A Week of Life in the Asheville Area

Some friends we met a couple of years ago are in the Asheville area, so we have been planning a trip here to reconnect for the start of this travel season. With the destruction the area faced after Hurricane (Tropical Storm by this area) Helene devastated the area last fall, we’ve been watching closely and researching the area, making sure that we could safely make a trip and not be a drain on their limited resources. We decided this was a good week to spend in Asheville, both for time of year, and in our travel season.

They have made huge progress in most of the tourist areas we visited in Asheville and Black Mountain (a town we love so much more than the fast-paced Asheville/Biltmore area), with lots of construction and refurbishment going on. The hiking trails and natural areas still show scars, and some areas are still not reopened. Some of the roads of the Blue Ridge Parkway still have not reopened, and some towns are completely washed away.

The stores we visited are open, but some are still limited on what is available. Our grocery run meant two different stores since the Wal-Mart had household good and dry goods, but was still awaiting their coolers for fresh, frozen and meat items. Apparently they had devastating flooding that reached 12-13 feet high inside the store. Needless to say, they’ve had a complete makeover in the store.

WHERE WE STAYED

We stayed at the Bear Creek Campground in Asheville for the week. This campground is located where 3 interstates converge, so there is some interstate noise, but it was pretty quiet overnight. We were treated to beautiful sunsets and a large, level campsite with shade trees, and room to enjoy the outdoors in the beautiful weather. There are back in and pull through sites, with full hookups, as well as laundry facility and bathhouse in a few locations around the property. They do also have a pool, but it was still cool when we visited it. There are several trash and recycling bins around the property, so easy to find, and we were greeted by a curious raccoon inside the bin on many trips to drop a bag off.

While there weren’t a lot of paths for walking/running around the campsite, but there are sidewalks out one end of the campground we made work. There are lots of hills and a narrow road entering, but our large rig and several others we saw come and go throughout the week had no issues. The sites were $75 a night at the time we visited, but offer discounts, and have monthly rates and cabins if you are looking for a lengthier stay or don’t have an RV. You’ll see the exit when you come off the interstate, but our RV Garmin took us around the bend and right to the main entrance with no issues.

WHAT WE DID

This is a very outdoorsy area, which we found when we had a few rainy days in a row. We enjoyed a 4.4 mile hike to Catawba Falls that is listed as a moderate, but felt like more after wintering in Florida for 6 months! The River Trail was closed, so we took the Ridge Trail, which was a bit longer, but had some great vistas of the Blue Ridge Mountains. We went on Good Friday and, even though it was busy, it was still enjoyable. Check out the 5/7 full blog on Explore Catawba Falls Trail here.

We ventured over to the North Carolina Arboretum and enjoyed strolling the grounds with Luna, since it is pet friendly, except inside the buildings. We did swap out pup watching to check out a couple of the exhibits inside, but the gardens and paths, the model train, and the ponds made for a fun afternoon. It is a $20 admission per car load to visit when we were there, but they do have the NARMA reciprocity, so we were able to use our annual passes from Ford/Edison Estates to get in for free. Check out the 5/7 full blog on the North Carolina Arboretum here.

We visited the town of Black Mountain, a short drive away, and one of our favorite towns in the area from a previous visit. It has that cozy mountain town vibe, and doesn’t seem as busy as the Biltmore Villages and more populated areas of Asheville.

There are many antique stores, shops, the General Store, cafes and coffee shops, and a lovely bookstore I enjoyed getting lost in. The town square is beautifully landscaped and has giant rocking chairs that beckon you to climb up and pose for a picture. We explored, enjoyed and found a geocache or two in the area, as well. Check out their Black Mountain Visitors page for a video tour and more information.

We spent a rainy afternoon revisiting our childhood at the Asheville Retrocade. We brought Luther and his friends with us and they enjoyed it, too. They had two floors of pinball, arcade and other games to play and the $10 cover charge allowed us to play as many as we wanted.

It’s family friendly until late evening, then open til 2 for just adults. They have a bar with snacks, quick bites and both alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. They had an outside door and another door marked as a speakeasy, open on weekends. Parking was the biggest challenge, with street parking or a pay by the hour parking lot across the street. If you are in the area, we highly recommend checking it out!

While in the area, we also got some volunteer hours in at the ACCBM warehouse, helping organize supplies from Hurricane Helene donations. There are still people in need this long after the storm, so there are several places to volunteer, if you, too are looking. You can reach out to the ACCBM to find out about where and when to help.

We spoke to someone on the phone, but the best way is to go to their website and complete the volunteer inquiry form, they were quick to reply, same day or next day! Hearts with Hands also has volunteer opportunities that you can sign up for online, or organize a group event for another day by reaching out to them directly–the phone number and email is at the bottom of the sign up page, they were quick to reply, as well.

As for access to stores, we had no issues finding supplies while here with a Wal-Mart, Ingle’s grocery store, Petco and many others. There are several fueling stations around, and some in the Open Roads membership. If shopping is your thing, there is a nearby Tanger Outlets, so if shopping is on your list, you have plenty of options!

Even though this area is still recovering from the devastation in 2024, don’t shy away from a trip here if it’s on your list. Just call ahead, check maps and the DOT website for closures, and be flexible. Visiting really does help the area as they recover, and the people are some of the kindest we’ve met in our travels.

If you are in the area and want to volunteer, you can reach out to these organizations and see how you can help. If a visit isn’t in reach for you this year, but you want to support the area, we talked to some local folks we met and they gave us several suggestions for trustworthy charities, helping rebuild the area. Here’s a list for you:

ABCCM (Asheville Buncombe Community Christian Ministry) (this is who we volunteered with for food delivery boxes, but they have many facilities and ways to help)

Hearts with Hands (we spoke to them, but weren’t able to align schedules–you can sign up for hours on their website for available dates, or coordinate another day for a team-building, group or family event)

Samaritan’s Purse (we’ve done Christmas shoe boxes with them, but they are also in areas all over the country to help, as well)

Valley Strong Disaster Relief (our camp host told us about this one that was organized by a local to keep it local)

Budgetwise, this area was average for costs, especially for being such a tourist area. Camping cost us $540 for 8 nights with our Good Sam discount. We spent $200 on groceries, dining out and supplies. Fueling was $80 to fill our diesel tank when we got to town, and we still had have a tank when we left a week later. The hiking trail was free, and the Arboretum was part of our annual passes, so we only paid $50 for the arcade for 5 of us. With the exception of the camping costs, this was on par with our typical spending for a week, so no complaints there! We could have stayed 45 minutes away in a campground in our membership, but our goal was to be close to our son’s friends for the week, so it was worth it to be close to them.