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Great Smoky Mountains National Park is one of the few national parks without an entrance fee. That may be why it is also the most visited park in the national park system. The Smokies, which stretch from North Carolina to Tennessee, have hiking trails, biking trails and waterfalls. You can see wildlife and explore over 90 historic structures. It has indoor exhibits on mountain life from native Americans and early European settlements to the development of the park.
And the Mountain Farm Museum has a collection of log houses and seasonal demonstrations of farm life. It offers over 10 miles of hiking trails and a few kid friendly biking trails. Kids can enjoy an interactive Nature Discovery Room. The arboretum also has a model railroad running Saturdays and Sundays, from noon — 4 p. April — October. It also has another Brooklyn connection.
Take the self-guided tour, Asheville Urban Trail. To stop at all 30 stations it takes about two hours, but with younger children, you might want to dip in and out. The Asheville Urban Trail walking tour is ideal for families where kids balk at museums. Here the outdoors IS the museum, and you learn about history along the way. Yes again, another Brooklyn call back. The two mile Mural Trail is easily explored on foot. This museum is a wonderful place to see folk art from all over the Southern Appalachians.
The museum is free and so is parking! At certain times of the day, the Guild hosts live craft demonstrations. This is a great chance to show your children the culture and arts of the Appalachians.
North Carolina Arboretum. The North Carolina Arboretum is a acre public garden. There are so many different sights to see at the Arboretum and admission is free but you do need to pay for parking. Shakespeare Festival. Shows are free, but they pass a hat around at intermission for donations. Pisgah National Forest. This , acre national forest is a wonderful place to find so many free activities from hiking and camping to fishing and hunting. This area has so much to offer! Elijah Mountain Gem Mine.
Just over in Hendersonville is a really fun place to take your kids to find all kinds of gems! While you do have to pay for buckets of dirt to mine gems out of, there are plenty of attractions there that are free.
Ending a run with a neighborhood brew never tasted so good! This velodrome locally dubbed the Mellowdrome is a retired motor speedway and is located within the greater Carrier Park. All in all, each class features 8 wines with light snacks. Not a bad way to kick off the weekend, eh? All across the land, it seems people have heard about our drum circle!
Feel free to participate by bringing your own drum or dancing to the beat. The crowd here is a true melting pot of all Asheville has to offer with locals and visitors in one place.
No pretension here. Just fun! You can catch a play outside in the warm months and inside at The Masonic Temple in the winter months. Volunteers have put together this self-guided 1. Five time periods are represented on the Urban Trail, all made possible by donations from individuals, organizations, and groups in an effort to improve the quality of the city.
You can find a farmers market almost every day of the week except Sunday during the growing season! The Asheville Glass Center is in the middle of the River Arts District and has both a retail shop as well as a workshop area. You can see experienced artists creating all kinds of glass, beginners who are taking a class, and even purchase finished products.
If you have your own floating vessel a tube, kayak, or canoe then you have several places to choose from in terms of putting in and pulling out. The French Broad River flows thru miles of western North Carolina and has a number of access parks. Put in at Bent Creek River Park and finish your float at the Hominy Creek River Park for a ride that will take hours depending on the water level of the river. The Bonsai Exhibit and the Winter Lights are particularly worth seeking out.
Bent Creek has single and double track trails that vary from easy to difficult. After you work up a sweat you can jump in the lake at Lake Powhatan! Discover Lots of Art: Asheville is one of the top arts destinations in the country.
Galleries abound downtown and in Biltmore Village , and visits to these are as fascinating as a world-class art museum. Visit studios tucked away in the River Arts District and watch artists at work. There is no admission fee to any of these, but bring your credit card in case temptation overcomes you.
See our Asheville Gallery Guide. Drive north to Craggy Gardens and Mt. Mitchell or south through a dozen tunnels to Mt. There is no entrance fee. Adults: 1 2 3 4 5. Infants: 0 1 2 3 4 5. Cookies are used for measurement, ads and optimization. By continuing to use our site you agree to our Cookies are used for measurement, ads and optimization.
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The 17 best free things to do in Asheville – Lonely Planet.Free Things to Do in Asheville, NC – Tripster Travel Guide
Walking is free. There are plenty of free things to do in Asheville, NC. The free family friendly activities include outdoorsy, artistic and everything in between. Great Smoky Mountains National Park is one of the few national parks without an entrance fee. That may be why it is also the most visited park in the national park system.
The Smokies, which stretch from North Carolina to Tennessee, have hiking trails, biking trails and waterfalls. You can see wildlife and explore over 90 historic structures.
It has indoor exhibits on mountain life from native Americans and early European settlements to the development of the park. And the Mountain Farm Museum has a collection of log houses and seasonal demonstrations of farm life. It offers over 10 miles of hiking trails and a few kid friendly biking trails. Kids can enjoy an interactive Nature Discovery Room. The arboretum also has a model railroad running Saturdays and Sundays, from noon — 4 p.
