You can’t experience Asheville without appreciating the incredible mountains that surround it. Whether you prefer to view the Blue Ridge Mountains as a dreamy backdrop as you sip cocktails from a rooftop bar, or can’t wait to get your hiking boots on and breathe the crisp mountain air, their beauty is undeniable and such a big part of the attraction to Asheville as a city.
When I spent 2 months soaking up all that Asheville has to offer, I got to try out many hikes.
In this article I am excited to share with you several fun hiking excursions I took – lots of pictures included – and why I recommend them for you too!
All of these hiking adventures are very manageable to drive to, hike in and out, and drive back within a day or sometimes even half a day. They don’t require special gear or intense hiking experience either.
5 Hiking Day Adventures to Try When Visiting Asheville, NC
There are so many hikes you can do within an hours drive from Asheville. And believe me – an hour goes fast when you’re on the Blue Ridge Parkway. It is practically an attraction in itself!
The best part is that we never had to pay to go to any of the trails or parks listed below! All these hikes are 100% free.
Hike Combo #1 – 360 Views, Meadows, and The Highest Point in the Eastern USA
This is a great day’s adventure if you want to see a lot in a short period of time. This would also be the perfect day to make during Rhododendron blooming season!
Start your day off at Craggy Pinnacle – coming from Asheville the large parking lot will be on your left. I recommend doing this hike first since it is quite popular and can get crowded fast. If you go first thing in the morning you should probably have most of the hike to yourself.
Make the short hike to the top of Craggy Pinnacle and you’ll have fantastic 360 views. This pinnacle has some bench seating made for relaxing and taking in the views.
Not only are the views great, but I really enjoyed the short hike to reach it. It’s beautiful with all the wavy Rhododendron branches arching over you.
When you return to your car, it’s time to actually backtrack on the Parkway and park in the Craggy Gardens parking lot by the tiny Visitors Center. Craggy Gardens can be a longer or shorter hike, depending on how far you go in. If you plan on incorporating Mount Mitchell in your day as well, I would recommend only going to the meadow area and strolling around that before heading back.
Craggy Gardens doesn’t have quite as much of a panoramic view, just glimpses of the mountains here and there, but it is a fun hike and the meadow is quite unique and peaceful.
Finally, if you’re feeling up for it, you can head to Mount Mitchell State Park and tick off reaching the highest point east of the Mississippi!
This park is beautiful and really has a different feel to the environment than anywhere else on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Enjoy the views of the spruce-fir forests that make you feel more like you’re in Canada than North Carolina.
Tip: Make sure to follow the signs to tune into the radio station as you drive into the park! You learn cool facts and it sets an old-timey ambiance!
The perfect way to experience Mount Mitchell after a full morning of hiking is by taking the short and steep paved path up to the summit from a series of spacious parking lots. From there you get panoramic views that are just gorgeous. Some of the best views I experienced during our entire time in Asheville.
Mount Mitchell is a State Park, but for those (like me) who are from out of state, note that it is completely free. So there’s nothing holding you back from this once in a lifetime experience!
On your way back, a cherry on top of an already jam-packed day would be to stop at the Glassmine Falls viewpoint on the Blue Ridge Parkway. This was one of my favorite pull-offs, because you could take a short walking path to a nice overlook where I could sit all day and stare at that magical waterfall in the distance.
Hike Combo #2 – Gorgeous Sunrise Views and an Easy, Fun Hike Afterwards
My boyfriend did a lot of research and found that Mills River Valley Overlook is the closest place to Asheville to get a great sunrise view. It’s about a 40 minute drive from downtown Asheville, so you’ll have to wake up quite early to catch it and all the lovely colors that come before the actual sunrise.
When we went on a weekday, there were 2 other couples there, but everyone was really quiet and respectful.
You could definitely kill at least an hour watching the sunrise here. Afterward, make your way over to the easy hike you’ll do for the day…
Graveyard Fields! It’s a reasonably short hike, so make sure to enjoy pull-offs you want to see.
My favorite overlook on this route of the Blue Ridge Parkway is View Looking Glass Rock.
It’s a larger-than-most pulloff area with large spanning views including, of course, Looking Glass Rock. It’s so cool!
If you catch this view right after sunrise you see the mist settle near the base of the mountains. Pretty magical.
Graveyard Fields has a spacious parking lot, and if you get there early in the morning, you’ll have the whole place to yourself. When we came on a weekday, we were the only ones there.
