Wildwater Adventure Centers wants to share their 42 years of rafting and outdoor leadership experience with your family, group, high adventure trip or team building retreat on four Southern rivers: the Chatooga, Nantahala, Ocoee & Pigeon. Wildwater offers the best in outdoor adventure in the Asheville area with attention to detail both on and off the water. Wildwater also offers their exclusive Quality Service Guarantee! In addition to great whitewater adventures, join Wildwater for scenic Jeep and train excursions combined with your rafting trip. Elevate your vacation and take flight on one of their 5 zipline canopy tour adventures including the newest right in the heart of Asheville. Only Wildwater can provide unique Raft & Rail, Rails & Trails, or Float & Fly packages. Wildwater is a family owned and operated business focused on providing a unique Western NC outdoor adventure vacation experience. They create memories and family traditions that will last a lifetime. Please join them!
Up-Close Outfitters, LLC specializes in 1/2 and full-day guided fishing trips to some of the top bass and trout waters in the North Carolina and South Carolina area. Our fishing guide service has chosen the foremost lakes in the region, such as lake Hartwell fishing for huge striped bass, lake Jocassee fishing for record-breaking trout and lake Fontana fishing for some of the best walleye and smallmouth bass action the Southeast has to offer. Our team of professional full time fishing guides specializes in finding those giant brown trout and largemouth bass we have all been fishing for over the years. Located in the Blue Ridge Mountains outside of Asheville NC, we are centralized to travel to South Carolina and western North Carolina. Up-Close Outfitters also takes pride in the art of fly fishing in the Blue Ridge , Appalachian , & Great Smoky mountains of North Carolina for wild brook trout and stubborn rainbows.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Explore the amazing work of nature on the “inside” of a mountain. North Carolina’s only show caverns features stalactite and stalagmite formations, an underground stream with native trout, hibernating bats, amazing mineral colors, the Bottomless Pool, and total darkness. The guided tour educates you on caverns ecosystems, geological history, and local history of the area. Gift shop located on premises.
Retail chain carrying gear, apparel & footwear for a wide range of outdoor & fitness activities.
Join Brookside Guides’ experienced and professional guides for the fly fishing adventure of a lifetime in the beautiful mountains of Western North Carolina.
Our WNC trout waters are filled with lively rainbows, browns and brook trout. Fish with our fly fishing guides from Pisgah National Forest to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
Beginning anglers can sign up for a day or weekend of fly fishing instruction and guided fishing with our skilled, patient and fun guides.
More advanced anglers can choose from the over 4,000 miles of freestone mountain trout water located within easy reach of our home base in Asheville, NC. The Davidson River, one of the most exciting and challenging rivers in our area, is listed in Trout Unlimited’s “Top 100 Trout Streams.”
Western North Carolina’s temperate climate makes this a great destination for fly fishing 365 days a year. Spring and fall offer the best hatches while in winter months anglers often find they have rivers to themselves as they search for trophy trout.
No matter what the season, you’ll have your choice of fishing on wild trout waters filled with big, wary browns or hiking to streams in the beautiful Smoky Mountains that hold the prize catch, native Appalachian brook trout.
Choose a true wilderness adventure and experience an unforgettable overnight back packing/fly fishing trip! Combine fly fishing and camping for a fun-filled family vacation.
Be sure to check out the Brookside Guides’ Women’s Fly Fishing School.
Activewear retailer offering clothing, shoes & gear for cycling, running & triathlons.