Take advantage of your time in the Western North Carolina Mountains and the lively city of Asheville. Below are suggested afternoon activities. Please note that prices reflect Family Weekend discounts, and some discounts and activities are available by advance registration only.
*Requires advance purchase and/or registration
Biltmore Estate
Visit George Vanderbilt’s opulent late-Victorian, French chateau-style country estate. America’s largest home has 250 rooms and showcases magnificent antiques and works of art, formal gardens, a winery and more! Enjoy the Field to Table festival, where you get to meet local farmers and the estate’s resident beekeeper, and enjoy demonstrations on cheese making, butter churning, home canning and preserving, sorghum making and home brewing. Regular rate $49. Advance purchase $36 when tickets are purchased at the group ticket office. (Please identify yourself as participating in UNC Asheville’s Family Weekend.)
Chimney Rock Park
Visit Chimney Rock Park. See one of North America's great natural wonders. The Park is located 25 miles southeast of Asheville. Enjoy spectacular 75 mile views, hiking trails and see a 400 foot waterfall.
Family Pass $35 {2 adults and 3 children (6-15)
Colburn Earth Science Museum
Explore the treasures of the earth at the museum called “a mini-Smithsonian of gems” by the Washington Post. Discover the hidden treasures that lie beneath North Carolina, and see minerals and gemstones from around the world. Visit the Earth Center where you may erupt a volcano, move the continents to simulate plate tectonics, and examine volcanic ash under a microscope.
Regular rate $4 adults; $3 seniors, students and children; free for children under 4. www.colburnmuseum.org
Explore Asheville In Style Asheville's Longest Running Trolley Line
Live Narration
Unlimited Hop-On & Hop-Off Privileges
You'll Tour Through: Montford Historic District, one of the largest historic districts in North Carolina! You'll see Asheville's impressive collection of Queen Ann style historic homes, the exquisite Grove Park Inn Resort & Spa where six U.S. presidents and countless celebrities and historical figures have visited, see the Thomas Wolfe Home & Museum, travel through Battery Park shopping and restaurant district and the Grove Arcade, Visit Pack Square cultural area, Biltmore Village, River Arts District, enjoy fabulous mountain views and so much more. Our professionally trained tour guides will relate the history and lore of Asheville… the Paris of the South. Your guide will combine humorous stories and historical information into a fun-filled tour. Purchase tickets online or any of our ticket locations.
Adults $19
AAA/AARP Student/Military $18
Children ages 6-17 $12
Family pack 2 adults and up to 3 children $45 Call Toll Free 1-888-667-3600
Or Visit www.ashevilletrolleytours.com http://www.ashevilletrolleytours.com
Folk Art Center and Heritage Weekend
This is the Southern Highland Craft Guild’s weekend to celebrate heritage crafts of the Appalachian Mountains. Guild members and other traditional craftspeople show craft techniques with hand tools, native materials, and lots of ingenuity through demonstrations in the native arts. Traditional Appalachian music and storytelling will be featured. Don’t miss the 28th Annual World Gee Haw Whimmy Diddle Competition on Saturday, 2–3 p.m. This popular autumn event brings mountain toys, live music and wacky fun to the Blue Ridge Parkway’s Folk Art Center on Saturday 10 a.m. -4 p.m., Sunday noon – 5 p.m. No charge.
French Broad River Float Trip *
Enjoy canoeing, rafting, kayaking and tubing on the scenic French Broad River through Biltmore Estate property. Canoes and rafts allow a peaceful, relaxing look at the French Broad River and its unique history and abundant wildlife. The required training starts at Southern Waterways Park, 6 miles from campus, at 10 a.m., 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. Arrive 30 minutes in ahead of time. Advance registration $28 adults, $20 youths 12 and under.
Grove Arcade
This elegant landmark features shops, galleries and restaurants. Built in 1929, the Gothic revival Arcade was recently restored to its original splendor. No charge.
Historic Montford House & Neighborhood Tour*
Adjacent to campus, the Montford neighborhood is one of the largest historic districts in the state with over 600 structures built between 1890 and 1925. Discover the architectural history of this eclectic National Register neighborhood and tour two homes, a Victorian and an Arts & Crafts treasure. Tour begins at 333 Montford Ave. at 2 p.m. Discounted advance tickets $10 adults, $5 students & children.
The Health Adventure
Exercise your mind and expand your imagination at this hands-on health and science museum. Eleven galleries filled with unique exhibits offer fun and educational exploration activities for the young and young-at-heart. Learn what’s under your skin by listening to TAM (the Transparent Anatomic Model), brush up on your dental hygiene with giant floss to clean a giant set of teeth, or learn about motion in the Dizzy Tunnel! Don’t miss the special exhibit “Toys: the Inside Story,” which illustrates the simple mechanisms commonly found in toys and lets visitors create their own toylike combinations of gears, pulleys, linkages, cams and circuits. $7 adults; $5 students, seniors and children 2–15; FREE for children under 2!
The North Carolina Arboretum *
Visit this 426-acre public garden with its 65 acres of cultivated gardens, 10 miles of hiking and biking trails, Segway tours, greenhouses and season exhibits. Don’t miss the popular Heritage Craft Weekend’s special demonstrations, plant sales and musical performances. Basket makers, broom makers, paper makers, natural dyers, weavers, jewelry makers and wood carvers will showcase their talents. Located 8 miles from UNC Asheville in the Pisgah National Forest. Discounted $3 per vehicle fee with advance registration.
Thomas Wolfe Memorial State Historic Site
Sit on the veranda and walk through the rooms of Thomas Wolfe’s childhood home to learn more about this great novelist’s life and literature. The circa-1883 Old Kentucky Home is restored as Julia Wolfe’s turn-of-the-last-century boarding house, made famous in Wolfe’s Look Homeward, Angel as Dixieland, one of literature’s most famous landmarks. Regular rate of $1 adults, 50 cents students and children.
The Urban Trail *
Enjoy a 1.7-mile walking tour that explores downtown Asheville’s history through art, architecture and the mountain culture along the Urban Trail—a museum without walls! Guided tours start at Pack Place Education, Arts & Science Center at 3 p.m. and run about 2 hours.Advance tickets: $5 adults, $2 children under 12. Or enjoy a free self-guided tour any time.