We turned our visit to the Biltmore House Christmas Lights into a weekend away in Asheville. We explored the River Arts District, visited the Pinball Museum, and tried some new restaurants. Despite a full Saturday, we wanted to do one more outing before hitting the road on Sunday and decided to check out the North Carolina Arboretum. The NC Arboretum is a 434 acre public garden located in the Pisgah National Forest. It offers 65 acres of gardens, more than 10 miles of hiking and biking trails, a bonsai exhibit, and much more. While we were there they were putting …

We’ve been to the Biltmore a few times but have wanted to go at Christmas time for several years. A two month long event, Christmas at Biltmore is a holiday celebration that includes music, lights, and decorations. Tickets are for a timed entry and must be purchased in advance – waaaay in advance. We have tried to buy tickets in late October in years past, only to find that the only tickets still available were 10pm entries on weekdays. So plan ahead! But if you just can’t plan that far ahead, you can adjust your expectations instead. With a busy …

When we decided to go on our first family camping adventure, we admittedly knew next to nothing about planning a camping trip. If we had known even a little bit, we would have known better than to wait until 3 days before the weekend to try to book a camping site… in the North Carolina mountains… in the fall. Whoops. Turns out camping in the NC mountains on a crisp fall weekend is high on many people’s list of things to do. So when my husband called the camp site he had carefully researched to make a reservation, they tried …

After hiking to Linville Falls, we stopped off on our way home at Linville Caverns in Marion, NC. The boys absolutely loved our visit to Luray Caverns in VA the last summer, and they were excited to explore another cavern. After purchasing tickets inside the store, we got on the line at the entrance to the cavern. Each tour allowed 15 people at a time and a new one left every 10-15 minutes. We waited about half an hour before entering. The tour started outside the cavern entrance as the guide told us that the cavern was discovered in the …

Located just off Mile Marker 316 on the Blue Ridge Parkway, Linville Falls is one of the most popular waterfalls in the Blue Ridge Mountains. With three different trails of varying difficulty, there is something for everyone here. Two of the trails (Erwin’s View Trail and Plunge Basin Trail) lead to views of Linville Falls. The third trail, Dugger’s Creek Loop Trail, is the easiest and shortest (0.3 miles) and leads to the much smaller Dugger’s Creek Falls. Plunge Basin Trail is ranked as difficult but rewards you with a view from the foot of the falls. Note that swimming …

Located just north of Charlotte in Troutman, NC on the state’s largest manmade lake, Lake Norman State Park offers both water and land based activities. There are 30.5 miles of mountain biking (or hiking) trails, as well 3 hiking-only trails covering 7.5 miles.  There is a swimming area, several fishing spots, and different watercrafts available to rent (paddle boats, kayaks, paddle boards, and canoes).  It is an easy day trip from Charlotte and a great alternative to heading all the way into the mountains to get your outdoor fix. We wanted to get some family outdoors time and take our …

For my recent birthday, I told my family that I wanted to go hiking together.  Charlotte, situated in the Piedmont area of North Carolina, is conveniently located less than 90 miles from the Appalachian Mountains.  There are abundant hiking opportunities within an hour or two of Charlotte – from trails at the Whitewater Center to Crowders Mountain in Gaston County to endless hikes in the Blue Ridge Mountains.  I expected us to pop over to one of the old standbys, but my husband surprised me by conferring with some coworkers who are avid hikers and planning a visit to South …