Asheville Outdoor Center has been providing quality, affordable, relaxing and fun-filled trips since 1992. Our staff provides excellent customer service because we genuinely care about our customers and it is what they deserve. We believe that an amazing experience on the French Broad river helps raise awareness for protecting our wildlife and keeping our waterways clean. We at the AOC are eager to share our knowledge about our river and the surrounding areas to help make the best of your stay in Asheville.
Come down and enjoy all of the great festivities the AOC has to offer. Bring the kids and discover new treasures at our gem mine. Enjoy a delicious local brew from the tap room by the river. We offer outdoor games such as corn hole, ping pong, and beach volleyball. We also offer our grounds for a variety of outdoor events.
Donald Ross originally designed this historic course in 1926, and it was overhauled in 2001 to keep the same feel and spirit. It has since earned nods from Conde Nast Traveler (Top 20 Southern U.S. Golf Resorts in 2011) and North Carolina Golf Panel (Top 100 Golf Courses in the State). This historic course has consistently been acknowledged as one of the Top Resort Golf Courses in North Carolina by Golfweek Magazine.
Our golf course is open year round excluding inclement weather. Booking a tee time is as easy as picking up the phone and calling (800) 438-5800 or use the link below. For tournaments and events, call the Golf Shop at (828) 252-2711, ext 1049 or email us at gpi.golfpro@omnihotels.com
Brown Trout Fly Fishing LLC is The Only ORVIS Endorsed Fly Fishing Guide Service in Asheville, North Carolina. We Specialize in Guiding and Teaching Fly Fishing for Trout and Smallmouth Bass in Western North Carolina and East Tennessee.
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.
The larger rivers of Western North Carolina and Eastern Tennessee are some of the best fly fishing destinations in the Southeast. Beginning anglers will enjoy learning fly fishing and fly casting techniques during our guided fly fishing float trips as our fly fishing guides will position them in the best spots to catch fish and teach the techniques needed to be successful. More advanced anglers will appreciate the ability to access more river mileage leading to the most opportunities to target the best spots of the river. Many anglers will also use our float trips to get an early start on their season and tune their techniques locally prior to traveling to fish Western rivers in the summer months.
Our Guided Fly Fishing Float Trips are the best fit if you’d prefer to access several miles of water and spend most of your day practicing your fly fishing and fly casting skills, all from the comfort of a boat.
Explore Western North Carolina’s great outdoors with Nantahala Outdoor Center. The nation’s largest outdoor recreation company, NOC has led outdoor adventures since 1972 and earned recognition as “One of the Best Outfitters on Earth” by National Geographic Adventure. Over a million guests visit NOC annually to embark on a diverse collection of more than 120 different river and land-based itineraries! Learn to kayak at NOC’s world-renowned Paddling School, or test the latest outdoor gear and shop at retail stores in Asheville, Gatlinburg, and Nantahala. Book a trip on one of seven rivers in the Southeast, or fly through the skies on the Nantahala Mountaintop Zip Line Adventure!
Tour company that provides private and semi private hiking and kayaking tours by a certified Blue Ridge Parkway and Western North Carolina naturalist. We also have bike rentals.
We love the hip vibe, down-to-earth people and breathtaking scenery of Asheville! Our full-service bike shop provides the ultimate cycling experience with an Asheville feel. MustAsheville offers bike rentals and carries new and preowned, high-quality bikes and all of the gear you need to make every ride awesome. Our dog-friendly bike store offers products to help rescue dogs in need. We are part of Rags To Royals Bulldog Rescue.
Meet the man behind MustAsheville. Jeff is a bike matchmaker extraordinaire who pairs each person with the best bike for a fun and long-lasting relationship. His love began at the young age of 13 during his first triathlon. Jeff quickly became passionate about road, cyclocross and mountain competitions. Now, he rides for enjoyment and to maintain his sanity. Jeff’s dream is for all of his clients to become hooked on bikes too.
The Bike Farm is here to provide you with the best mountain biking experience western North Carolina has to offer. We provide half, full, and multi day guided rides custom tailored to an individual or groups abilities, desires, time, and budget. All trips are private, so you will never be put with another group. We are permitted in Pisgah National Forest and DuPont State Recreation Forest.
We cater to all ability levels, from beginner to Pro riders. Our staff includes female and male guides, all of which are Wilderness First Aid and CPR certified. When riding in a new area, the only way to ride like a local is to ride with a local!
Whitewater rafting, zipline canopy tours, calm water float trips – we’ve got it all! Raft & Zipline with us & experience two of Asheville’s natural wonders; the French Broad River & the majestic Blue Ridge Mountains. Best of all, with French Broad Adventures you don’t have to choose between ziplining & rafting. We are the only raft / zip combo close enough to Asheville that you can have fun with us and make it back to town in time for dinner. Take advantage of our vacation packages & save on all the thrills, chills, & occasional spills into the water! Book both activities together and save.
Navitat is the premier provider of tree-based zipline experiences – featured on CNN, in the New York Times, Outdoor Magazine, Forbes Travel Guide and called “One of the best in the nation!” in USA TODAY! With two incredible zipline tours to choose from, a day at Navitat is guaranteed to be full of high-flying fun! Navitat’s original tour, the The Treetop Tour has six ziplines, two bridges, a rappel, and a spiral staircase. The Mountaintop Tour is a massive high flying zipline tour featuring three (huge!) side-by-side “racing style” ziplines, the longest of which stretches more than 3600-feet and is 350-feet above the forest floor. Be adventurous – and snag big savings! – when you book The Ultimate Adventure Package to experience BOTH tours in one action-packed, tree-lovin’ day. Located only 20 minutes north of Asheville, Navitat’s home, Moody Cove, is a 242-acre wilderness setting containing some of the largest trees in the area, abundant wildlife, rare plant species, and offering spectacular long-range mountain views. On each tour, knowledgeable guides teach you about the natural environment and tell colorful local history stories. Navitat Canopy Adventures welcomes adventure seekers weighing between 70 and 250 pounds. This is the flagship location of Bonsai Design Inc., America’s leading zipline canopy tour designer. Built with environmental respect for minimal impact, don’t miss your chance to experience Navitat – tree-based adventures that thrill, educate, and inspire!
