North Carolina Mountains Family Kid Vacations

NORTH CAROLINA MOUNTAINS

Asheville, NC
Websites:	www.exploreasheville.com
Things to see and do:	- Visit the Biltmore Estate - Take a Hot Air Balloon Ride with Mt. Pisgah Hot Air Balloons - Take a guided canoe tour on the French Broad River led by Headwaters Outfitters - Visit Chimney Rock Park (25 Miles southeast of Asheville) 1-800-277-9611 - Go hiking - Explore the Blue Ridge Parkway - Take a historic Trolley Tour - Go horseback riding - See the Cherokee Eagle Dance and visit the Museum of the Cherokee and the Oconaluftee Indian Village (NC US Highway 441 N; Cherokee Indian Reservation, Western North Carolina, Adjacent to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park)
Asheville Festivals and Events Highlights:	- Summerfest at the Biltmore Estate (live music, wine tasting, cooking demonstrations, kids' activities including a "grape stomp," and more) July 1?3, August 6?7, and September 3?4 - Comprehensive Listing of Asheville Area Festivals and Events (A great resource for planning your trip to Asheville!)
Approx. Drive Time from Chapel Hill area to Asheville:	4 - 4 1/2 hours

Grandfather Mountain - Boone, NC

Website:	www.VisitBooneNC.com www.grandfather.com www.tweetsie.com
Things to see and do:	- Blowing Rock - Blue Ridge Mountains - See the swinging bridge at Grandfather Mountain - Hike Grandfather Trail (for experienced hikers, the hike requires the use of in-place cables and ladders; easier hikes also available.) - Visit Tweetsie Railroad family amusement park (wild west theme; authentic steam engine and three-mile train ride, ferris wheel, deer park, cable cars, and more). - Visit the Mast General Store - Linville Caverns - Go hiking and see the waterfalls - Whitewater rafting - Visit the "Horn in the West" outdoor theater *Boone offers lots of fun in every season!* Enjoy four modern ski resorts in winter, few people and long-range views in spring, cool mountain breezes in summer, world-famous leaf color in fall, scenic mountain beauty year round, beautiful Blue Ridge Parkway views, and Boone is closer now on new 4-lane US 421. For more information, call the Boone Convention Vistors Bureau at 1-800-699-5097or visit www.VisitBooneNC.com. - Brown Mountain lights - (just a little NC trivia!): From the WesternNC.com website: "Brown Mountain lies in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Parkway with an elevation of only 2,600 feet. The Brown Mountain Lights of Burke County, near Morganton NC, have intrigued residents and visitors for hundreds of years. The lights are mentioned in local Native American mythology, and by Geraud de Brahm, a German engineer and the first white man to explore the region, in 1771. The lights have been described in many ways from being a glowing ball of fire, to being a bursting skyrocket, or a pale almost white light. The fact that they never seem the same is as fantastic as the lights themselves. At times they seem to drift slowly, fading and brightening and at other times they seem to whirl like pinwheels, then dart rapidly away. . . . The lights can be seen from as far away as Blowing Rock or the old Yonahlosse Trail over Grandfather Mountain some fifteen miles from Brown Mountain. At some points closer to Brown Mountain the lights seem large, resembling balls of fire from a Roman candle. Sometimes they may rise to various heights and fade slowly. Others expand as they rise, then burst high in the air like an explosion without sound. Brown Mountain is located in the Pisgah National Forest, in the Blue Ridge mountains of Western North Carolina. . . . " Click for more.
Boone Festivals and Events Highlights:	Comprehensive Listing of Boone Area Festivals and Events (A great resource for planning your trip to Boone!)
Approx. Drive Time from Chapel Hill area to Boone:	3 - 3 1/2 hours

Great Smoky Mountains - Bryson, NC

Website:	www.GreatSmokies.com
Things to see and do:	- Visit the Great Smoky Mountains National Park (the highest peak is Clingman's Dome) - Go tubing down Deep Creek - Whitewater rafting on the Nantahala River - Steam locomotive train rides - Go mountain biking across the Great Smoky Mountains - Smoky Mountain Trains (Model Train Museum) - Santa's Land Fun Park & Zoo - Click here for more attractions and links 800-279-6176
Approx. Drive Time from Chapel Hill area to Bryson:	4 1/2 - 5 hours

Additional NC Mountains Highlights Coming Soon! If you have favorite NC mountain vacation spots not listed here, please your suggestions!