April — October. It also has another Brooklyn connection. Take the self-guided tour, Asheville Urban Trail. To stop at all 30 stations it takes about two hours, but with younger children, you might want to dip in and out. The Asheville Urban Trail walking tour is ideal for families where kids balk at museums. Here the outdoors IS the museum, and you learn about history along the way. Yes again, another Brooklyn call back.
The two mile Mural Trail is easily explored on foot. The two mile greenway is flat, and perfect for strolling or biking. Asheville has over nine miles of greenway, and is building even more. The Blue Ridge Parkway in the Asheville area has views of some of the highest peaks in the east. C raggy Gardens has beautiful flowers amid the rocky crags.
TravelingMom Tip: If you have a child or adult prone to motion sickness, skip the drive. Mount Mitchell State Park , the highest point east of the Mississippi, has an observation deck at the summit. You can hike or picnic at the park. Join our Private FB Group for more travel inspiration and tips! Bring an extra layer of clothes.
For the rock and fossil enthusiasts in your family, this is the perfect place to visit! Admission is free and there are exhibits of all kinds of rocks, minerals, and even a massive T-Rex skull! Visit Cold Mountain. Cold Mountain, made infamous by the book and the movie, is a very present reality in Asheville since it looms overhead and is very visible from the Blue Ridge Parkway. There are multiple free opportunities to see this Appalachian beauty, from hikes to music festivals.
Check out the webpage to find out more. Bonaventure Cemetery. River Arts District. Located in West Asheville this is a great place to explore and see the local talent. There are over artists in 25 buildings! Some artists will even show you how they create their art. On the second Saturday of the month there are a ton of fun art demonstrations so come out if you happen to be there! Elk in Cataloochee Valley. There are also 5 historic buildings located in the valley as well. The best time to see the elk is either in the early morning or the late evening.
Explore Downtown. Downtown Asheville is full of really cool shops and stores with all kinds of cool stuff around each corner! The Grove Arcade is a really neat old fashioned market place where all sorts of vendors sell boutique items and more! Mountain Swimming Holes. Asheville is not far from the best free swimming pools available. Basilica of St Lawrence. This beautiful, old church was designed by the same architect as the Biltmore and is one of the few remaining basilicas in the US.
You can take a tour there are get a brochure for a self-guided tour. Craggy Gardens. This is perhaps one of the most dramatic views on the Blue Ridge Parkway as you view westward into Tennessee. This article is full of free stuff around Asheville, but don’t forget about downtown Asheville. Do your research, connect with the business owners and artisans, then budget all your resources wisely.
Because in a place like Downtown Asheville your most limited resource will be time to enjoy all there. Doing that research, contacting folks in the know, and allocating your resources makes your travel experience the best it can be. The staff here are invested in your travel experience to begin with. They want you to come back. So even if you stop and just browse the brochures, this needs to be your first stop in Asheville.
You will find the city of Asheville to be a fascinating destination, but you must not ignore the area around it especially the Pisgah National Forest. This Forest has a direct connection to The Biltmore Estate since much of the land was donated by the Vanderbilt Family as a permanent national legacy.
A large chunk of the half a million acres are “old growth” forests, meaning this may be one of the only times you and your family experience what the woods looked like to past generations. The National Forest offers an outdoor activity for every style short hikes, fishing, picnics, week-long backpacking trips, mountain biking, and rock climbing.
Hundreds of waterfalls, thousands of campsites, and too many picnic areas to count make this a great place to visit. Stretching across a dozen counties around Asheville, you can enjoy parts of this national treasure even if you don’t have the time to make it to Downtown Asheville. The Pisgah National Forest is free. Whether your idea of wildlife is a bird feeder outside your window or backcountry hiking, this is the place you can find that experience at no cost. This attraction is too big for you to miss.
The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is where to go no matter what you want to do, what you want to see, and how much you want to pay.
They’ve been called the most popular national park in the United States, and there is plenty of reason why. The Great Smoky Mountains is a vast area with an equally diverse range of attractions. Whether you want to stay in the car or camp in the backcountry for a week, it will meet your vacation requirements. In addition, it is very vehicle friendly since you can drive through Cades Cove in Tennessee or you can drive through Cataloochee in North Carolina.
Start your trip at one of several Visitor’s Centers—which are free. The French Broad River has finally received the long-overdue attention it deserved as a tourist attraction.
While it isn’t the Mississippi or the Tennessee River, that’s one reason people enjoy it so much. The depth around three feet in most areas provides the perfect place for tubing. Riding a tube up the gentle current is something people love to do. The National Park Service is stringent in allowing no commercial traffic on the Parkway. They realize The Parkway is more than a highway. It’s an attraction in itself.