The nice thing about Graveyard Fields is that you can make it as long or short as you’d like. We took it easy and just saw one of the waterfalls right off the trail, and enjoyed the easy, breezy, beautiful hike afterwards. Other than taking the stairs to see the waterfall, there wasn’t much elevation gain. But the scenery was beautiful.
We went in the late summer, and we could tell the foliage looked more orange than anywhere we’d seen near Asheville. Early fall foliage for the win!
Hike Combo #3 – A Day Full of Waterfalls
If you want a day full of waterfalls you should go to DuPont State Recreational Forest. There are so many waterfalls within the park – and bonus – it’s where they filmed the Hunger Games and Last of the Mohicans!! I got a kick out of rewatching those movies afterwards and being like – oh yeah! I was totally there!!
Unlike the other hikes I’ve mentioned, this park is not off the Blue Ridge Parkway. But it is still quite close to Asheville, being just a 50 minute-or-so drive away.
Researching Dupont State Forest, I was admittedly a little confused and intimidated. However, worry not, it was pretty straightforward and the hiking was tiring at times, but nothing that can’t be done. Most of the hikes were on wide gravel paths that were heavily trafficked. Just be careful, as mountain bikers use these paths as well.
There are several ways you could experience Dupont State Forest, but here’s what we did:
First, we parked at DuPont State Recreational Forest Visitor Center. When we went on a Tuesday, it was quite easy to park, however I hear it gets difficult on the weekends, so make sure to arrive before 10AM if you want to find parking here.
Next we hiked to High Falls. This was a beautiful waterfall. The sheer volume of water flowing through these falls was enormous!
It’s a short hike here from the parking lot, and we saw plenty of kids and dogs here. One guy was laying down with his dog reading a book and sunbathing in the mist of the falls!! Smart guy – it looked heavenly!
You can view the High Falls from a viewpoint on the trail, however I recommend maneuvering down to the base to enjoy it fully and really get a feel for the scale!
Continue on the trail along the Little River. Then eventually you’ll hit Triple Falls. I was a little confused at first as to how to see all 3 of these majestic falls at once, but I realized that you have to go to a small lookout below a shelter in order to see the 3 falls in all their glory.
We did, however, have fun climbing down to each one. It was just tiring!! But getting close to these natural monuments is half the fun, right?!
Feel free to join the many who have reenacted the iconic scene with Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark.
From here, we decided to hike back to our car at the visitor’s center, and drive over to the Hooker Falls parking lot. From here, it was an easy hike to Hooker Falls.
Hooker Falls was lovely. Quieter and smaller than the other falls, but every bit as picturesque. It’s the type of falls you’d expect to see on a desktop wallpaper. Pick a boulder and rest for awhile before heading back to Asheville! Your legs will thank you!
Hike Combo #4 – My FAVORITE Sunset Hike (Easy!)
One of my FAVORITE memories was catching the sunset at Black Balsam Knob.
Similarly to Graveyard Fields (which is close by), the drive up here in the summer will be a lot more “autumnal” in foliage color than other areas. It’s so gorgeous!
I’m not gonna lie it was pretty hard to find, especially when time is of the essence and you’re running late to the sunset because you hit horrible rush hour traffic out of Asheville!! (Take this as a warning!) I don’t even know if they have a parking lot, just parallel parking?
However, the good news is that it’s a super quick hike up to the bald and the views are just stunning. The hike is short enough that you can pack a picnic and eat it up there while the sun sets. It will be a picnic you will never forget!
Make sure to bring flashlights to hike back down in the dark.
Personally, my favorite part of this night hike was that the sky gets dark…REALLY dark…once you’re done taking in the last bits of the sunset.
You know what that means – amazing stars.
If you’re like me and can never pass up a good stargazing opportunity, you’ll love pulling over to quiet and empty overlooks on your drive back and taking in the magic of the night sky in pitch darkness and pure quietude.
If you’re only interested in the sunset part of the hike, it isn’t too long of a journey at all. It is 1.4 miles round trip on a clearly marked trail that is heavily trafficked, so you shouldn’t get lost. You reach the balds sooner than you expect, and you then have plenty of space to either sit down or keep walking to find a more secluded spot for yourself.
Note: This hike is also very close to Graveyard Fields, mentioned earlier in this article. So you could also combine these 2 hikes!
So, what do you think? Will you be trying any of these hiking adventures soon? If so, let me know what you think! Thanks as always for reading 🙂
Want more tips for planning a visit to Asheville? Check out these articles:
Asheville Weekend Itinerary for Every Type of Person
Should We All Move to Asheville, NC?!
How to Get Your Money’s Worth at the Biltmore Estate
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