Asheville, North Carolina is a hub for outdoor activities and adventures. Hurricane Helene did a lot of damage in the area causing big patches of trees down, mudslides, flooding, etc and full recovery will take years but rest assured Asheville is open and there is still something for everyone who loves recreating outdoors here. Below is a list of what I´ve found to be the best options Post Helene in the area for hiking, running, cycling, swimming and a few other sports. I´ve also listed my favorite bakeries for some post/mid sport fuel…I´d list breweries too but there are absolutely tons here and plenty of information out there about that.

I came to Asheville in November of last year post Hurricane Helene, stayed a while before heading off but returned in March. It has been quite the experience watching this region and community evolve after so much destruction. Seeing places I rode or ran in November and returning in spring when the leaves started hiding the plethora of downed trees was so weird. Things have steadily come along to be fixed, torn down, rebuilt, moved or cleaned up. I wish I had seen it before the hurricane but living here when the community is so together has been wonderful and inspiring to see. There are still tons of massive piles of trees to be shredded at the saw mills, roads and trails to be fixed to give access to all hiking areas, plenty of clean up to be done still on land and in waterways, around town you still find houses waiting on repairs with tarps and lots of evidence of flooding and changes in landscape yet Asheville is still beautiful and I´ve found beyond enough to do here even with the changes so please do visit…they still need and want you here to explore!

HIKING

Not all hikes are open yet after Helene so you need to check the official pages. Many towns were tragically flooded, had landslides or too many trees fell and even now not all roads have reopened. I spent many trips just turning around because information isn´t on AllTrails, the older blogs aren´t updated, Google Maps still thinks it is open, or I couldn´t understand the Official websites (mainly because they list things by milepost). Stopping at a Visitor Center is very helpful to do before heading out on most hikes and if using any trail app definitely check the reviews! Rest assured that almost every week more things are opening up! ***Mount Mitchell, for instance, the highest peak on the East Coast/East of the Mississippi just reopened in September when it wasn´t planned to until way later.

Popular hikes open and worth a trek are:

Easier
– Triple waterfall loop of Dupont – Hooker Falls, Triple Falls and High Falls (can do whole loop or walk from two parking areas easily)
– Rainbow Falls Trail in Gorges State Park
– Chimney Rock State Park (opened in June with reservation, very indirect route to drive there – hike or elevator to top lol)
– Schoolhouse Falls (Panthertown Valley) – can add as many more miles here if you wish
– Fryingpan Tower, super short, wide path, great views from fire tower
– Black Balsam Knob – mainly exposed hike but short with great views, camping spots and many more trail options
– Craggy Pinnacle Trail (opened in September, great for sunrise/sunset)

***An Extra Easy hike would be Pink Beds out near Brevard paired with a stop at Looking Glass Falls.

Medium (short but steep)
– Lookout Mountain in Black Mountain/Montreat area
– Mt. Pisgah off Blue Ridge Parkway (section open near Pisgah National Forest)
– Lover´s Leap in Hot Springs
– Sam Knob Summit – great little hike, with meadows too and plenty more hiking if desired
– Catawba Falls (lots of stairs, most popular falls, well maintained, can do whole loop or just falls)
– Devils Courthouse – short and steep, great for sunrise

Hard (longer and steep)
– Looking Glass Rock
– Art Loeb (not fully opened trail but mostly open), very long
– Grandfather Mountain State Park (all except Profile Trail are open, most are technical trails)
– Mount Mitchell (opened in September 2025)

RUNNING

Keep in mind that Asheville is at 2,200 feet elevation (not high enough to get real altitude training – you need 4000ft+ elevation – but Asheville is better than 100 feet).  In the summer Asheville does get pretty humid and hot…starting in April until September.

Adding to the challenges is that it isn’t easy to find a flat spot to run in Asheville but there are some spots. Even if not flat it’s interesting how such a small city keeps delivering with new routes. Below I’ve listed my preferences.

• French Broad River Path (4 to 8 miles available) A portion was washed out but you can cross the road and connect via a grass path along the road to Carrier Park…or loop around (currently river loop is under construction).

