Archive for the ‘Blue Ridge Parkway’ 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.
It is said when all you have is lemons, make lemonade, these folks live what it means. When it’s really snowy and cold and you can’t do anything else in the mountains, as soon as the ice forms on the rock walls in various places in our mountains, ice climbers come out from the woodwork. It’s a little scary to me, but if you are an adventurous soul, this is perfect for you. I personally have had enough of the cold, ice, snow of this season, but like I said, they make lemonade. After traipsing around all day climbing ice walls, there’s nothing like cozying up to the fireplace in your rented Asheville pet friendly cabin. Here are some of the places not too far from your cabin that you may want to try:
1) The wall on NC215, just off the Blue Ridge Parkway south of Devils Courthouse. If the parkway is closed, take US64 to Rosman to NC215.
2) Graveyard Fields. There is a wall on the parkway near Milepost 418, across from the Graveyard Fields trailhead parking lot. (Climbers are allowed only when the parkway is closed to vehicles).
3) Winding Stair Gap on US 64 near Franklin.
4) Doughton Pasrk, near Milepost 245 on the Blue Ridge Parkway.
5) Along US64 near Franklin.
Linville Caverns is located in Marion NC, just a short distance from Asheville NC. Definitely an easy and worthwhile day trip from your Asheville rental cabin. You get to see inside a mountain. Lots of hanging things and big caverns and a lake and Linville Falls is just right there. A really fun excursion.
From Asheville, NC : Take Interstate 40 East to exit 72 (Old Fort), staying straight off exit ramp on US 70 East for 10-12 miles. Turn left at intersection with US 221 (Wal-Mart & McDonald’s on left) travelling north for 18 miles. Cave entrance on left. Approx. Travel Time: 75 mins.
Have you ever been to a storytelling performance. I went once and got addicted right away. We have some of the best storytellers from anywhere right here in Asheville. Maybe it’s the Cherokee tradition that continues to dominate. The Cherokees are great storytellers. Everything in their history is a story. Once the teller starts to weave his story, you become mezmerized.
This Sunday everyone has a story to tell and the world will be listening. Asheville will join towns and cities around the globe participating in Tellabration, an event celebrating the art of storytelling. Our local festivities will happen Sunday the 22nd at the Folk Art Center on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Leave your Asheville rental cabin in time to get there by 3 PM. I’d leave a little early to get a good seat. Tickets are $5 at the door.
The colors of fall are just-a-beginning. If you’ve been lucky enough to book a room at an Asheville cabin, you are in for a treat. This is the time of the year the trees speak loudly to all who are present. And Asheville has been declared the no.1 place to peep at them announced by TripAdvisor.com on Expedia.com. We are thrilled. We’ve always known they were spectacular. Folks who know to visit this time of year know the leaf peeping is spectacular. Now the world knows.
What is great about leaf peeping in the mountains is that the season lasts a long time. The reason for that is the higher elevations start to change colors first, of course, and then as the fall moves forward, the elevations lower as the leaves change. It’s as if you are watching a giant wave sweep over the entire mountains of North Carolina. Standing in the center while all that is going on is just tooooo cool.
Here’s news on another great hiking trail for you to take that’s not far from your Asheville pet friendly vacation cabin. Sam Knob Trail is in the Pisgah National Forest near Waynesville. Waynesville is only a 25 minute drive from the cabin.
The trail is 2.5 miles in length roundtrip. It’s of moderate difficulty at 6040 feet with an elevation gain of 620 feet. Start at Milepost 420 about one mile south of Graveyard Fields. Turn right onto Forest Service Road 816. Drive 1.2 miles to the parking area where you will see signboards and pit toilet restrooms. The trailhead for Sam Knob is to the right of the restrooms.
Blue Ridge Parkway rangers will lead a Summer Wildflower walk Friday July 30, 2010 at 10 AM on Frying Pan Mountain. You are able to take this walk at any other time as well on your own. Everyone is to meet at Milepost 409.6, at Forest Service Road 450, about 25 miles southwest of Asheville. A short little drive from your Asheville vacation cabin.
It’s about 2 miles round trip, moderate, one hour, heading to the summit at 5,450 feet elevation at an old fire tower. oh boy, the view is going to be incredible from the top of that tower. Remember, they had to see forever in one of those things. The walk is suitable for those that are not advanced walkers, but bring with you water, wear sturdy shoes, and prepare for a change in weather.
When the Blue Ridge Parkway opened 75 years ago, tens of thousands of motorists experienced the breathtaking vistas along the 469 mile road. I remember my Mother telling me not long after my husband and I moved to this area that she and my father went to the Smokies for their honeymoon, as did many many folks from all over the country. We have these wonderful old pictures of her on the Parkway on their honeymoon.
Today, an estimated 17 million people each year visit the parkway, which connects Shenandoah National Park near Waynesboro, Virginia with Great Smoky Mountains National Park near Cherokee.
On your Asheville Mountain Vacation, another Blue Ridge Parkway trail that you will probably enjoy to the fullest is to start at the Greybeard Overlook at Milepost 363, 364, just north of Craggy Gardens and hike north to the Glassmine Falls Overlook at Milepost 361.
If you are looking for a hike with a bit of history, check out the Buck Spring Lodge Trail, which can be accessed from the parking lot of the Pisgah Inn at Milepost 408, south of Asheville.
There are so many beautiful trails to hike, on an Asheville mountain vacation. Try to make one of them your goal while you stay here in the Blue Ridge mountains. Venture out of your car as you drive the Blue Ridge Parkway and take a hike. The Obamas did and this is where they went.
The first couple took an hourlong stroll along the Mountains to Sea Trail just north of Asheville at the Ox Creek Road trailhead, heading south and turning around after about a mile. The trail the Obamas hiked is a pretty trail, but when you come, try using that as a jump off point. You can also start at Milepost 359 about 23 miles northeast of Asheville for a lovely hike. Go from Balsam Gap and head toward Mount Mitchell over Blackstock Knob. It has 360 degree views from Promontory Ridge. It looks all the way back from Craggy, across the Asheville watershed. It is one of the most awesome views.