Asheville, NC - where to stay and what to do in November?

jbeletti

Well-known member
Nancy and I are pushing into Asheville this afternoon (12-Nov). We're looking for ideas on where to stay for 2 nights. I believe a few years ago, we stayed at the Asheville West KOA. Anyone like other CGs nearby that will hold the 42' Landmark - pull-through preferred?

Any ideas on what to see/do in Asheville besides the Biltmore House (saw that last year - in the day and at night during Christmas time).

Thanks,

Jim
 

osims

bsims
Jim
The Blue Ridge Parkway is outstanding this time of year. There is an apple orchard outside of Balsam that makes fresh pies and cider every morning, we also enjoyed the Great Smokey Mountain Railroad trip.
Bill
 

Nabo

Southeast Region Director-Retired
Hi ya'll - we stay at Bear Creek RV Park right off I-40 near the Biltmore Estate. It's an odd campground but ez on/ez off.
The BIG attraction of Asheville is Biltmore estate. You could spend 2 days or more between the house, the Village, the gardens/grounds and the winery. Their wines are not bad either. Not cheap but well worth it.
There is a lot to do around a 40 to 50 mile area around Asheville - The Blue Ridge Parkway, Grandfather Mountain, The Railroad down near Bryson City/Silva, Chimmey Rock/Lake Lure, the art culture of Brevard and the old town of Asheville itself.
Have fun.
 

letourno

Quebec Chapter Leader-retired
The most spectacular campground is Campfire Lodgings http://www.campfirelodgings.com/rvcamp.asp It is worth getting into a Premium site, they have concrete pads, lots of room and awesome views of the French Broad river. Here is a picture of our setup last May and a view from our living room...For an entertaining tour of the city try LaZoom http://www.lazoomtours.com/ . Bring your "refreshments" on board and enjoy the witty comments along the route. Biltmore is a must. However make sure you reserve your ticket on line, there is a saving of $10 per ticket. When we visited we lunched at Deerpark (the online deal is $38 for 2 people instead of $52), the setting is beautiful and the buffet is classyIMG_6033.jpgIMG_5890.jpg.
 

jbeletti

Well-known member
Hey thanks everyone. We ended up looking into the Great Smoky Mountain Railroad and are taking a tour tomorrow! Thanks Bill and Ornell. Turns out, a LOT of campgrounds in between here and Asheville are closed for the season. We ended up at Ela Campground. It's close to where we need to board the train, but I probably would not stay here otherwise.

Thanks again!

Jim
 

talley

Well-known member
Thanks Jim, we will "piggy-back" on your post for Ashville, NC. Have not been to the Biltmore, but we have a visit on our schedule for the first week in December. That is our "turn around point" and will head back home. Left the Charlelston Rally and had work done on Big Horn at Camping World. Been working way toward site of "first flight" (Kitty Hawk) followed by Colonial Williamsburg for Thanksgiving.

Will look forward to a review of the train tour this time of year. Was not aware that there was one at Ashville, but will look into it. One of Diane's ojectives of this trip was the Fall colors of the leaves. Train ride may be very scenic way to take in the colors. In our part of Texas they just die and fall off the tree.


Jerry & Diane
 

jbeletti

Well-known member
Hi Jerry,

The Biltmore House is a must do if you've never seen it. While I don't care for the symbolism, I was in awe of the mass, scale and technology of the place. I think we stayed at the nearest KOA when we saw it.

As for the Great Smoky Mountain Railroad train ride, we really missed the "fall colors". That was the October tours. Still, it was fun to do. If you do it, get first class seating. It's a bit of a premium but the Mac Neil car we rode in was very comfortable and we lucked out with a 4-person table to ourselves. Lunch and dessert were great and all non-alcoholic beverages were included as was souvenir travel mugs and a souvenir bag. Here's a link to my Facebook albumhttp://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2539093847294.134645.1552091014&type=1 with a few pics I took on the trip.

While I don't recommend the CG we stayed at, if you do stay here, get pull-through site 64. It's long and FHU. This place has mostly seasonal TTs with roofs and porches built around them (done well) but the roads are narrow to navigate my freight train through. I am NOT looking forward to navigating out of this place.

If we return to the area, I think we'll try Country Boys RV Park. Note that it may also be called Country Girls RV Park. Identity crisis I guess. Here's a map link to it. Note too that there are closer campgrounds to Bryson City where the train station is, but some are a bit rough and the road (19) gets a bit sketchy or RV towing, IMO.

Jim
 

talley

Well-known member
Jim, thanks for the info on the Great Smoky Mountain Train. Did not realize it was some distance from Ashville. Will past it up on this trip and perhaps have an opportunity on another trip when the Fall colors can be enjoyed. We do have the Biltmore on the schedule and understand it is outfitted for the Holiday season. Should be a prime time to visit. Plans are to vsit the Biltmore the week following Thanksgiving - which will be spent at Colonial Williamsburg area.

Diane and I have been visiting the Outer Banks the last couple of days, staying at the North River Campground @ Shilo, NC. Nice, neat and roomy sites. Must watch out for bears!! Hunters out this weekend for last of bear season. There was at least one taken two nights ago by a vehicle on a nearby road. Reportedly a 600 lb black bear!!

And speaking of symbolism... we went out to the Wright Brothers National Memorial at Kill Devil Hills. Really impressive, but understated. Worth the visit!! Especially when we realize that Wilber and Orville pulled it off without government assistance.


Jerry
 

jbeletti

Well-known member
Jerry,

If you have the time, buy the Biltmore ticket that gets you access at night and during the day. They light it up nice for Christmas and they have carolers inside too. Then go back in the daytime to really explore.

Have fun,

Jim
 
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