• Beaver Lake (1.9 mile mainly gravel/dirt path with some roots and plenty of walkers)

• Local track (Memorial Stadium, UNCA, Asheville HS)

• Reed Creek/Glenn´s Creek Path by university (2 miles, rolling hills)

• Running by the Grove Park Golf Course is quite nice too…route is along Kimberly Ave to Evelyn Pl then along Charlotte St. or vice versa and you can even add Murdock to Glenn’s Creek Path.

• Malvern Hill Loop or adding in Riverview Drive in West Asheville is also a nice

• Sunset Drive (5-6 mile loop)…shaded, views, flat ish etc. Take N Griffing Blvd up the hill and run along Sunset Drive…great loop but the hill up is harsh so I don’t do this frequently.

**Ecusta Trail if you don´t mind the drive to Hendersonville (40 min), flat 6 miles, extension in 2026

For Trail:
– Bent Creek is the closest forested area for trail running (look at the Trail Run Project)
– Blue Ridge Parkway from Visitor Center has access to the Mountain to Sea Trail which is open there
– Richmond Hills is in town (4 miles or so – opened in September))

Near Asheville are a lot of small, old mountains (Blue Ridge, Pisgah…basically the Appalachian Mountains) so the area does attract a lot of ultra marathon runners, mountain bikers and there are plenty more places to run out in the mountains but not necessarily in Asheville.

Running Store: Jus Running or Mountain Running Company

Run groups:
Not gonna lie there are tons in Asheville but the most popular and the ones you should know are:

• Monday Trail Running 6:30 pm (meets at Bent Creek),
• Tuesday Asheville Runners Brew Run 6:15 pm (social, chill, mixed good company – rotating breweries monthly – information on Meetup),
• Jus Running Track Tuesday 6:30 pm (pretty serious runners, go from store or meet at UNCA track)
• Archetype Wednesday Run 6:15 pm (younger, big group, kind of fast)
• Women´s Run Group Wednesday 5:30 am (early but nice to have)
• Saturday Fleet Feet Long Run 7:30 am (meets in the RAD at Summit Coffee Truck)
• Sunday Mountain Running 10 am (from Asheville store)

Outside of Asheville
— Brevard Group is Pisgah Running on Wednesday (5:30 for 5 miles) or
— SurFers Sunday Runday Funday for longer trail runs (on FB)
— Hendersonville Run Club meets 3x week (found on FB)

Resources: 1

CYCLING

Road Cycling
There are plenty of cyclists in Asheville yet still not the best bike infrastructure. There are some paths and some bike lanes but most roads have no shoulder. Most locations don´t offer a bike rack area so you have to lock it on signs and fences. They say there are plenty of stolen bikes here as well so a good lock is smart (I´ve not had issues). Asheville on Bikes does provide some free bike valet for some big local events which is nice. Below are the closest routes and what I feel are safest options but know that the region has plenty of other routes people enjoy here.

The most common and safest route is around the French Broad River and River Arts District (RAD). There is a dedicated bike path for a chunk of it that connects to a path (currently you need to take the road a half mile to connect) and bike lanes. You would need to do loops if you want a protected spot to ride for longer though. New Belgium Brewery is on this loop and is geared towards cyclists needs…a great spot to get water (outside fountains), eat (food trucks), tools or a beer.

From Asheville Downtown the safest way out North is either to connect with the Reed Creek Trail via Flint St. in downtown, go along the University and left onto the bike lane of Merrimon Ave. OR go left past the YMCA in Downtown and right to connect with Charlotte St. which has a bike lane and then onto Murdock Ave (turn left onto Lennox at the gas station to catch Murdock) to Merrimon Ave. Either way this bike lane is great but it oddly ends just as you go by Beaver Lake…dumb! The back side of the lake though is wonderful for riding…Lakeshore Drive. You can also add on Lookout Rd. which is a lovely but short road near the university.

