Visiting family in Kentucky in May and then driving back to Florida. I have some extra paid time off so I've decided to make a little bit of a road trip of it and go through Western North Carolina instead of the traffic hell that is Atlanta.

I've decided to stay 4 nights in the area. The last two nights I've already booked in Lake Lure. Here's my itinerary:

Day 1: Arrive around mid day/TBD
Day 2: TBD
Day 3: Asheville/Biltmore
Day 4: Chimney Rock

I'm really torn on where to visit/stay on Day 1 and Day 2. I've essentially narrowed it down to Marion/Black Mountain, Waynesville or Brevard.

I'm torn due to being torn on what I want to do. Part of me would like to take the Blue Ridge Parkway up to Mount Mitchell which means it would make sense staying in the Marion/Black Mountain area.

With that said, I also love the mountainous area around Waynesville. Waynesville it also typically cooler at night which, coming from Florida, is always appreciated (I won't see this type of cool weather after that unlike most likely October when I'll probably go up to North Georgia for fall foliage). Waynesville I would be close to a different part of the Blue Ridge Parkway as well as Pisgah National Forest.

I'm also considering Brevard which has the best town area of the places I'm considering. Plus I would still be close to Pisgah National Forest as well as to DuPont State Forest and a lot of great waterfalls.

To be honest I've leaned towards Waynesville and Brevard since Mt. Mitchell/Marion/Black Mountain are a little more out of the way, but there is something about going to the highest point in the Eastern US that appeals to me. I guess kind of a bucket list type item.

So for any of you who have more knowledge of the area, any recommendations based on my itinerary? I want to be doing things (hiking, seeing water falls and vistas) but also want to relax a little bit as well. Work has been crazy lately so some down time is definitely needed. I would like a nice town area but I'm more focused on being out in nature and doing the above activities vs. spending most of my time in a town area. But a nice town area would be nice to go to in the evenings.

Any thoughts would definitely be appreciate.

don't rule-out a night in eastern Tennessee….you can take 26 down and stay a night in Johnson City…spend the day at Roan Mountain and dinner/cocktails in JC….i live here and can make some recommendations….from there it's an easy, beautiful hour drive to Asheville….

Have you thought about Highlands or Cashiers? I always enjoy being there in the summer, even if I just go up for a day trip. 4,000 feet ASL can feel really nice in the summer. Tons of waterfalls to see in the region as well. And there is nightlife in Highlands.

Coastal,

I live in East Tennessee...and I've spent a lot of time in Johnson City, a really neat little town about 90 minutes away. All that said, I would underscore your current thoughts. In my very strong opinion, any time spent in Western North Carolina is better than time in East Tennessee (in my experience, the weather is better on the eastern side of the Appalachians than in the valley of East Tennessee).

If you can, book an evening dinner at the Grove Park Inn in Asheville. Just Google it. It's incredible.

Drive the Blue Ridge...you'll want to stop and spend an hour at every pull over. Check out Looking Glass Falls. Waynesville is really neat. 3000 foot elevation and just a cool little town stuck in the mountains. Never been to Brevard, but everyone I know who has visited had a great time.

Regardless of what you do, you'll have a great time. Good luck.

ToddyHill said:

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In my very strong opinion, any time spent in Western North Carolina is better than time in East Tennessee

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Fair enough!

Don't get me wrong...we love living in East Tennessee. However, living in a valley really limits the amount of sunny days. So many times we'll be in Western North Carolina and the weather is beautiful. Then we head home, get to the state line, cross over the western edge of the Smokies and enter the valley and the sun is covered by clouds.

This past winter was the pits...and the spring hasn't been much better.

We spent several days in the Sylva/Dillsboro ares last May for a wedding. Beautiful area and close to the Pisgua Natl Forest and other sites. Stayed in a Best Western in Dillsboro that was right on the Tuckaseegee River.