We had not yet explored the western portion of North Carolina and there were a couple of reasons we wanted to: 1. If you haven’t noticed by now, we like to check out breweries (partially because we get to try a variety of beers and partially because they help us get a glimpse of how locals hang out in whatever area we are in). Asheville is known as a brewery mecca, so we were told by many that we should check this place out! 2. My sister and brother-in-law lived in Charlotte for a bit, so they recommended some things Adam and I might like to do there. So, these are the things that inspired our drive down to western North Carolina and we are sure glad we did!
Curtis Creek Campground
We travel frequently so we do our best to find inexpensive lodging, which most of the time ends up being camping. We spent $10 to reserve a campsite ahead of time at Curtis Creek Campground, so we knew when we rolled in at midnight on Friday after work we would for sure have a spot. Curtis Creek Campground had just what we needed: a nice campsite where we could hear the creek flowing all night, vault toilets, and relatively quick access to the hikes we wanted to do the next morning.
Curtis Creek Campground
Crabtree Falls Trail Loop
We knew we wanted to fit in a lot on this summer Saturday, so we rose with the sun to get going on hiking the Pisgah National Forest. From Curtis Creek Campground, we drove about 40 minutes north to get to Crabtree Falls Trail Loop. It’s a 2.6-mile loop with 577 ft of elevation. We were early enough that we got to have the falls to ourselves which was pretty cool!
Crabtree Falls Loop Trail
We had Crabtree Falls to ourselves!
Even Adam looks small to this waterfall!
Crabtree Falls Loop Trail
We had Crabtree Falls to ourselves!
Even Adam looks small to this waterfall!
Mount Mitchell Summit Trail
Mount Mitchell Summit Trail
We then drove south on Blue Ridge Parkway until we found Mount Mitchell State Park where you can drive up as far as possible and then walk the very short (paved and about the length of three football fields) path to the summit of Mount Mitchell which is the highest point east of the Mississippi. We didn’t have time for this, but we would have preferred to do the entire Mount Mitchell Trail which is 13.7 miles with 3,772 feet of elevation gain. Unfortunately, we got to the summit when it was completely cloud covered, but they had several signs to show us pictures of what we were missing out on.
The beginning of the Mount Mitchell hike.
Well, we made it to the highest point east of the Mississppi, but we couldn’t see a thing…
The beginning of the Mount Mitchell hike.
Well, we made it to the highest point east of the Mississppi, but we couldn’t see a thing…
Craggy Pinnacle Trail
We were also planning to quickly hike Craggy Pinnacle Trail, a 0.8 mile out and back with 223 ft elevation. When we got to the parking lot though, it was so foggy we could barely see where the trail started, so we decided it probably wouldn’t be worth it. Instead, we continued our drive down Blue Ridge Parkway into Asheville. Pay attention the entire time on this drive because you just might see some wildlife! We were driving through neighborhoods on the outskirts of the forest and suddenly there was a black bear on the side of the road. We probably got within 10 feet of the bear which was as close as I wanted to get (even from the safety of our car).
Keep your eyes peeled on Blue Ridge Pkwy because you just might find some wildlife!
Keep your eyes peeled on Blue Ridge Pkwy because you just might find some wildlife!
Buxton Hall BBQ
Our morning hiking of the Pisgah National Forest helped us to work up an appetite, so we headed right to Buxton Hall BBQ in Asheville. The food was quite tasty, and they gave us pretty hefty portions. We enjoyed their white BBQ sauce and signature Brandy slushie. We then headed to French Bread Chocolates Cookies & Creamery for some locally sourced treats.
Buxton Hall BBQ
Tasty BBQ to help offset all of those beers!
French Bread Chocolate Factory & Cafe
Buxton Hall BBQ
Tasty BBQ to help offset all of those beers!
French Bread Chocolate Factory & Cafe
The Brewery Mecca
The main reason we were in Asheville though was for the breweries! There are over 30 breweries in this college town nestled on the east side of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Find a spot to park anywhere you can downtown and you will be able to walk to more breweries than you can handle. Below is a list of the ones we were able to get to this Saturday afternoon in July.
Asheville Brewing
We actually didn’t plan to go to Asheville Brewing, but we found a parking spot right by here and stumbled across it. We figured it would only make sense to go to Asheville Brewing while in Asheville and we are glad we did. We had some of our favorite beers of the day here including Buck Up Coconut Brown Ale Nitro, Ninja, Ginger the Llama Ginger Beer, and Scout Stout. We didn’t eat here, but it looked like they had good pizza.
Asheville Brewing
Adam’s new favorite flight since the 5th glass is filled with pretzels!
