Summer Travel
3 nights / 4 days
Highlights: Asheville Urban Trail; step-on guide service; Mast General Store, Grove Arcade; Weaverville Milling Company; Red Rocker Inn; Fiddlin Pig; Biltmore; Historic Biltmore Village; All Soul’s Cathedral; Blue Ridge Parkway; Folk Art Center; Mount Mitchell State Park; Craggy Gardens Visitor Center; gem mining; Linn cove Viaduct; Grandfather Mountain; Great Smoky Mountains Railroad; Raft and Rail; Rapid Transit; Shindig on the Green; Western North Carolina Farmer’s Market
Day 1
Enjoy the cool of the morning with a guided walking tour of the Asheville Urban Trail, a 1.7 mile trail that meanders throughout downtown Asheville. Called a history and art museum without walls, your group can elect to tour all or just a portion of the trail. Each of the approximately 30 sculptures has a story to tell about Asheville’s colorful history. While on the walking tour, you will be up close and personal with North Carolina’s most architecturally diverse city. Asheville is a fascinating blend of Queen Anne, Romanesque, and Revival and, of course, Art Deco. In fact, Asheville boasts of more Art Deco architecture than any other southeastern city outside of Miami Beach.
If the group would rather, consider a windshield tour of downtown Asheville and surrounding area using a local step-on guide. Tours can range in length from one hour to all day and can be customized to meet the interests of the group.
One stop we suggest you incorporate into any downtown itinerary is a visit to Mast General Store, an old-timey mercantile boasting everything from wildflower honey to stone ground meal and grits to nostalgic toys and old-fashioned candy. If you will make a group reservation at least two weeks ahead of the visit, Mast General Store staff will greet your group, share the history of the store and provide each group member a coupon to use during their visit. The staff will even treat the escort and driver to an RC Cola and a Moon Pie while the tour group is enjoying their visit.
To meet everyone’s desire for a little independence, we suggest factoring in an hour or so of dedicated time shopping into the itinerary. And, we have just the place for it! Search for regional treasures in the lavishly ornamented Gothic structure called Grove Arcade. Dominating an entire city block, the public market was completed in 1929, and reopened in 2002 with over 60 owner-operated shops and restaurants, making it the perfect spot for lunch on your own in one of the many outdoor cafés. Coach parking is available nearby.
For evening dining, try someplace a little different. How about Weaverville Milling Company located in nearby Weaverville. This landmark was a working grain mill form 1912 to 1965. Today the "Mill" has a reputation for fine food in a unique historic atmosphere. Or, consider Red Rocker Inn in nearby Black Mountain. A working bed & breakfast, the Inn is known for its outstanding menu as well as its selection of ten desserts served nightly. Hankering for some regional barbeque accompanied by some great bluegrass entertainment? Then check out the Fiddlin’ Pig where the barbeque is always tasty and the music is the finest this side of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Day 2
Spend the morning touring George Vanderbilt’s world famous Biltmore House, known as America’s largest private residence with 250-rooms and four acres of interior floor space. Filled with immense collections of art and furnishings of its original owner, the beauty of this grand home extends out-of-doors to its awe-inspiring gardens and managed woodland designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, America’s father of landscape architecture. In 2001, National Geographic Traveler selected Biltmore Estate as one of the “…50 American places you should see before you hang up your traveling shoes….”
To help your clients get the most from their visit to the house, we strongly suggest including the audio tour ($) as part of their self-guided experience. Compliment your visit with a bountiful meal at one of the many fine restaurants located on the estate. Then continue your experience with a stop at the Winery to taste a selection of Biltmore’s award-winning vintages and River Bend Farm, both included as part of your estate admission. Special events throughout the year include Festival of Flowers, Summer Concert Evenings, Christmas at Biltmore and Candlelight Christmas.
Upon exiting the estate, we suggest a stop at Historic Biltmore Village, one of the area’s most unique shopping districts. Built in the late 1890’s as a classic planned community, today the Village features more than 40 shops, restaurants and galleries, many housed in the original historic homes and buildings. As an extra bonus, consider a docent tour of The Cathedral of All Souls, the central focus of the village back in 1896. The Church and parish Hall were designed by the same architect of the Biltmore House, Richard Morris Hunt. Advance reservations are required for the tour.
Day 3
When the mercury registers hot, head to the area we refer to as the “High Country!” Begin your adventure on the Blue Ridge Parkway, known as America’s favorite drive, with a stop at Allanstand Craft Shop at the Folk Art Center (Milepost 382). In addition to showcasing fine regional crafts from the mountains of nine Southern states, guests can peruse at their leisure three fine craft galleries, each with changing exhibitions. Craft demonstrations are hosted daily in season.
Upon leaving the Folk Art Center, travel North towards Mount Mitchell Sate Park (Milepost 355.4) and Craggy Gardens Visitor Center (Milepost 364.4), stopping at one of the numerous overlooks to enjoy expansive views and to snap a picture or two. Depending on your group’s interest you might divert off the Parkway to include a try at gem mining in Mitchell County (Milepost 331) before continuing to Grandfather Mountain, your final destination. Just before arriving at Grandfather Mountain, the coach will cross over the iconic Linn Cove Viaduct (Milepost 304.6). This Viaduct was the most complicated concrete bridge every built, snaking around Linn Cove in a sweeping “S” curve. Interesting is the fact that while ground for the Parkway was broken on September 11, 1935, this section of the Parkway was not completed until 1983 at a cost of almost $10 million.
Upon arrival at Grandfather Mountain, highest peak in the Blue Ridge, enjoy spectacular views of awe-inspiring proportion. In addition, guests have the change to cross the Mile High Swinging Bridge, view native creatures in their natural habitats or take a walk on one of the many trails available. Lunch or dinner is available in the museum restaurant before heading back to Asheville. And, oh yes, bring a light wrap or sweater. The elevation at the highest peak makes for cool weather even in the heat of summer!
Day 4
Feel the breeze in your hair as you ride over miles of track, through scenic tunnels and across bridges dazzled by the beauty of the surrounding mountains on the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad. Blend two of the most popular activities in the Smokies by combining a train ride with a Raft and Rail or Rapid Transit rafting component. Perfect for first-timers or seasoned paddlers, boomers or active seniors, travel 22 miles by rail along the foothills of the Great Smokies and up the Nantahala River Gorge. At the top-of-the-line join the professional teams of Wildwater Ltd. Rafting or Nantahala Outdoor Center for a two-hour whitewater trip down the eight miles of the Nantahala River, a trip your clients will be talking about for years. A picnic lunch and transportation back to the depot are all included. (Seasonal).
Stop at the Western North Carolina Farmers Market for some farm fresh produce, sourwood honey, jams, jellies and mountain crafts to bring home from your trip to Western North Carolina.
For your evening pleasure, enjoy some traditional picking and grinning---mountain music, that is! The Appalachian Mountains are known for its music and there is no better place to experience it than at the free outdoor celebration known as Shindig on the Green. Held most Saturday evenings between the Fourth of July and Labor Day at Martin Luther King Jr. Park in downtown Asheville, this event celebrates authentic regional music and dance. Just show up along about sundown (7pm) with a blanket to sit on and you will be treated to a spectacular evening of great entertainment. There is no better way to spend a Saturday night in the summer than by attending a Shindig.
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