RiverLink. Each year they put on a Festival in the French Broad River Park. It’s a great park with a doggie park attached to it. Lots of festivals, barbeques, impromptu music jams happen in this park all year. Each year in August around the middle of the month, this festival happens to benefit RiverLink. This year it’s Saturday August 14th.
Take a vacation and stay in an Asheville pet friendly cabin to take in all these great festivals going on this weekend. For the French Broad RiverFest pack a picnic and sit along the river bank and watch the canoes, rafts, duckies go by.
My favorite event at the Belle Chere Street Festival every year is, of course, the Purina Ultimate AirDogs event. The performance features dock-diving canines of all shapes, sizes, and breeds. They compete against each other in “Ultimate Air” the sport of diving into a pool. The shows are free but worth lots.
Leave your Asheville pet friendly cabin early to get a good standing or sitting spot because it’s not only my favorite event, lots of folks seem to love it as well. Seeing those pups eager to jump in and the happiness on their faces is just too much. I just love love love this. And on a hot day, I feel cool just being next to the water it seems.
So you find you are sweltering at home. You think you would love to jump in some cold water right now. Let me invite you to come on a pet friendly vacation, staying in an Asheville pet friendly cabin, and visit any one of our wonderful waterfalls with Fido and jump in! He needs to cool off too.
DuPont State Forest has Hooker Falls. Just sit there and let that cold water drench you and you will cool off fast. You may never want to leave it. There’s nothing cooler than a mountain stream or swimming hole. There’s also Sliding Rock in Pisgah National Forest, or Rainbow Falls, and Gorges State Falls
I thought this sounds so wonderful I wanted to spread the word. Can you imagine floating down the French Broad River for 8 miles in the evening when all the birds and river critters start to come out? Imagine the quietness of floating with the sound of paddles pushing the water as you float. Oh look, there’s a Beaver, over there, look over there, there’s a Blue Heron. Bliss, that’s what you’d have, just pure bliss. If you get hungry, you can bring a little snack to eat as you float along and watch the sun go down. Ahhhhh.
This is the creation of the Headwaters Outfitters who will also rent you a canoe to use. You don’t need any experience so that’s a plus for all us couch potatoes. Trips start at 4PM May 28, June 4, 11, 18 and 25 and Sept 3, 10, 24. It costs only $50 a person so when you plan your Asheville NC mountain vacation, it’s not so bad when you stay at a rental cabin that will also supply you with dining coupons. This could make a truly memorable experience.
The French Broad River is a wide, strong flowing, yet not so deep river that flows right down the center of Asheville, North Carolina. So many new things are happening along that river. The River Arts District is developing more and more each year. A goup of folks interested in bringing more river life to Asheville have been cleaning it up and beautifying it. There are parks and walkways and it’s a great walk to take, watching that ol’ lazy moving river slide along the banks.
The Classique is a yearly two day stage race, traveling 18 miles on the river. It’s only $20 per person and if you don’t have your own boat or can’t get it here on your Asheville vacation, you can rent a boat from the AOC. Race categories will include racing canoes and kayaks as well as recreational boats. There is a Barbecue on the evening of the first day and a 7 mile fun race on the second day. If you missed it this year, you’d best start thinking about next year and rent an Asheville cabin to complete your adventurous vacation.