A popular ride near Beaver Lake is to go up Elk Mountain Scenic Hwy which you can easily connect to but know that it is a long steep workout but totally worth the effort. To connect to Elk Mountain you take Beaverdam Rd…although this part is not my favorite to bike on, cars do seem to understand you are gonna turn left soon. Most doing Elk Mountain used to take the Blue Ridge Parkway back but that section remains closed so most turn around here (the section headed East though is open, headed away from Asheville). If you go down the other side of Elk Mountain it is possible to loop into Weaverville. Just be aware it is a super steep ride down on that side, good brakes needed!

Favorite Bike Rides:

• Elk Mountain Road ride for sure!
  
• Biltmore Forest is great…I take this route to ride back from the public indoor pool at T.C. Roberson which takes me through Biltmore Park, onto the Blue Ridge Parkway for bit, into Biltmore Forest past the golf course and drops you out at Biltmore Village…through from there it is a bit crappy…shortly you can catch Meadow Rd. to the left and head back to RAD and up into downtown.

• Town Mountain Road out and back from downtown Asheville …Blue Ridge Parkway part to loop back is still closed.

• Blue Ridge Parkway which is rolling hills and nice with an ok amount of cars…still no shoulder. There are various sections open as of late September, definitely from the Visitor´s Center towards Devils Courthouse.

• Cycling halfway to Black Mountain is enjoyable too…aka Lyman St. along the River Arts District crossing to Bryson St./Swannanoa River road, right on Tunnel Rd. (busy road!) for a block and Left at Riceville Rd. With a right turn onto Old Farm School Road and follow until Riceville again then Left on Warren Wilson road until you hit Swannanoa. You can continue on the old highway to Black Mountain if you wish but there are a lot more cars on this section of road.

• Cycling around Mars Hill is also nice, lots of back roads and even a nice shoulder for long chunks.

• Many ride the river and head out to Marshall, it is basically one of the flattest long rides to do around here but I´d suggest doing that on Sunday when there are less big trucks on the road. You can go any day but it´s narrow and sometimes feels like it´s too much.

• Lastly there are many country roads well ridden out toward Leicester, Alexander and even out to Marshall to get lost in and have a fun hillier ride. Some good routes include Green Valley Road, Turkey Creek Road, Bear Creek Road and Ridgeview Road. Take a look at Strava´s heatmap or Komoot routes and just go.

MTB
Most drive out to Bent Creek or Dupont State Recreational Forest (Dupont) for riding

Gravel
Popular in Asheville is the ride is up Town Mountain Road and loop back via Beaverdam Road (accessed via road opposite Blue Ridge Parkway) or the above MTB spots.

***Watch out for black bears and some deer on any ride. Literally can be anywhere….hopefully not on a fast downhill!***

Bike Stores:
Hearn´s – Used bikes and great customer service
Beer City Bicycles – Great stock, great mechanics and yes draft beer
Gravelo Workshop – Hip with coffee, mainly MTB and Gravel
Youngbloods Bicycles- Great little shop with road bikes and more
Liberty Bikes is a hub down in South Asheville
….these are just my recommendations, there are many more shops!

Groups:
Mountain Haulers – Tuesday Ride, 7pm – IG has details
Gravelo – Wednesday Ride, 6:15 (fast) – IG has details
Youngbloods – Thursday Ride, 6 pm – info here
Gravelo – Saturday Bakery Ride, 9:30 am (fast, slow group is 20mph avg.) – IG has details
….Likely more but these are the base for groups.

Bike Rentals:
MTB – The Adventure Center $59+
Ebike – The Flying Bike $40
Road bike and others – Asheville Bicycle Company $65+
Hendersonville Rentals – Venture Ecusta ($35) for half day (open until 1:45 and then until close) to ride the newly opened Ecusta Trail (6 miles one way) Info

Resources: Blue Ridge Bicycle Club aka BRBC (plethora of information and rides) , Asheville on Bikes (advocacy and more)

SWIMMING

There are oddly tons of pools in Asheville but many you see around are seasonal or require membership. Below is a list of pools that you can access using day passes or my recommendations if you stay longer and decide to buy a membership.

