This page is for some of my favorite day trips from the Lake Norman area.

Asheville

Asheville is a great day trip any time of the year. Each season offers a unique experience. We like to begin the day with breakfast at Tupelo Honey on College Street. I LOVE their Sweet Potato Pancakes. We also really like the jam/preserves they give you with the biscuits. It's a small place with a lot of character. It gets crowded so be prepared. There is a waiting area in the back of the restaurant with complimentary coffee. If you've never been to Asheville, you have to visit the Biltmore Estate . We like to tour the house early before it gets crowded and then go to the adjacent bakery and shop. This will probably take all morning, but if you do have extra time make sure you stop by the gardens. In the springtime, they are especially beautiful (check their website for the Tulip Festival). If you are going during the winter make sure you check the hours and special events going on at Biltmore. They have a lot of events during the holiday season. I recommend bringing a packed lunch and picnicking down by the river that runs through the property. After lunch, visit the Biltmore winery (or before if you would like a bottle of wine with lunch). There is also a shop adjacent to the winery with all kinds of gourmet kitchen and wine related items. The afternoon is also a good time to go kayaking or for a raft float on the river. Rentals are available on the property. See their website for more info. If you have extra time or would just rather go shopping, there are some quaint boutique style shops located in Biltmore Village off the property, across the street from the main entrance to Biltmore and there are even more shops on the property including a neat shop in the River Bend Barn that sells pottery. If you don't want to travel back to the Lake Norman area via the interstate, you can take Rte. 74 South out of Asheville and travel through Chimney Rock and Lake Lure. There is a neat store called the Manual Woodworkers and Weavers Outlet on 74 on the right side in Gerton before you get to Chimney Rock. This is "must stop" for me every time. There are some fun shops and eateries in Chimney Rock. Park and walk through the town of Chimney Rock. It's small and if you look up to the right you can see the Chimney Rock waterfall which is part of Chimney Rock Park. This is where most of "Last of the Mohicans" was filmed. Our favorite store in Chimney Rock is Bubba O'Leary's General Store and Outfitters. It's modeled after a general store and their mascot "Bubba" is a yellow lab like our dog. After we leave here we go to down the road a mile or so and eat dinner at La Strada Italian Bar and Grill. It is on the right up a hill and offers great pizza and an awesome view of the lake. Some of the seens of "Dirty Dancing" were filmed in Lake Lure. Most of the camp where those scenes were filmed are long gone but, the developer of that land has preserved what they could from the movie. Go to the website for Firefly Cove and then go to 'history' and then 'movie to read more. See my "Lake Lure/Chimney Rock" day trip for more detailed information about the area. It is a day or weekend trip in itself, but we like to come home this way instead of on the interstate. It does take a bit longer. See my Mountain Lake Resort weekend trip for more information on where the rest of "Dirty Dancing" was filmed.