3 Perfect Days in Asheville, NC

We just came back from another amazing long weekend in Asheville, NC! For years, we have made the journey there at least once a year, if not 2-3 times…. It never gets old! We are still reviewing the photos and reveling in the relaxing magic of that beautiful mountain town.

Asheville is the perfect combination of small town, small city, beer city, and outdoor sports mecca! It combines all of these things so effortlessly, allowing you to feel like a part of the community almost immediately, all while eating award-winning food, sipping delicious beer, and heading on outdoor adventures every day!

Read on for the perfect three-day itinerary!

Day 1: Gourmet Chips, Highland Brewery, Lexington Glassworks, Chai Pani, Shindig on the Green & Wicked Weed!

Plan on getting into town around lunchtime. Even if you can’t check into your hotel yet, there is plenty for you to see and do on foot! Start your trek at The Gourmet Chip Company. We love the Buffalo and/or the Cajun Chips! Take them to go and make your way to The S&W Market, on Patton Ave. The S&W is Asheville’s newest food hall and is home to Highland Brewery’s Downtown Taproom. When you enter, there is a bar on the left and another one upstairs. Grab a beer, open a tab, and check out the menus of the various food stalls. Our favorite is Bun Intended, but each vendor has amazing eats! Once you chow down, head upstairs, grab one more beer, and find a relaxing seat to plan out your day! We will give you some great recommendations, but there is some flexibility in today’s “around town” day!

With some delicious food and beer in your belly, it’s time to head to Lexington Glassworks and see the masters at work! Lexington Glassworks is a Studio and Gallery — you can watch professionals making beautiful blown-glass creations, peruse already completed works, and buy something to support the studio. We love taking time out of our day to stop in and watch these artists display their talents and see all of the new items in the gallery. You will not believe the delicacy and intricateness of some of the pieces.

Biltmore Avenue is home to a number of cute little shops — art, outdoors, and otherwise — for you to relax and stroll. If you want to try the most delicious chocolate, we recommend French Broad Chocolate Lounge for some amazing, delicate, fresh made chocolate (you will not find anything better!). You may even be able to take a tour of their facility, if available! Alternatively, you can head to the Battery Park Book Exchange & Champagne Bar for a bottle of wine and a charcuterie board. The Book Exchange is a used book store, complete with seating areas throughout, and you can enjoy your snack nestled in a far off corner of the building, surrounded by thousands of books. The Book Exchange also hosts live music outside on the weekends. Be sure to check their schedule online.

This might be a good time to check into your hotel and freshen up! You still have a whole evening ahead of you 🙂

Head to Chai Pani for your first dinner in Asheville! Be sure to join the wait list on Yelp’s app ahead of time and opt for an outside table, if available. Constantly rated among the top restaurants in Asheville, we have never had a disappointing dish here! Our favorites, however, are the Aloo Tiki Chaat, Butter Chicken Thali, and the Mixed Vegetable Uttapam.

After dinner, head across downtown along College Street to Pack Square Park for Shindig on the Green! Having just completed its 55th season, this Shindig happens every Saturday evening in the summer “along about sundown” (7 p.m.) and concludes around 10 p.m. This is one of our absolute favorite things to do when we are in Asheville! This tradition includes bluegrass and string bands, dancers, cloggers, storytellers, and more. This show is the essence of the mountains of Western North Carolina and is not to be missed! Bring a chair or blanket and a cooler with drinks. There are concessions available also.

If you’d like a nightcap before heading back to your hotel, consider Wicked Weed Brewing. They have an eclectic mix of beers, including a long list of IPAs and sours. Grab a beer and relax around their large outdoor firepit in the courtyard. They also have a Funkatorium a few blocks away, which is almost exclusively sours, and not to be missed if that’s more to your liking.

Day 2: Biscuit Head, Zen Tubing, New Belgium & Curate!

Start your day with breakfast from Biscuit Head! Of course, be sure to get *something* that is in or on or includes one of their house-made delicious biscuits! For dine in, we recommend the biscuit and gravy “flight.” When you’re in beer city, you have to try all of the flights, even the non-alcohol, right?!?! (Spoiler, the gravy flight is amazing!!!) If you’re not an early riser, you can order delivery straight to your hotel from their website! This is what we usually opt for so we can start our morning a little more relaxed.

Pack a bag with sunscreen, hats, and sun shirts… Pack a cooler with beer, water, and snacks… and head to Zen Tubing! You can rent tubes from them, making this an easy and fun outdoor activity! (They even have a “cooler tube” if your cooler is on the larger side!) We recommend the South Asheville Location — it is a bit more nature-filled and even has rocks in the river where you can pull-off to have a snack, drink, impromptu yoga session, or just a bit of stationary “sun therapy!” The float lasts about 2.5 hours (without stops and dependent on water level).

Once back at their base, rinse off and change for the next part of your day! It’s off to New Belgium Brewing for some lunch and libations! New Belgium hosts a rotating lineup of food trucks, all of which we have found to be delicious! The taproom opens at noon on Thursday through Monday, and is closed Tuesday and Wednesday. Please accordingly. Our favorite way to experience New Belgium is a flight at a time. With almost 30 beers on tap, we have found that a series of 5 oz. pours to be the best way to find our favorite beer on each trip to the Brewery!

A great pit stop on your way back to Asheville is Second Gear. This outdoor gear store offers used items on consignment as well as new gear to prepare for your next adventure! We have loved Second Gear since they opened their doors, many moons ago! Have bought kayaks, a bike trainer, several pairs of Chacos, paddles for our tubing adventures, and sundry other items from this gem of a shop!

