Black Mountain, North Carolina
September, 2023
Black Mountain was one of the first adventure centric trips we took with our kids. They were four and six at the time, and this was a big step up from let’s go sit on a beach. Black Mountain was half a days drive away so it wasn’t a large commitment, and the bar was pretty low so off we went.
We stopped at Stepps Apple Orchard on the way up, we picked apples and ate from them all week long. This orchard was not busy at all and had beautiful mountain views, vining pumpkins growing, and every kind of apple tree. Of course we grabbed Apple cider donuts here too!!
Hikes + Activities: Craggy Pinacle, Bearwallow, stopped at the Tempie Avery Montford Center + Playground in Asheville and also went inside to shoot hoops and use their bathrooms, Pie.Zaa for the biggest slice of your life, Sunshine Sammies for a treat, plus Mt. Mitchell and the Balsam Nature Trail. (MY FAVORITE)
We pushed it, we planned it quick and we didn't research the hikes too much beforehand. Instead we just decided it we felt like it was too much we would turn around, and we didn't turn around. Not even once. The kids killed it. They hiked straight up with us. We had to carry our daughter only twice up the last stretch of some steep spots and our son basically ran up every trail and we had to ask him to wait for us. I'm so incredibly proud of them.
This trip really showed us that our kids can handle so much more than we give them credit for. It made us so excited for more trips with them as they grow up. Wait, dont get this wrong. we loved going out of town with our kids before this but always assumed it would be hard, we would need grandparents for certain trips, or that we better just stick with a close by beach. We also loved to think about going on these big trips without them, and sometimes a night alone is a treat, but we can’t imagine experiencing new things without the kids. Now most adventure we dream up includes them and I wouldn't have it any other way.
The Airbnb we stayed at was so beautiful. It was secluded but still walkable to downtown black mountain. The city and surrounding mountains were gorgeous. Highly recomend as an east coast small mountain town. Very similar feel and vibes to the PNW mountain downs in Washington.