The O-RIGINAL Motion Makers was founded by Norm and Dianne Harrell in 1986 when their son, Benji, was riding skateboards and BMX bikes. Norm was good at helping Benji’s friends with their wheeled fun and opened Motion Makers on Hwy 107 in Sylva, NC as a way to provide this sport to the Sylva market. Around 1993, they moved into a 1920’s building in the heart of downtown Sylva, which was just starting to revitalize from many years of vacant buildings.
In 1997, Dave and Sandy Molin purchased the store. They had moved down from Vermont to escape the winters. Dave, a practicing Pharmacist, worked at several pharmacies in the area until he noticed that Motion Makers was for sale. An avid cyclist, it looked like the perfect job to relax and enjoy his sport and get out of the corporate world of pharmacy.
In 2007, “Surly” Dave convinced Kent Cranford to consider buying the shop.
Kent started racing and working on bikes as a BMX kid in the late 70’s. Spurred on by his father’s love of riding and tinkering with bikes, he quickly learned the basics of flat changes and converting coaster brake hubs into freewheels and other BMX mods of the day.
At age 16, the local bike shop, Bicycle City, offered him some work during Christmas building bicycles, then during summers. While in college, he worked at Harper’s Schwinn in Knoxville, TN, then at Skedaddle Bicycles in Murfreesboro, TN.
After graduating from MTSU, Kent headed out to Colorado to visit his brother who was in school at CSU. While there, the call of the Rockies sent him job hunting where he found a job at Keystone ski resort for the rest of the winter. Near the end of the ski season, he took a job at the Knorr House in Breckenridge, CO assembling their fleet of rental bikes for that summer. Later that spring of 1991, a stop in Crested Butte, CO led to a two-year job at The Alpineer, one of the original Mountain Bike shops of the late 70’s.
An annual pilgrimage back East to the Tsali trails led Kent to the Nantahala Outdoor Center, where he took a job working in the “original” store and tasked with creating a real “Bike Shop” in NOC’s new outfitter’s store that was built in 1994. In 1995, he accepted a job with Litespeed Bicycles in Ooltewah, TN and worked as Marketing Director for two years. The job took him all over the US and Europe to attend shows and events helping to grow this small company. It was a dream job getting to rub elbows with all the cycling greats and seeing so many of the legendary cycling destinations.
The mountains of NC have a strong draw and in 1997, Kent came back to NOC to continue growing NOC’s biking program and interest in cycling in Western NC.
In 1999, Kent had tired of the tourism retail trade and decided to pursue his newest love in computers. After two years in that industry, with the “dot-com bust” looming, Kent saw a listing for the Territory Manager position with Specialized Bicycles covering the Southern Appalachian region, home of the greatest cycling anywhere and where he happened to live.
Over the next five years, Kent enjoyed his 1000-mile weeks on the road and spending half the weekends of the year at events representing Specialized. His 2005 marriage to Sarah and impending birth of their daughter, Beverly, in 2006, sent Kent into the booming real estate industry to stay home with his new family. This job allowed him to spend a lot of time in Sylva and Jackson County, re-kindling his belief in what a great cycling region WNC is. Little did he know that Dave asking him to come look at Motion Makers would save him from another Bust!
In 2009, the opportunity to open a second store 45 minutes away in the cycling mecca of Asheville, NC, could not be ignored. Kent had frequently asked his sales reps why there was only one large bicycle store in the booming town. One of those reps was Ben Hinker, who also wondered why someone hadn’t opened a big store in Asheville. He immediately signed on as Manager of the store as soon as he learned of Kent’s plan and was involved from the early stages of deciding where to put this new store. Another key person, Sara Jarrell, a Cullowhee native, had moved back home to WNC from California a couple of years earlier. She had quickly become a trusted source of knowledge at the Sylva store but had been making the commute from Asheville to Sylva to work. This gave her plenty of reason to help make this new store a place that people could trust with her skills as Service Manager.
Calling on the design expertise of the Specialized Retail Services team, the Motion Makers crew signed on to become an Elite Store with Specialized. This allowed for a quick opening in March of 2010 with a very clean and professional look that the team knew they wanted for Asheville while allowing it to remain a locally owned store, not just a factory footprint. The store is one of the largest in the region and has, we believe, the best selection of bikes and equipment so you can always find what you need.
The mission of Pura Vida Adventures (est.2006) is to offer personal trips to families, friends, and small groups which focus on exploration, discovery, and adventure. Regardless of age or ability level we have a trip that will quench your thirst for adventure and provide you an opportunity to “experience the good life.” Pura Vida offers guided waterfall rappelling climbing, canyoneering, mountain biking, hiking, backpacking, waterfall tours, adventure race instruction, and paddling trips. Our guides also provide you with an opportunity to see the North Carolina mountains through any variety of these activities over one day or a series of days.and waterfall Pura Vida Adventures was the first company to offer commercial canyoneering and waterfall rappelling east of the Mississsippi River, in addition we are the only company east of the Mississippi that is accredited by the American Canyoneering Association. Over the past 10 years we have trained hundreds of aspiring canyoneers and canyoneering guides.