| Secluded Asheville area mountain vacation rental |
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The Biltmore Estate
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Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education
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Western North Carolina Nature Center
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Asheville Folk Art Center
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Cradle of Forestry
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Great Smoky Mountains Railroad
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Wildflowers grow in great abundance and variety on the 41 acres of Brookside at Ivy Knob and throughout the region. Our favorite is the Turks Cap Lily (Lilium superbum),  which blooms June through September and is fairly common on our land. Other favorites include Showy Orchis, Rhododendron, Trillium (Wake Robin and Tall Grand), Flame Azalea, Bloodroot, Pink Turtlehead, Black-eyed Susan, Phlox, several types of Aster, Coneflower, and Bee Balm. Rich Stevenson's web site (link at right under "Waterfalls") has page after page of beautiful color photographs of these and many more of Western Carolina's wildflowers. The wildflowers attract many species of butterflies.
Walker and Douglas Falls are located not far away in the Craggy Gardens area of the Pisgah National Forest. They don't flow heavily all the time, so it's best to see them after a period of pretty good rainfall. From Brookside, go back into Barnardsville and turn left at the fire station onto Dillingham Road (SR 2173). In 5 miles you cross a one lane bridge and the road becomes gravel. You are now in the Pisgah National Forest and the road is called F.S. 74. Follow it about 4.8 miles to Walker Falls, which is on the left and visible from the road. In another 4.7 miles the road ends at a parking area. The trail to Douglas Falls starts at the far end of the parking area and descends gently for about a mile to the falls. [Directions taken from Waterfall Walks and Drives in the Western Carolinas, by Mark Morrison, ISBN 0-9636070-1-4.] Rich Stevenson maintains a terrific site entitled North Carolina Waterfalls where he has photos of most of the waterfalls in North Carolina, including Walker and Douglas Falls. He has a Google search button which you leave set to his home page (ncwaterfalls.com) and type in the name of the falls you're looking for. If you're like me, you'll wander around for awhile in his site looking at a lot of other great stuff, as well. More information on local area hiking and biking trails and waterfalls is available at the Buncombe County page of the Mountain Travel Guide web site. Weaverville is a nice little town about 15 miles toward Asheville from Brookside. There are several interesting arts and crafts and gift shops and three good places to eat all clustered within two or three blocks along the main street (see under "Places to Eat" below). Mars Hill is a charming college town at exit 10 on U.S. 19/23. It is the home of Mars Hill College, a small liberal arts college ranked number 38-Comprehensive Colleges–Bachelor's (South) in U.S. News & World Report's America's Best Colleges 2007. Seven miles past Mars Hill at exit 3 on U.S. 19/23 is the Wolf Laurel Ski Resort. You can check current conditions there via a web cam that updates every 30 seconds. The Reems Creek Golf Club in nearby Weaverville rates four stars from Golf Digest and the green fees are quite reasonable. The Asheville Golf Course Directory has information about all of the courses in the Asheville area and links to those that have web pages. The Blue Ridge Parkway also is not far away. The Parkway Milepost 360-420 Map shows the Craggy Gardens area mentioned below. The shortest route that I've been able to find from Brookside to the Parkway is to turn onto Dillingham Road across from the Barnardsville post office. Somewhere between 4 and 5 miles take Stoney Fork Road to the right. (If you are coming back from Walker and Douglas Falls then Stoney Fork Road would be on your left.) It is a gravel road and becomes F.S. 63 when it enters the Pisgah National Forest. Follow it until it ends at the Craggy Gardens Picnic Area on the Parkway, perhaps another couple of miles. I was told by the Forest Service on 9/7/06 that F.S. 63 is open to the Parkway there. The Craggy Gardens Visitor Center is about 4 miles north (left) on the Parkway. |
There is a network of old logging roads on our property, some of which we have bush-hogged. There is a pretty good trail to the top of Ivy Knob, a moderately strenuous trek of about a mile. The PNF is open to the public and is pretty good for walking, but people who are not very woods-savvy could get turned around pretty easily. It would be hard to get truly "lost," though, unless a person completely panicked. If you simply keep going downhill you will come to a road before too long. The Carolina Mountain Club, now over 80 years old and the second oldest Hiking and Trail Maintaining Club in Western NC, fosters enjoyment of the mountains of Western North Carolina and adjoining regions. The club’s goals are to lead hikes, maintain 400 miles of trail and build new trails, promote conservation of trails and natural scenery, and educate members on hiking, trail building and maintenance skills. The club lists 566 different hikes, but a Brookside guest probably would want to focus on the 69 BRP (Blue Ridge Parkway) hikes introduced at http://www.carolinamtnclub.com/choosebrpwopen.htm and listed at http://www.carolinamtnclub.com/hikesbrpw.asp. The Craggy Gardens hikes probably are closest to Brookside. Directions for getting to Craggy Gardens via “the back way” are furnished in the Blue Ridge Parkway section of this Brookside page. There is a folder in the house with nine 7.5 minute series topographic series quadrangle maps which are furnished for the use of our guests. These are the maps used to illustrate the Carolina Mountain Club’s route maps and profiles at the links referred to in the "Hiking" section of the "Attractions" page of Brookside’s web site. They are meant to be used and even taken into the field if you feel the need to do so. Please use them carefully, though, and leave them for the next guest because they aren’t cheap and are a pain in the neck to replace. More information on local area hiking and biking trails and waterfalls is available at the Buncombe County page of the Mountain Travel Guide web site. We have tried and like all three of the restaurants in downtown Weaverville: the Sunnyside Cafe, Blue Mountain Pizza, and the Well-Bred Bakery and Cafe. We also have tried the Stoney Knob Cafe and recommend it highly. Its slogan is "Food from Far and Near" and its eclectic menu lives up to its billing. It is located a couple of miles away at 357 Merrimon Avenue (828-645-3309). The Fireplace Restaurant is an inexpensive, family-oriented restaurant with a varied menu and a nice seafood buffet on Friday and Saturday nights. Head toward Asheville and get off U.S. 19/23 at New Stock Road (exit 21), turn left at the bottom of the off ramp, turn right on Business 19 and the restaurant is about half a mile on the left. Asheville is filled with restaurants of every nationality and ethnicity and in every price and quality range. We were overwhelmed when we first looked at the restaurant listings in the Asheville Yellow Pages. Happily, there are a good many restaurant reviews available to help you sort them out. Just Google "Asheville restaurant review" and take your pick. A good place to start looking for Asheville area attractions is simply called Asheville Area Attractions . The Buncombe County page of the Mountain Area Information Network has great resource and event coverage of the entire Buncombe County area. Explore Asheville is the official site of the Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority and has a lot of good stuff, including a Fall Color Report page that reports the progress and prognosis for the turning of the leaves in the fall. Romantic Asheville styles itself "a comprehensive guidebook for couples." If you want to start from scratch, you can just Google "Asheville" and explore the first few sites on the first screen. Fun, interesting things will virtually jump off the screen at you. |
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