The kids enjoyed pretending to roast s’mores at the top :)įrom there, we drove into Asheville for lunch at White Duck Taco. Also, Shep and I worked together to carry this large stick up the whole hike at his behest: It’s a moderate out-and-back with some scrambly sections that took us a little less than two hours with a five- and three-year-old (and a baby on John in the Ergo). Montreat! Such a delightful, strange little spot! It is a town of about three square miles with fewer than 500 residents, and seems to mostly be taken up by a Christian conference center and a tiny college.Īnd, as it turns out, a wonderful hike – Lookout Trail. I called up the front desk and, lo and behold, they had a table for four at 6:45 (just past sunset!) the next night!! The concierge was as surprised as me it was still available, ha! As soon as I hung up the phone the nerves about taking two little kids and a baby to a fairly fancy restaurant bubbled up, but we were thrilled to have the opportunity.Īfter walking back to our Airbnb, we hopped in the car and drove just a few minutes away from downtown into Montreat. While chatting about our plans for the weekend, we got a wild hair: what if we had dinner at the Grove Park Inn one night? We hadn’t locked in any of our dinner plans because we weren’t exactly sure what our schedule would be, and though I was doubtful they’d have any availability on such a prime weekend, we figured it was worth a shot. We split several pastries and ate them in the sun while the big kids played on the lawn and climbed trees. Our breakfast destination? Four Sisters Bakery, tucked into a neighborhood of cute old homes. Perhaps our favorite part about it, though, was that we could easily walk into town on the sidewalk along the main road, which we did for breakfast the next morning! Being able to walk to destinations on vacation is my favorite – it invites us to move at a more leisurely pace, and just makes the days feel so set apart from our normal life… so vacation-y :) The sky was perfectly blue and the leaves were beautiful on our walk!

It had three bedrooms on the main level and even more room in the basement if we had needed it (though I’m glad we didn’t – it was sliiiiightly creepy, ha!).

It wasn’t too fancy – your standard pizza and pasta joint – but it got the job done when we needed a quick crowdpleaser.Īs always, John did a fantastic job scouting our Airbnb. We headed west right after school on Thursday, arriving in time to make a drop at our Airbnb and feed Annie before driving the three minutes into town for a late dinner on the patio at My Father’s Pizza. We loved that it has its own distinct culture, but is only 15 minutes from downtown Asheville (meaning we could still hit some of our ride or dies). I’d love to tell you about it and share a few photos today!Īnd friendly PSA: if you’re considering an NC mountains trip this fall, right about now is when we like to book our stay! Things book up quite quickly for peak leaf weekends.īlack Mountain is a small mountain town just a hair closer to the Triangle than Asheville (about a 3.5-hour drive for us). As Asheville has become more and more popular over the last decade (and more crowded, and more expensive…), we have enjoyed branching out a bit to nearby mountain towns: Highlands in 2021, and last year, Black Mountain! We’ll always remember this trip as our first big adventure as a family of five (John and I to each other all weekend: we’re actually doing this!!), and for that reason and more, it was truly magical.

You can find out more about these sites here.Our weekend trip to Black Mountain, NC 7 March 2022Īn annual getaway to the mountains is a beloved tradition for our family, dating back to our first fall in North Carolina. These areas include: Big Ivy, Black Mountain, Harmon Den, Hot Springs, Linville Gorge, Wilson Creek, Scenic River Area, and Shining Rock Wilderness. RV Camping (No hookups) Campgrounds (most have bathroom, shower and water access): Black Mountain Campground, Carolina Hemlocks Recreation Area, Curtis Creek Campground, Mortimer CampgroundĬampground Camping (Tent): Black Mountain Campground, Carolina Hemlocks Recreation Area, Rocky Bluff Campground, Curtis Creek Campground, Mortimer Campground, Lake Powhatan Campground, Davidson River Recreation Area, North Mills River Campground, Sunburst Campground, Boone Fork Campground (primitive, not maintained)Ī large number of 'Dispersed' and primitive campsites are located in Pisgah National Forest. These include full service campgrounds, and primitive campgrounds. Camping is a very popular activity in Pisgah National Forest, and the park provides a number of different options.

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