Blue Ridge Beauty


In 1888, George W. Vanderbilt, one of the heirs to the massive Vanderbilt fortune, came to Asheville, N.C., with his mother, to enjoy the healthy mountain air. Smitten with the area, he described it as “the most beautiful land in the world.” He subsequently put his money where his mouth was by spending almost all of his wealth buying up 125,000 acres of mountain land and building the 250-room Biltmore House, America’s largest private home.

But Vanderbilt was hardly the first visitor to be captivated by Asheville. Nestled in North Carolina’s Blue Ridge mountains, the city has been drawing visitors since its founding in 1797, first as a trade crossroads, then as a health resort and finally as a unique vacation spot — a fact recognized in 2002 by the National Trust for Historic Destinations, which named it “One of America’s Dozen Distinctive Destinations.”

For a city whose population only numbers 71,600, Asheville offers a surprising array of shopping, dining and entertainment choices. Thanks to its multiple charms and a particularly different, funky vibe, it attracts all ages and all types — as demonstrated by its high rankings on lists for best places in the country to live and to visit, in publications as diverse as Rolling Stone and Modern Maturity magazines.

Today the area attracts over 2 million visitors a year. Some come to take in the crisp mountain air, or to sightsee, or mountain climb, or hike, or raft down one of the area’s rivers. Others are drawn by the fine dining, the health spas, the arts and crafts and the many music and art festivals. Still others focus on the pure pleasure of luxuriating at one of the area’s many fine hotels.

Things to Do, Places to Eat
No visit to the area would be complete without visiting downtown Asheville. Compact and well maintained and far more accessible than many other older downtowns, it’s packed with restaurants and cafes, 30 galleries and over 200 stores — all of them unique — with not a single Starbucks or Gap anywhere in sight.

The grand scale of the Biltmore House, a French Renaissance chateau, grants access to the excess.
The grand scale of the Biltmore House, a French Renaissance chateau, grants access to the excess.

For those who like art and history, a great way to get to know the city is to take a walk on its mild side — the Asheville Urban Trail. Started by volunteers in 1991 to showcase the downtown area, the trail has evolved into a 1.7-mile walking tour, which takes the visitor through 30 stations, each marked by a plaque or a piece of bronze sculpture denoting something of historical, architectural or cultural interest.

At one stop, bronze pigs and turkeys commemorate the early days when farmers would herd their livestock through the middle of Asheville on their way to market. (Yes, turkeys can be herded.) A waist-high iron further along the trail calls attention to the nearby Flat Iron Building. And spinning the wheel of a decidedly modern sculpture at yet another station evokes sounds of the evolution in transportation from the horse, to the train, to the car, to the airplane.

Visitors can pick up a free tour guide at Asheville’s visitor’s center or join a guided tour on weekends. Fortunately the trail is navigable for wheelchair visitors, with curb cuts at every intersection and a terrain, which, while decidedly not flat, can be easily managed.

Along the way, make sure to visit the stunning Basilica of St. Lawrence, which contains the largest unsupported tile dome in the country, and pay attention to the art deco construction of the city building and the jewel-like S&W Cafeteria. Another architectural highlight, the historic Grove Arcade — a neo-gothic retail center built in 1929 and recently renovated — retains its original sloped interior (reportedly angled so they could wash the floor by running water through the building each night), which makes window shopping its assortment of arts and crafts and other specialty stores a pleasant downhill wheelchair cruise — as long as you enter the building from its uphill entrance.

Lexington Avenue, a few blocks away, not only veers sharply downhill but also offers a descent into the ’60s with hippie-ish stores evocative of San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury district — some offering crafts and music and others tie-dye clothing and smoking implements. Should you get attacked by the munchies, Cats and Dawgs restaurant back uphill offers its patrons the odd choice between either hot dogs or catfish sandwiches, while nearby Kamm’s Frozen Custard serves up positively sinful ice cream experiences.

Alan Troop and his wife, Susie.
Alan Troop and his wife, Susie.

Tupelo Honey, a laid back, inexpensive cafe a few blocks away, offers more countrified fare — with a sophisticated twist. Fried green tomatoes are served over goat cheese grits. Catfish is offered blackened and topped with salsa. Crisp fried chicken comes nut crusted and a roasted pepper sauce spices up a delicious bowl of shrimp and grits. Should anything be too spicy, the cafe’s honey sweetened lemonade offers sweet relief.

Fine dining, high ceilings and art-covered walls combined with great food and excellent service make up for a difficult entrance that’s more of a rounded step than a ramp at the Market Place Restaurant. Located on Wall Street — so named because the street was built over an old wall — the restaurant specializes in local, fresh ingredients and unique recipes like mouth-watering oven-roasted red trout with fennel slaw and hearty wood-grilled beef tenderloin over portobello mushrooms.