Asheville Brewing
Adam’s new favorite flight since the 5th glass is filled with pretzels!
Twin Leaf Brewery
Our next stop was Twin Leaf Brewery which had a nice wooden filled tap room with a picnic table filled patio out back. They partner with the nearby Urban Orchard Cider Company, so we tried some ciders here as well. We enjoyed the Luminosity.
Twin Leaf Brewing
They have a nice garden out back!
Twin Leaf Brewing
They have a nice garden out back!
Burial Beer Co.
Burial Beer Co. was next, and we were most impressed with their back patio including an outdoor stage. We tried their pilsner The Endless Suffer, which wasn’t anything to talk about, but it looked like their darker beers were worth going for.
Burial Beer Co.
I thought the shovel taps at Burial were clever until I found out all plugs look like this…
Burial Beer Co.
I thought the shovel taps at Burial were clever until I found out all plugs look like this…
Green Man Brewery
Green Man Brewery had two very different experiences for you to choose from right next to each other. You can check out their original location, Dirty Jack’s, which is a laid-back garage style environment. Or you can head to their much newer and quite impressive state-of-the-art modern brewery. You can see some of their equipment in here and there’s more space than Dirty Jack’s. Both are cool to see, so we’d recommend getting a drink at each (though they have the same menu at both places). FYI: no flights here. We had their ESB which was solid.
Dirty Jack’s – the old Green Man.
A glimpse of the new Green Man Brewing!
Dirty Jack’s – the old Green Man.
A glimpse of the new Green Man Brewing!
Wicked Weed
One of the most popular breweries in Asheville is Wicked Weed. We went to their original location and stood in the courtyard as it was packed everywhere else. We didn’t go in, but we walked by their other location the Funkatorium, and we thought that vibe looked a little more unique than the original Wicked Weed. We split the Lunatic Blonde.
Wicked Weed Brewing
Thirsty Monk
The last brewery we checked out was the Thirsty Monk. They have a Bavarian-themed basement and their bartenders are dressed up as monks. This spot is located more in the heart of downtown. We tried the Nocino Stout and CocoNorm and both were good choices.
Thirsty Monk has some bartenders dressed as monks.
Their dark beers were the best.
Thirsty Monk has some bartenders dressed as monks.
Their dark beers were the best.
Biltmore
Our last stop in Asheville was Biltmore, an expensive but “worth it” destination. Biltmore is the largest privately-owned estate in America. Vanderbilt had this extravagant home built in 1895 and his descendants have now opened this 8,000-acre estate to the public. It’s about $85 for an adult ticket after taxes and fees, but this does include a lot. You get to wander through the spectacular home via a self-guided tour including one of the coolest dining halls you’ll ever see, a multi-level library, bedrooms, a bowling alley, and an indoor pool located in the basement! You can meander through the extravagant gardens and the impressive conservatory off to the left-hand side of the estate when facing it. You can walk the trail system around property, too. Also included in the expensive ticket is a free tasting at the Biltmore Winery, the most visited winery in America. The winery is found in Antler Hill Village, a community where the staff for the estate used to live. This area has since been filled with shops, museums and restaurants with a ski village type vibe. In conclusion, it’s a pretty penny to visit Biltmore, but we think it’s worth it, as you can spend a good portion of a day exploring these extravagant grounds with views of the mountains.
The impressive Biltmore Estate!
Pretty cool entrance, right!
Who wants to eat dinner here?!
Great views of the Smokies!
It’s hard to tell in this picture, but this library has two levels!
Even the staircases are cool!
Bowling alley in the basement…no big deal 🙂
Oh, and a swimming pool in the basement!
Old school gym!
Lots of trails to meander on this property.
Spectacular gardens!
And an even more impressive conservatory!
Including a model of the mansion!
Antler Hill Village
Biltmore Winery – the most visited winery in America.
The impressive Biltmore Estate!
Pretty cool entrance, right!
Who wants to eat dinner here?!
Great views of the Smokies!
It’s hard to tell in this picture, but this library has two levels!
Even the staircases are cool!
Bowling alley in the basement…no big deal 🙂
Oh, and a swimming pool in the basement!
Old school gym!
Lots of trails to meander on this property.
Spectacular gardens!
And an even more impressive conservatory!
Including a model of the mansion!
Antler Hill Village
Biltmore Winery – the most visited winery in America.
