Asheville sits in the heart of the Blue Ridge mountains with plenty to do. This isn’t an exhaustive list by any means, but these are all things we’ve done with the whole family over the years – with new borns and big kids alike. Fun for the whole family, if you will.

First on the list, a trip to Asheville wouldn’t be complete without visiting the Biltmore Estate. This is America’s largest privately owned residence, coming in at just over 178,000 square feet set on 8,000 acres. I’ll never forget seeing this place in the movie Richie Rich and thinking how unbelievable it looked – like it wasn’t real, that it had to be a movie prop. The reality is that house itself is even more gargantuan in person than I thought it would be. When you go, here are the things to make sure and hit while there:

• Do the full audio tour. If you have kids above 5 or 6, they have one for them too that incorporates lots of kid friendly facts. Ours loved the stories from the family dog, Cedric the St. Bernard. (Yes – he is talking from his point of view.) So much so that we came home with two of them from the gift shop. Well played Biltmore, well played.

• Have a meal at the Stable Cafe. We’ve eaten there three or four times and everything we’ve had has been delicious. We even did a Christmas Eve dinner that was an incredible candlelight 3-course experience!
• Explore the grounds on foot, this includes the winery and Antler Hill Village. There are endless places for picture taking, so don’t be worried that if you miss one, that it’ll be the last chance you get. Right around the corner you’re guaranteed to see another picturesque landscape.

After spending all day walking around, you’re bound to have worked up quite an appetite…even if you stopped for a bite at the Stable Cafe like I recommended above. No worries, Asheville (and the surrounding area) has plenty of good places to eat. Here are a few of our favorites:

• First – HOLE Donuts. Place your pre-order online and prepare to have your world rocked upon pickup and first bite. I think their inside seating has opened back up in the past couple months. If that is the case, go inside and enjoy watching them prepare your doughnuts from scratch. They are from yeasted dough and fried in rice-bran oil, so they’re crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. They also forage for some of their own specialty ingredients, like using the honeysuckle plants right outside their door for a glaze. These are the best donuts you will ever have. If you don’t agree, you are wrong. And remember to get a picture with their little bus outside.

• Tupelo Honey Cafe. They are a modern take on southern, scratch made food. They have a couple locations to choose from and are usually pretty busy so grab a reservation ahead of time.
• We also frequent Barley’s Taproom and Pizzeria, Stoneridge Tavern, and Apollo Flame Bistro. The latter two are also very close to Asheville Cottages, a big win for those “didn’t think about dinner plans in time to go somewhere” kind of days.
• Papa’s and Beer Mexican restaurant, because what’s a solid day of hiking without great cali-style mexican to wash it down!? 
• Farm Burger in downtown Asheville. Grass-fed burgers – what more can you ask for?
• An annual tradition of ours has become a trip to Rocky’s Grill and Soda Shop in Brevard, just a few minutes outside of AVL. It’s a 1940’s drugstore style restaurant that serves up sandwiches, milkshakes, malts and other old school fare. Sadly, in putting this together, I learned that they closed on August 5th. My heart is broken, this is our kids favorite place to eat every time we’re in town.

• Finally – our newest and most favorite discovery is Pack’s Tavern, in Downtown Asheville. I had a dish of homemade mac and cheese topped with sliced BBQ brisket…oh my word, it was to die for.

Depending on the season you come to visit, you might enjoy heading over to nearby Hendersonville for some apple picking. There are bunch of farms that you can choose from; we’ve had the best success with Stepps Hillcrest Orchard.

If you live in a land with long, flat, straight roads like we do in Florida, then it’s a must to take some longer drives on the nearby Blue Ridge Parkway. To this day, my eyes open in awe more and more at every turn as the views fight to top the previous ones. There are countless places to pull off the side of the road and grab amazing panoramic pictures. Some of the hiking spots down below are also accessed by the Parkway. And in a nod to my mom, be sure to honk your horn as you drive through all the tunnels. 

Saving the best for last – hiking for waterfalls. There are a ton to choose from, but I will say this – you can bring your kids to all of them, no matter their age. This is a great list to get you started, but if you fancy some more just let me know – we’ve been to a ton more. Each year, we return to our staples down below and also add a few new ones.

• First – start with DuPont Forest. Park at the Hooker Falls parking lot and check out three amazing falls right in a row: Hooker Falls, Triple Falls, and High Falls. 

• If you fancy a longer hike, Bridal Veil falls is WELL worth the trek, but its a solid hour hike to get there. There are some lakes (Lake Julia) and nice picnic spots along this trail. You can access this one past High Falls or if you just want to do this one, park at the High Falls parking lot and follow the signage from there.

• Next – because I mentioned some are accessed via the Blue Ridge Parkway, check out Graveyard Fields (recommend just doing the lower falls trail) and then Skinny Dip Falls. 

• Pisgah Forest has some great options, but it’ll be the most crowded all things being equal. Skip Looking Glass Falls and go for Moore Cove (Jesse’s all-time favorite), Daniel Ridge, and Cove Creek. 

• Best resource in terms of directions to each of the falls: https://www.romanticasheville.com/waterfalls.htm

I’m going to put together more in-depth articles on a few more places, to include:

• Brevard
• Hendersonville
• More in-depth waterfall hiking, what to bring, best times to go, etc.

Hopefully this will get you started!

(And if you missed part 1 of this series, click here.)