Asheville, North Carolina has become a popular travel destination. With beautiful mountains, ample hiking, and the most breweries per capita in the US, it’s a great spot for a fun weekend with friends. Here is my guide to the best weekend in Asheville.
Where to stay for a weekend in Asheville?
Both times I’ve been to Asheville I’ve stayed in affordable Airbnb’s in West Asheville. From here, you’ll have to drive about 10 minutes to downtown Asheville. West Asheville is its own neighborhood with several restaurants and bars within walking distance. Most of the spots are off of Haywood Road. If you’re looking to be within walking distance to everything downtown I recommend The Windsor Boutique Hotel for a splurge, Aloft Downtown, or any of the other nearby hotels.
What to Eat/ Drink
West Asheville
Like I said, West Asheville is full of great places to eat and drink. Most things off of Haywood Road are worth trying. Some of my favorites:
Breakfast:
- Early Girl Eatery
- Sunny Point Cafe
- Biscuit Head
Bars/Breweries:
- One World Brewing
- The Whale :: A Craft Beer Collective
- Haywood Common
- Archetype Brewery
Downtown Asheville
Food:
- White Duck Taco Shop
- Red Ginger Dimsum and Tapas
- Wicked Weed Brewing
- Wicked Weed Funkatorium
Coffee:
- Double D’s Coffee and Desserts
Dessert:
- The Chocolate Fetish
Bars/Breweries:
- Wicked Weed Brewery
- Wicked Weed Funkatorium
- Burial Brewery
- Green Man Brewing
- Hi-Wire Brewery
- Catawba Brewery
- Asheville Brewing
- Twin Leaf Brewing
- Antidote – Whiskey Bar next to Wicked Weed Funkatorium
- New Belgium Brewery – make reservations ahead of time
Not Downtown but worth venturing to:
- Sierra Nevada Brewery
- Oskar Blues Brewing
What to do during a weekend in Asheville?
Live Music:
- The Orange Peel
Hiking:
Fryingpan Mountain Lookout Tower
- 1.5 miles total
- 347 feet elevation
- Easy gravel walk to an old fire lookout tower that is technically “closed” to the public but visitors can crawl under the closed sign and walk up the stairs for incredible panoramic views of the rolling hills
Craggy Pinnacle Trail
- 1 mile total
- very crowded and touristy but beautiful views at the top
- easy
- 242 feet elevation
Looking Glass Rock Trail
- Located in Pisgah National Forest
- 5.8 miles total
- 1,722 feet elevation
- moderate
- panoramic views of the hills
- Nearby- Looking Glass Falls- Touristy and crowded. Stairs from the road lead you right to the base of the water fall making it accessible to all
Mount Mitchell
- The highest point in North Carolina
- 11 miles total
- 3710 feet of elevation
- Hard
- If you don’t feel like hiking all day, you can drive up to Mount Mitchell’s peak and I recommend you go for sunset! You’ll get the most beautiful view of sunset from above the clouds. From the parking lot you only have to walk maybe half of a mile on a paved path to the viewpoint.
Scenic Driving:
Blue Ridge Parkway
- I recommend driving the parkway during the day to Craggy Pinnacle Trail and then to Mount Mitchell for sunset
National Forest Road in Pisgah National Forest
- From Frying Pan Tower, Take Blue Ridge Parkway South, left on 276, and then left onto National Forest Road. We took National Forest Road to N Mills River Road and out of the forest towards 26. Scenic driving for about an hour. No service. (We then went to Oskar Blues Brewery)
Tips for your weekend in Asheville
Some of this stuff is a bit spread out… Pisgah National Forest Road, Frying Pan Gap Lookout, Oskar Blues Brewery, and Looking Glass Rock are southwest of Asheville. Craggy Pinnacle, Blue Ridge Parkway, and Mount Mitchell are northeast of Asheville.
I recommend hitting Frying Pan Lookout Tower, Pisgah National Forest Road, and Oskar Blues Brewery together. You can also stop at Burning Blush Brewery if you’d like to hit another stop in this direction.
I recommend doing Craggy Pinnacle on the day you drive the Blue Ridge Parkway and finish the day with sunset at Mount Mitchell which is also off of the parkway – about 15 minutes drive past Craggy Pinnacle.
We hiked Looking Glass Rock on our way out of town on the last day and then went to Hawg Wild Bar-B-Que for lunch afterward and it was delicious. There’s a fun spot across the street called The Hub and Pisgah Tavern– which is both a bicycle shop and bar- super cool.
Another popular thing to do in Asheville is visit the Biltmore. We looked into renting bicycles and riding around the property one day but admission alone is $76 per person, so we skipped it. Another time!
Enjoy!
-Alanna