Asheville Historical Attraction

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100 Frederick Law Olmsted Way, Asheville, NC 28806, USA

The North Carolina Arboretum’s 434-acre campus is nestled off the Blue Ridge Parkway minutes from downtown Asheville and offers beautiful gardens and natural areas, including the Bonsai Exhibition Garden, 10 miles of forested hiking and biking trails, garden tours, nature activities for families, changing science, art and cultural history exhibits, an on-site bistro and gift shop.

Daytime admission into the Arboretum is free; however, a $16 parking fee applies for personal vehicles. To view full listing of parking fees and hours, click here.

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U.S. 221 & Linville Avenue, Linville, NC 28646, USA

Offering visitors easy access to its towering peaks, Grandfather Mountain is one of the most biologically diverse mountains and in the world designated by the United Nations as an International Biosphere Reserve. Feel the rush when you cross the Swinging Bridge; marvel at 360-degree views from one-mile above sea level; photograph bears, otters, cougars, eagles and deer in natural habitats; hike rugged back-country trails or stroll gentle nature paths; eat in our restaurant or take your order out to one of many scenic picnic areas; chat with our entertaining, knowledgeable staff and let us help you find your own perfect mountain adventure.

A carefully tended wilderness preserve, Grandfather Mountain is home to many rare North American wildflowers and to displays of such naturalized plants as native azaleas, rhododendrons, mosses and lichens, heathers, and other beautiful species. Parts of the mountain are steep and rocky, but much is accessible to anyone: an excellent nature center, dramatic mountain vistas, and wildlife habitat areas.

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52 North Market Street, Asheville, NC 28801, USA

Novelist Thomas Wolfe spent a decade of his childhood growing up in his mother’s Asheville boardinghouse. Called “Old Kentucky Home” the house was patronized by summer tourists and health seekers during the early years of the 20th century. These boarders would later inspire many of the colorful characters in Wolfe’s 1929 novel, Look Homeward, Angel. The house itself was recast as “Dixieland” and would provide much of the setting for the story. Today, tours of the Old Kentucky Home provide a glimpse into Asheville’s early rise to prominence as a resort for health and recreation as well as the stories associated with Thomas Wolfe’s colorful and turbulent childhood here. An adjacent visitor’s center and museum contains a self guided exhibit hall and 22 minute film presentation on Wolfe’s life and writings.

Thomas Wolfe famously wrote “You can’t go home again,” but don’t let that stop you from exploring the Asheville native’s boyhood home.

A contemporary of F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway, Wolfe secured his place in the American literary canon with the critically acclaimed publication of his unabashedly auto-biographical novel, Look Homeward, Angel, in 1929. Local admiration didn’t come as easily: His unflattering portrayals of family and some 200 thinly disguised townspeople of Asheville (aka “Altamont”) prompted hometown scorn. Following eight years of self-imposed exile, Wolfe re-turned a hero in 1937, having boosted tourism during the Great Depression.

Asheville still embodies the “boomtown” spirit that so captivated Wolfe. “Some things will never change,” wrote Wolfe, and a walk through his onetime stomping grounds continues to reveal a colorful cast of characters.

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