Every season in Asheville, North Carolina is transfixing, but more than a few folks would put fall at the very top of the list when it comes to the best time of year to visit this vibrant and culturally dynamic mountain town. The scenic beauty cranks up to the max as canopies and shrubbery from downtown to Southern Appalachian mountainsides blaze with autumn color, the weather’s often absolutely pitch-perfect for getting outside (and cozying up in a taproom or restaurant), the fall harvest serves up an amazing bounty, and there are festivals aplenty going down throughout the region.
Here are four premier ways to get out and enjoy this very special season in the seat of Buncombe County!
(1) Fall Colors: Enjoy Some of the Finest “Leaf-Peeping” in the Nation in & Around Asheville
A number of factors conspire to give the Asheville, NC area one of the richest and most extended fall-color shows in the country. For one thing, the combination of a lower-latitude position and an incredibly sweeping elevational range—from roughly a thousand feet above sea level to the very loftiest heights in the eastern U.S., topping out at 6,684 feet on Mount Mitchell in the Black Mountains—makes for a luxuriously long “leaf-peeping” season, often sprawling between mid- to late September well into November.
Furthermore, some of the most diverse temperate forests in the world (no hyperbole!) are found within Asheville’s Southern Appalachian hinterland, ensuring a spectacular variety of deciduous trees and shrubs—and therefore a spectacular variety of autumn hues! Maples and oaks and hickories, tulip-poplars and cherries and beeches, mountain-ashes and sweetgums, blueberries and hobblebushes—there’s an incredible lineup of chromatic showstoppers in our local mountains, from the tallest forest trees to the brambly understory.
And beyond those native species, the temperate and well-watered climate of western North Carolina allows for a plethora of different trees and shrubs from all over the world to prosper here, making for an extra oomph of color from cultivated plantings.
And great destinations for viewing this seasonal show abound, from the varied street trees of downtown Asheville to the wildest Southern Appalachian backcountry. Consider the footpaths of the Asheville Botanical Garden and North Carolina Arboretum (whose 10-plus miles of trails and roads also link into circuits in the Pisgah National Forest and Bent Creek Experimental Forest); beeline for Craggy Gardens or Grandfather Mountain along the Blue Ridge Parkway or the yawning sightlines of the Linville Gorge; or head up to the summit of Mount Mitchell, Fryingman Mountain, Waterrock Knob, or any number of other local eminences for sweeping fall-color vistas.
(2) Outdoor Recreation
This certainly overlaps with the above suggestion of leaf-peeping, but fall is easily one of the very best seasons for exploring the superlative outdoor recreation the Asheville area serves up. From hiking, mountain biking, and even rock-climbing (at spots such as the Hickory Nut Gorge and the immense Looking Glass Rock) to ziplining, ORV-touring, and horseback-riding, the region’s rugged and expansive Southern Appalachian landscape beckons to adventurers of all skill levels and predilections, and the cooler autumnal weather—and, of course, those aforementioned fall colors—only up the appeal.
(3) Fall Festivals in the Asheville Area
The fall calendar in Asheville’s backyard comes absolutely stacked with fantastic festivals and celebrations.
Take, for instance, the 44th annual Heritage Weekend at the Folk Art Center along the Blue Ridge Parkway. This free celebration, presented September 21st and 22nd (10 AM to 4 PM each day) by the Southern Highland Craft Guild, features fascinating demonstrations of traditional Southern Appalachian crafts, loads of live music (bluegrass and beyond), and such good-spirited contests as the World Gee Haw Whimmy Diddle Competition (the whimmy diddle being a rustic Appalachian spinning toy).
Other handcrafted goodness awaits every Saturday in October (Oct. 4th, 11th, and 18th) during the fall edition of Asheville’s Art in the Park event, held smack-dab downtown in Pack Square Park. It’s a fantastic opportunity to see local and regional artists and artisans—not a few of them widely known—producing and displaying woodworking, metalwork, glass art, ceramics, jewelry, and more.
Fall, naturally, also means Oktoberfest, and Asheville celebrates this Münich-born, beer-exalting tradition very heartily! On Saturday, September 27th, the sixth annual running (literally!) of the Oktoberfest Half Marathon & 5K will take place. And then, on October 4th, the sudsy sensations really get underway with the Asheville Downtown Association’s Oktoberfest celebration at Pack Square, featuring loads of breweries and other beverage artisans as well as delicious food and live music, plus Burial Brewing Company’s annual Burnpile brew festival, where better than 50 local/regional beermakers will be represented.
There’s so much else on tap this stretch of the calendar, from RADfest in the River Arts District to the Lovely Asheville Fall Festival and the LEAF Global Arts Festival. We’ve only scratched the surface!
(4) Take in the Awe-inspiring Fall Raptor Migration
Every year, tens of thousands of birds of prey (aka raptors) migrate southward along the conducively north-south-trending ridges and crests of the Appalachians, taking advantage of topographically induced updrafts, thermals, and windstreams. We’re talking a whole cast of different hawk species—from broad-wingeds, red-shouldereds, and redtails to sharp-shinned and Cooper’s hawks—as well as turkey vultures, falcons, eagles, and ospreys. This is one of the great natural spectacles in the eastern U.S., and Asheville’s a great jumping-off point for witnessing it.
The Blue Ridge Parkway offers abundant raptor-watching vantages, including the Mills River Valley Overlook, and meanwhile spectacular Chimney Rock State Park—between an hour and an hour-and-a-half away from Asheville—hosts its annual, hawk-watching-focused Flock to the Rock event to coincide with the migration.
Just remember to pack your binoculars for your Asheville getaway!
Enjoy Asheville & its Stunning Surrounds in a Glorious Season
From soaring hawks and falcons to masters of the good old-fashioned whimmy diddle, make the most of fall in Asheville on a seasonal getaway to the North Carolina mountains!
