Asheville & Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Greetings! After a busy year and, as always, lots of research, I have kept my promise to return stateside; however, since we had to combine a college tour (can you believe it?) with our road trip adventure, we were only able to visit Asheville and Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Shorter, yes, but we still had a great time. Hopefully, the information provided below will inspire you to visit Great Smoky Mountains National Park or any of the other 63 US National Parks. Fun Fact - - to see them all, we will need to visit 30 states and two US territories. It’s a lofty goal, but we are steadily chipping away at the list with each passing year!
ASHEVILLE
Nestled between the Blue Ridge and Great Smoky Mountains, Asheville is a vibrant, diverse and progressive city with abundant outdoor adventures and a downtown scene teeming with lots of energy and culture, including museums, galleries (be sure to visit the River Arts District), shops, restaurants, coffeehouses, farmers markets and microbreweries. In fact, there are so many microbreweries and brewpubs in the area that Asheville is known as Beer City, USA. Asheville is also steeped in history - - from Cherokee legends to literary inspiration (author Thomas Wolfe was born in Asheville) to a rich African American heritage to the Biltmore House, the largest private home in the US. All of these diverse offerings simply means there is something for everyone!
We thoroughly enjoyed our time in Asheville and if you get a chance, be sure to stop by Tupelo Honey Cafe - - considered one of the pioneers of Asheville’s farm-to-table movement, it serves fresh, scratch-made Southern fare with a twist.
Blue Ridge Parkway
Known as America’s Favorite Scenic Drive and administered by the National Parks Service, the 469-mile parkway runs along the crest of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and connects Virginia’s Shenandoah National Park to Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina, which also extends into Tennessee. A product of the New Deal’s efforts to provide jobs during the Great Depression, the parkway was carved through rugged mountains, valleys and four national forests, offering numerous scenic overlooks, hiking trails, waterfalls and picnic areas to name a few. As much as we would have loved to traverse the entire stretch of Parkway (and, one day we will), our journey began with a stop at the Blue Ridge Parkway Visitors Center in Asheville en route to Great Smoky Mountains National Park, a journey of about 40 miles that takes a few hours given the speed limit (45 miles), crooked roadway and numerous stops along the way.
The visitors center was helpful in that it provided high-tech and innovative exhibits about the features and history of the Parkway, as well as an outline of the best vistas and overlooks as we made our way to Great Smoky Mountains National Park. With a map in hand, we set out on our adventure. Honestly, it’s no wonder it tops the National Parks Service’s list of most visited sites - - with 14.9 million visitors in 2019 - - as the views, even with the fog and rain producing a smoky haze, were spectacular. I cannot wait to return to the Parkway with more time and frankly, better weather.
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Located just beyond the southernmost end of the Blue Ridge Parkway, Great Smoky Mountains National Park straddles the border between North Carolina and Tennessee. The park is unique in that unlike most of the older national parks in the western US, the land that became Great Smoky Mountains National Park required the purchase of thousands of acres of private lands (mainly from small farmers and a handful of large timber and paper companies). The park is also unique in that it doesn’t have a showstopper like the Grand Canyon, Crater Lake or Yosemite, but it does, however, have beautiful mountain vistas, waterfalls, rocky streams and arguably its most important feature - - an incredibly rich biodiversity. Encompassing more than 800 square miles, 95% of which are forested, no other area of equal size in a temperate climate can match the park’s biodviersity - - over 19,000 documented species (including flowering plants, birds and fish) and the belief by scientists that that number could grow by up to 100,000.
The “smoke” that gave the park its name is actually fog caused by the moisture and organic compounds emitted by the dense vegetation I can attest to this fog, as it clung to us from the moment we set out on our journey until we found our way back to the hotel. That said, it’s easy to see why Great Smoky Mountains is the most visited national park - - with nearly double the number of visitors as the next most visited national park, The Grand Canyon - - because it’s free (one of the only national parks that doesn’t charge an entrance fee), has the largest area of protected land east of the Rockies (including some of the tallest mountains in the East, with 16 peaks over 6,000 feet) and is within a day’s drive for nearly two-thirds of the US population.
We began our exploration with a stop at the Oconaluftee Visitor Center, where we were able to view exhibits on the park’s history and pick up a map, and continued our journey along a loop that took us to various sites, including Newfound Gap on the Tennessee-North Carolina border (elevation 5,046 feet) with a viewpoint that looks out over the Smokies; and the iconic Clingmans Dome, an observation tower that is the highest peak in the Smokies (reaching a peak height of 6,643 feet). You need to hike half a mile up a steep, paved trail to reach the summit and while every guidebook and map indicated that the the vista - - reaching from the vast Smokies into seven states beyond - - would ultimately prove worthwhile, I cannot attest to this fact as our field of view was obstructed by a smoky and thick haze. It was an inconvenience for sure, but didn't dampen (no pun intended) our good time.
Our exploration concluded, we returned to Asheville via Interstate 40, a faster, if less scenic, drive than the Blue Ridge Parkway. A great time, for sure, but we will return again soon as there is so much more to see!
Biltmore House
The largest privately owned home in the US, Biltmore House was completed in 1895 for shipping and railroad heir George Washington Vanderbilt II. The main house, a 250-room French Renaissance chateau now occupying 8,000 acres took 1,000 workers six years to complete. The original house occupied 125,000 acres, including property later sold to the US government to create Pisgah National Forest, the second national forest to open east of the Mississippi River. The Biltmore house is massive, with 35 bedrooms, 43 bathrooms, a cavernous banquette hall with a 70-foot ceiling, a two-lane bowling alley, indoor swimming pool, glass-roofed winter garden (where your tour begins) and 75 acres of elaborate gardens designed by Frederick Law Olmsted (who also designed Central Park and Prospect Park in New York City). Over the years, Biltmore estate has grown to include a village, inn, hotel, equestrian center, numerous restaurants, winery (the most visited in the US) and event and meeting venues. The house opened to the public in 1930; however, it is still owned by Vanderbilt descendants.
I selected the access to Biltmore House & Gardens tickets, which included complimentary parking, access to the village and winery and a self-guided tour of the main attraction - - three floors of the Biltmore house and basement. An interesting fact for me is that while Biltmore is the largest private home in the US, it dwarfs in comparison to the Palace of Versailles, which we visited on last year’s road trip. So crazy!
A true sign of excess, the house itself was not my cup of tea, but noteworthy if for no other reason than historical context. That said, there is so much more to the estate and it’s still worth a half-day visit if you find yourself in Asheville.
AC Hotel Asheville
I selected the AC Hotel, a premium Marriott brand, for our stay in Asheville and was not disappointed. The hotel has a prime location within walking distance of most downtown sights, stylish design and unbeatable views of Asheville from its rooftop terrace and bar.
CLOSING THOUGHTS
That’s all for this year, short and sweet! Enjoy the rest of your summer and see you next year when our exploration of national parks continues with a visit to Death Valley, Zion and Bryce Canyon national parks, as well as Lake Powell, Antelope Canyon and, of course, a few more colleges!