Lake Norman
As I mentioned above, my sister used to live in North Carolina, so she connected us with a really nice couple who lives on Lake Norman and they were kind enough to take us in for the night. We were welcomed to their corner lot lakefront property with a very thoughtful gift bag and delicious southern cooking. We then went out to the dock to enjoy a beautiful pink sunset. The water was literally the temperature of bathwater, which was a bit odd, but that didn’t take away from the beauty of this lot and the North Carolina night sky. We chatted the night away while we nibbled on peach cobbler and drank some red wine from the Biltmore Winery. The next morning, we woke up to homemade buttermilk biscuits, grits, eggs, bacon, and fruit. Beth and Martin were sure not going to let us leave with empty stomachs! This was the perfect meal to give us fuel for our adventure-filled day.
Lake Norman
True southern hospitality!
Lake Norman
True southern hospitality!
U.S. National Whitewater Center
U.S. National Whitewater Center
The U.S. National Whitewater Center is a short 20 minutes west of downtown Charlotte and it is the coolest outdoor adult playground we’ve ever been to! We spent nine hours here and didn’t even get to all the activities. We started our adventure day with some dryland activities including a free fall jump from a 100 ft platform, some ziplining, and a high ropes course. We had reserved a whitewater rafting slot ahead of time online at https://store.usnwc.org/ecom/ItemList.aspx?node_id=2203252 so when our time came, we transitioned to some water activities. We did the adventure rafting which was a blast! You get to go whitewater rafting with a crew of eight or so on a man-made river through grade 2-3 rapids! All of these activities made us work up an appetite, so we stopped at the centrally-located Pumphouse Biergarten for a quick bite (and I mean quick – we ordered our food and it was ready for us almost immediately) while we enjoyed watching some people paddle through the whitewater course, including one of the U.S. National Team kayakers. We then wandered off into the forest to find the outdoor yoga pavilion. There was a free yoga class in the woods which was a first for both of us- Adam’s first time doing structured yoga and my first time doing outdoor yoga (which I am now a big fan of). There’s something about doing yoga within the trees that makes it even more meditative.
U.S. National Whitewater Center
The calming morning before the swarms of people arrived (though this facility handles loads of people well)!
All geared up for the zip lines!
And high ropes courses!
The 100 ft jump!
Pumphouse Biergarten with a view of the rafters!
Outdoor yoga!
Rock climbing where you fall into a pool!
Whitewater kayaking and rafting!
U.S. National Whitewater Center
The calming morning before the swarms of people arrived (though this facility handles loads of people well)!
All geared up for the zip lines!
And high ropes courses!
The 100 ft jump!
Pumphouse Biergarten with a view of the rafters!
Outdoor yoga!
Rock climbing where you fall into a pool!
Whitewater kayaking and rafting!
After calming ourselves down with some yoga, we were ready for the next challenge. We tried inverted rock climbing with a deep pool to fall into! The routes are all pretty challenging, so we never made it to the top of the walls, but we had plenty of opportunities to make a splash. We then checked out some of the walking/running trails and ran into a low ropes obstacle course which was a fun challenge. We were constantly doing things all day and we never even got to the kayaking, stand up paddle boarding, mountain biking trails, dry rock rolls, other ziplines and high ropes courses, and more! It’s $60 for a day pass here and $200 for an annual pass. Do it. We will definitely return if we get the chance and we would probably go for the annual pass if we lived local. What a fun place!
Charlotte
After our fun-filled day at the U.S. Whitewater Center, we headed 20 minutes east back to downtown Charlotte to check out their brewery scene. Our first stop was Wooden Robot Brewing which gets the best sticker award because they have wooden stickers! We enjoyed their Good Morning Vietnam, a coffee vanilla blonde ale.
Downtown Charlotte!
Wooden Robot Brewery
Downtown Charlotte!
Wooden Robot Brewery
We then headed to Sycamore Brewing which had a nice outdoor patio and is very IPA heavy- our favorite being Mountain Candy.
Sycamore Brewing
Clever saying on the patio.
Sycamore Brewing
Clever saying on the patio.
Our final brewery for this weekend was The Olde Mecklenburg Brewery. This was our favorite because it was German-style hall and biergarten and once we stepped on the grounds, we really felt like we were back in Munich! They have a short list of classic German-style beers, giant pretzels of course, and obviously a massive beer garden with endless tables and games! Grab their altbier- Copper- and take in the atmosphere.
Old Mecklenburg Brewery
German-style Biergarten!
Old Mecklenburg Brewery
German-style Biergarten!
We really enjoyed western North Carolina. If we had to recommend one place here, we’d recommend the brewery mecca nestled at the base of the mountains, Asheville. With great hiking, an alternative/free spirit feel, and an impressive estate, this town has it all within a short driving distance. Charlotte is a nice growing city, but nothing really stuck out to us as being unique except for the spectacular whitewater center!