Where to Stay
Those who want to stay within walking distance of downtown can take an accessible room at the Renaissance Asheville Hotel, which is also across the street from the boyhood home of Thomas Wolfe, arguably one of America’s finest authors. More reasonable lodging can be had at the Crowne Resort, a mile from downtown, or at any of the dozens of hotels scattered on Asheville’s outskirts.

Photo courtesy of the Asheville Convention & Visitors Bureau

Not much further from downtown, the historic Grove Park Inn offers accessible lodging and stunning views of the surrounding mountains. Built in 1912, the rustic stone beauty of its main lodge meshes with the natural grandeur around it. And it’s Sunset Terrace restaurant is a great place to lunch overlooking the scenery.

It’s fitting that the area’s finest hotel, The Biltmore Inn, is situated on the grounds of the gorgeous Biltmore Estate, home to America’s most palatial residence. While the Inn’s certainly pricey, it’s also a nearly perfect place for a wheelchair traveler to stay, with accessible rooms offered with either 23.5-inch or 26-inch high beds and accessible transportation to all the estate has to offer. Visitors rightfully throng to see the Biltmore House, its gardens and its winery. With grounds laid out by Frederick Olmsted — the designer of New York’s Central Park — and the Blue Ridge mountains in the background, Vanderbilt’s huge French Renaissance chateau and surrounding estate is visually stunning.

Ramps and an ancient elevator make the first two floors of the 250-room house accessible to the wheelchair-using visitor. Shuffling through one opulent room after another, each decorated differently, each equipped with the best technology available in the late 1800s, one can’t help but be in awe. Though some can’t help but grin when they learn that Vanderbilt spent so much on his “cottage” that his widow had to sell off 85,000 acres of the Biltmore’s land to remain solvent.

As grand as the Biltmore may be, even it can’t match the natural grandeur around it. Chimney Rock Park, a 45-minute drive from Asheville, offers a wonderful 75-mile view of the surrounding countryside. While most of the trails within the privately owned park aren’t accessible, thanks to an elevator carved inside the rock, the view near its peak is.

Far below it, but only a 15-minute drive away, Lake Lure has been called, “One of the 10 most spectacular man-made lakes in the world.” Wheelchair accessible boat tours take guests for hour-long cruises along with the lake’s 27-mile-long shoreline. No visit to the area would be complete without traveling at least a portion of the Blue Ridge Parkway. Known as “America’s Favorite Scenic Drive,” the 469-mile-long, two-lane highway passes right through Asheville as it follows the mountain crests from Shenandoah National Park to Great Smokey Mountains Park.

Mount Mitchell — at 6,684 feet the tallest peak in the Eastern United States — sits just off the parkway, an easy 20-mile drive north from Asheville. For awe-inspiring views, you can drive up a moderately steep but tame road to the top. Just below it, the park restaurant, billed as “the highest restaurant in the Eastern United States,” is worth a stop for the view and the char-grilled mountain river trout. On the way back to Asheville, Craggy Gardens has an accessible visitor’s center with striking vistas of its own. And nearer to town, a long, easy ramp to the second floor ensures that wheelchair-using guests can enjoy all of the beautiful mountain arts and crafts that the Folk Art Center has to offer.

Travel south and you’ll find river rafting and the Pigsah Inn, an accessible mountaintop inn, and not far from that, waterfalls and a Cherokee village and much, much more. But we’ll leave that for another trip and another article.

 

Attractions and Activities

  • Asheville Urban Trail, Asheville Visitors Center, 36 Montford Ave., Asheville, NC 28801, 800/258-6103; www.exploreasheville.com.
  • Biltmore Estate, 1 Approach Road, Asheville, NC 28803, 877/624-1575; www.biltmore.com.
  • The Blue Ridge Parkway, www.blueridgeparkway.org.
  • Chimney Rock Park, Highway 64/74A, Chimney Rock, NC, 800/277-9611; www.chimneyrockpark.com.
  • Craggy Gardens, Milepost 364.6, Blue Ridge Parkway.
  • Folk Art Center, Milepost 382, Blue Ridge Parkway, Asheville, NC; www.craftguild.org.
  • Grove Arcade, One Page Ave., Asheville, NC 28801, 828/252-7799; www.grovearcade.com.
  • Lake Lure Tours, 2930 Memorial Highway, Lake Lure, NC. 28746, 828/625-0077; www.lakelure.com.
  • Mount Mitchell State Park, Milepost 355, Blue Ridge Parkway, 828/675-4611.

Lodging

Dining

  • Cats and Dawgs Cafe, One Page Ave., Asheville, NC 28801, 828/281-8100.
  • Kamm’s Custard Shop, One Page Ave., Asheville, NC 28801, 828/225-7200.
  • The Market Place, 20 Wall St., Asheville, NC 28801, 828/252-4162; www.marketplace-restaurant.com.
  • Mount Mitchell State Park Restaurant, Milepost 355, Blue Ridge Parkway, 828/675-9545.
  • Tupelo Honey Cafe, 12 College St., Asheville, NC 28801, 828/255-4863; www.tupelohoneycafe.com.


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