Your best bet for a day pass is Buncombe County Aquatic Center at T.C. Roberson High School which is open MWF at 6-8 am and 11am-1pm ($5 day or multi-day punch card). Bus line S6 or S3 ($1) get´s you close enough to walk but doesn´t run frequently so timing is everything. I take my bike and ride from the bus stop and sometimes ride back into Asheville (1 hour ride). If you catch the S6 at 10:45 am you can grab a bus back at 12:27 pm (usually it is late), this is my go to route to swim. More info

Otherwise choices are $15 to $20 a day or by membership only.

• YMCA in downtown Asheville (Woodfin St) – first timers can get a 3-day pass or a day pass is $20
  (indoor pools – 2 different temperatures)

• Asheville Racquet Club – Outdoor pool (salt water pool) – $15
  It is part of the Crown Plaza Hotel (there is an indoor pool too). You can go 3 times on the day pass otherwise you need to be a member.

• JCC – Must be a member (indoor/outdoor pool depending on season…aka roof is removeable. Membership is cheap but pool is not.

• UNCA – indoor pool, for students or faculty only but you can go as guest
  
• Odyssey School Pool – Outdoor summer pool in Montford for members. Can get season pass or month pass, various prices for family, couples, students, etc

• YWCA – if it ever finishes it´s remodel!

Summer time outdoor public pools are open for cooling off mainly. The public pools are not great for swimming but there are tons. Cost is $4 and they open weekdays at 11:30 am. If you want to try to swim here (Erwin, Cane Creek, Hominy Valley, Owen and others – many closed due to Helene) go when they open otherwise it is full of children. Open Memorial Day weekend and then June 11th ish or whenever local schools are out until basically early August. If you have a local library card there are Zoom passes (free). More info

Lake Junaluska – Some do open water swimming here but not sure if it´s that great of a swim, water quality has been tested and is fine.

Water Quality Updates

OTHER SPORTS

White Water Rafting
Much of the river needed clean up after Helene but White Water Rafting has returned to the French Broad River is some spots. Recommended Outfitter is French Broad Adventures. Generally rafting is done past Marshall and around Hot Springs. Clean up of the river is very much still on going!

In Asheville, you can go tubing along the French Broad River with Zen Tubing

Yoga
Asheville Community Yoga (actually in Woodfin) offers lots of great classes and it is by donation, suggested $10-20
Asheville Yoga Center (in town)

Climbing
Cultivate Climbing

Triathlon
Most were canceled locally due to the hurricane but North Carolina does have some on the coast. Hendersonville Triathlon, AVL Triathlon, Lake Lure Sprint will return in 2026.

Skiing/Snowboarding
Sugar Mountain and Beech Mountain ski areas

Golf
Grove Park Inn Golf Course
Country Club of Asheville (private)
Biltmore Forest Country Club (private)
Waynesville Inn and Golf Club (40 minute drive away)

Also just because sports and treats go hand in hand for me here are my favorites so far:

Non Bakery recovery with Sport Massage:
* Center for Massage and Natural Health – It is a school so massage is done by students, pricing is $44 and I recommend focusing on one part of the body that is bugging you.
* Yoga and Massage in Hendersonville – farther away but great massage therapists at normal pricing about $100
* Blazing Lotus Healing House in Asheville but expect it to be normal Asheville pricing around $140

***This blog will continue to be updated as things open and I explore more. Last update October 2025.***

P.S. Transit Options to get to Asheville:
– AVL is the airport code, usually you go through Charlotte, Atlanta, NYC, Chicago to get here but there are other direct flights….Allegiant, Delta, Amercian, United, JetBlue, SunCountry,
– Airport transport…take bus S3 to and from for $1, runs every 1.5 hours, take 40-60 min…Uber, less than $30 (25-35 minutes generally)
Greyhound NCDOT – All over North Carolina
ART Bus System all over Asheville and Buncombe County (not that frequent but does work once on)