Asheville Walking Tour
A fun stroll through one of North Carolina's most beautiful cities
A little history, first:
The Asheville Walking Tour is a great place to start learning a little bit about Asheville’s past. Asheville is a cool city in Western North Carolina. It is situated in the Blue Ridge mountains, and is very scenic. Here are a few milestones:
Before the arrival of the Europeans, the land where Asheville now exists was within the boundaries of the Cherokee Nation. In 1540, the expedition of Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto visited the area.
Buncombe County was officially organized on April 16, 1792. The county seat was named “Morristown” in 1793. In 1797, Morristown was incorporated and renamed “Asheville” after North Carolina Governor Samuel Ashe.
Transportation in early Asheville consisted of a few paths cut through dense forests and travel by river. This began to change in 1828 with the completion of the Buncombe Turnpike. The thoroughfare connected Greenville, Tennessee, to the South Carolina state line. Local farmers could drive livestock and sell their produce to markets south and east while new visitors gained access to the small city.
The Western North Carolina Railroad, which had begun in Salisbury, N.C. in 1875, crossed the Eastern Continental Divide and the first train pulled into Asheville on October 2, 1880. People from the coast could easily get away to the mountains.
George W. Vanderbilt began construction of his Biltmore Estate in 1895 on 8,000 acres south of the city. The construction lasted five years, requiring the additional erection of Biltmore Village to house the hundreds of workers employed on the project.
The Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the Blue Ridge Parkway, were built with the aid of Franklin Roosevelt’s Civilian Conservation Corps, and many people traveled to the area to visit. Today an estimated 2 million travelers continue to come to Asheville for lots of reasons, including beer breweries, the arts, the mountain views, and the climate.
Where to park
The walking tour takes place in downtown Asheville. There is plenty of street parking, as well as parking garages. You can even check to see where parking spaces are available:
https://www.ashevillenc.gov/service/find-real-time-parking-in-parking-garages/
The Tour
You can view and download or print out a map of the Asheville Urban Trail here:
https://www.exploreasheville.com/urban-trail/
There are about 30 stops along the way. It doesn’t really matter where you start; we parked near Pack Square and started at #1. And since it is a self-guided tour, you can stop and shop or eat or drink anywhere you like!
Here are a few of my favorite spots:
The Drhumor Building features a fanciful series of carved faces amid an ornate carved stone frieze featuring a British royal lion alongside angels, mermaids, shells and other creatures from nature and mythology. While they have been called allegorical, at least some of the faces carved by Frederick B. Miles on the Drhumor Building are believed to have been modeled on the faces of local citizens.
The Grove Arcade
The Grove Arcade now houses lots of great restaurants, bars and shops.
Asheville Community Theatre
Not officially on the tour, but a nice place to walk through is the Elder and Sage Community Gardens
If you Go…
It should take you about 2 hours to take the walking tour. If you stop and shop or eat, it may take you a little longer. Linger, and enjoy your visit!