Time to head back to your hotel, take a nap, clean up, put on your “fancy clothes,” and head to Curate! (Their website does state no dress code, but we prefer to dress up for this fancy meal – it makes the night a bit more fun and special!) Arguably one of the best dining experiences in Asheville, Curate serves up magnificent tapas style plates as well as amazing wines! The atmosphere in the restaurant is comfortable and the servers are attentive, making this a perfect “date night” splurge! Standouts on the menu include the pimientos de piquillo rellenos (goat cheese stuffed peppers), gambas al ajillo (sauteed shrimp in sherry), and trucha al horno (charcoal grilled trout). Reservations are required, so be sure to make them well in advance. If you don’t have reservations, you can still try to get there early and snag a last minute table or bar space.

Day 3: Sunny Point Café, Dupont State Forest & Sierra Nevada Brewing

Rise and Shine, you’re heading to Dupont State Recreational Forest today! You can “do” Dupont a few different ways — hiking, biking, or a combo of hiking and swimming!!! We love to spend the day at Dupont, relaxing at the base of High Falls, swimming in the deep plunge pools, eating brie and chips, drinking beer, and enjoying the great outdoors! If you choose this way, be sure to pack a cooler (don’t forget water also!), water shoes, sunglasses, sunscreen, and maybe a hammock and small towel (we use microfiber pack towels; check out our Gear Post for more info on must-have gear!)

Start with breakfast on your way out of town at Sunny Point Café — be prepared for a wait, but the food is worth it! This cute diner is consistently rated among the top breakfast spots in Asheville!!!! My favorite menu item, hands down, at Sunny Point, is the Huevos Rancheros! This flavor explosion will fill you up for a day of hiking and swimming! Pair with a mimosa if you’re so inclined!

Next, you’ll be off to Dupont. Don’t forget to stop at Ingles if you need to top off your cooler. It seems like there is an Ingles Grocery Store every 5 miles around Asheville! Pop it into your GPS and go to the nearest one to grab some lunch-y snacks! Dupont State Forest is about an hour from Asheville. Your ride will take you through small towns and gently rolling mountain valleys. We like to stop at the Visitor Center to check out the relief map of the area, use the restrooms, and make any final changes to our plans for the day. You could hike from here to several waterfalls, but this location is on the top of the mountain… which means you will be hiking UP the mountain to get back to your car at the end of the day!

From here, we drive to the Hooker Falls Access Area / Triple Falls Parking. If you’ve never been here before, take the quick jaunt out the Hooker Falls Road to Hooker Falls, a wide, full waterfall with a large, deep swimming pool at the bottom. Due to its proximity to the parking area, this swimming hole fills up quickly on a nice day. Head back along the path you came and make a right onto Triple Falls Trail. This trail follows the Little River. Be sure to take a closer look at Triple Falls by following the path from the Triple Falls Shelter down to the river and walking along the rocky bottom up along the falls.

When you’re ready to move further upriver, take the path back to Triple Falls Shelter (there is a port-a-potty here seasonally for hiker use), make a left back onto Triple Falls Trail and another left onto High Falls Trail. You’ll basically continue following the river as you make a bit of elevation gain. Make one more left onto River Bend Trail, which will take you to the base of High Falls. If you’re feeling adventurous, look for a place to cross the river as your approach the falls. We love to spend the afternoon on the rocky outcropping on the far side of the river. There is a deep pool at the base of the falls, which is great for swimming! Do not attempt this if the river is high, as the water can become dangerous.

After enjoying this beautiful afternoon surrounded by nature, swimming in the brisk mountain water, and sunning on the warm rocks, it’s time to head back to your vehicle! Return via the same path that brought you here. We like to carry a gallon or two of water in our vehicle to rinse off at the end of an adventure like this! Change out of your swimsuit and set your GPS for Sierra Nevada Brewing Company.

Sierra Nevada purchased land behind the Asheville Airport and built a beautiful facility. In addition to their sprawling building, which houses the restaurant, brewing facility, and gift shop, the grounds also include rocking chairs, benches, an amphitheater, a hiking path, and a garden. There are solar car chargers and bike maintenance stations. Reservations are currently required for dining at a table (via Open Table), but you can also choose to sit at the bar or grab a snack from their smaller outside kitchen, aptly named The Back Porch.

In the past, there have been auxiliary bars overlooking the kitchens, where guests can sit and watch the hustle and bustle of food prep and see all of the delicious dishes coming out of the kitchen! Those are closed right now (sad face!). On this trip, we chose to sit at the bar, which was open seating, and have a drink and an appetizer. Sierra Nevada is another place with so many beers to try that it’s best to start with a flight (or two!) Once you find “your” beer, you can get a pint of that! Standouts on the food menu include the Pretzel & Beer Cheese, any of the Woodfire Pizzas and Denver Steak. The Duck Fat Fries have a lot going on, they are different, but definitely worth trying!!!

Once you’ve had your fill of food and drinks, be sure to spend some time sipping a beer on the expansive back porch. This is a beautiful space at Sierra Nevada and not to be missed! If the self-guided tours are back open, spend a bit of time following their informational displays and learning a bit more about this brewery! Before you leave, grab a crowler (can/growler) to enjoy back at your hotel.

We hope you enjoyed this action packed three days in Asheville and Western North Carolina! There is so much more to see and do, that you’ll have plenty of reasons to come back again and again!!!

Please head over to our Facebook page, like it, and follow along on our adventures, which will help you to plan your adventures!!!!