Walk across one of the most beautiful highway bridges that you'll ever find! The Lake Lure Flowering Bridge opened in October 2013, transforming a former highway bridge into a gorgeous garden. Volunteers plant and maintain the impressive array of…
Help protect our mountains for you and future generations. Leave No Trace is a national program which promotes the protection of our nation's wildlands through education, research, and partnerships. It builds awareness, appreciation, and respect…
Experience a variety of North Carolina mountain live music and dance traditions, including bluegrass, old-time, blues, and clogging in and near Asheville. Thanks to the Blue Ridge Music Trails of NC project, you can easily find events and places…
Experience an old-fashioned Fourth of July celebration and street festival in Bryson City with a 5K, crafts, food, contests, live music, and the best fireworks show in the Smokies.
(2.5 miles, moderate) Hike to three waterfalls in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park on this loop trail at Deep Creek, near Bryson City.
This is definitely not your typical tour bus experience. LaZoom is Asheville's only rolling comedy tour bus with a side-splitting guided tour to Asheville's favorite neighborhoods and landmarks that spell quirky fun for both first-time visitors…
Explore our mountains with hikes, waterfalls, rivers, lakes and many thousands of acres of national forest and park land. Get outside in the Blue Ridge and Great Smoky Mountains with our 70 favorite things to do.
Explore a big variety of very interesting museums and historic places in Asheville and the surrounding mountain small towns, filled with the fascinating history and culture of the Appalachian Mountains. Many are free to visit.
Take a guided tour for sightseeing, art, wildlife, history, food, beer, waterfalls, wellness and more in Asheville and western North Carolina. See our list of favorites.
See our list of the best festivals and summer events in Asheville and the surrounding towns and mountains during June-August.
See our favorite events, festivals and art shows during the holiday season in Asheville and western North Carolina mountains, including many small towns and Biltmore Estate.
This 1243-ft. concrete segmental bridge on the Blue Ridge Parkway snakes around the slopes of Grandfather Mountain in North Carolina. It was completed in 1987 at a cost of $10 million and was the last section of the Blue Ridge Parkway to be…
Located on the second floor of the historic courthouse in Bryson City, see photos, exhibits and video about the early settlers in the Great Smoky Mountains, including a restored log cabin porch. Free admission.
Relax and get away from it all while experiencing breathtaking views on the Tuckasegee River. From your spacious riverside room, watch as rafters make their way down the river. Amenities include a full hot breakfast, high-speed WiFi, heated…
Deep inside Humpback Mountain lies the Linville Caverns—North Carolina's only caverns open for tours. These natural limestone caverns feature stalactite and stalagmite formations and an underground stream. Guided tours (30-40 minutes long) leave…
Musicians and dancers from across Western North Carolina gather on these Saturday nights to share the region's stirring Southern Appalachian mountain culture and traditions—with each other and visitors from around the world—at the Shindig on the…