Outdoors

Blue Ridge Parkway Best Bike Ride: Road/Place to Hike/Place to Picnic

Bike Ride: Mountain

• 1. Bent Creek While Bent Creek was established in 1925 for conducting research on silvicultural practices (forestry stuff), it boasts a mix of old logging roads, single-track routes, gardens and a lake. And it’s close to town. What more could you want?
• 2. DuPont State Forest
• 3. Blue Ridge Parkway

Bike ride: road

• 1. Blue Ridge Parkway Even on a rainy day, you'll find cyclists pumping up the Parkway's steep climbs or whizzing downhill. One recent Saturday, a hungry cyclist had pulled over and was scarfing blueberries off a bush hanging from the roadside cliff.
• 2. Town Mountain
• 3. Riverside Drive

Event: cycling

• 1. Fletcher Flyer www.blueridgebicycleclub.org Even if you don't know what a full-century ride is, this event offers races and routes suitable for a variety of skill levels, all set in the scenic, rolling hills of Henderson County.
• 2. Assault on Mt. Mitchell www.freewheelers.info
• 3. Hot Doggett www.mhc.edu/hotdoggett
• 3. French Broad Classic www.frenchbroadcyclingclassic.com

Event: running

• 1. Bele Chere 5K www.ashevilletrackclub.org This July, the Bele Chere 5K celebrated its 30th anniversary, with 1,385 runners participating in a race that, for once, wasn't plagued by rain at the starting line.
• 2. Asheville Citizen-Times Half Marathon www.citizen-times.com
• 3. Chamber Challenge www.ashevillechamber.org

Place to car camp

• 1. North Mills River Campground Reservations are needed — four days in advance — for this popular spot, which offers riverside camping as well as access to some fine back-country trout fishing.
• 2. Pisgah National Forest
• 3. Hot Springs Campground
• 3. Davidson River Campground

Place to backcountry camp

• 1. Shining Rock Wilderness Area Trivia: Shining Rock was designated a wild area in 1964, becoming one of the original areas of the National Wilderness System created that same year. And almost every route in its steep rocky terrain is rated as difficult.
• 2. Pisgah National Forest
• 3. Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Place to hike

• 1. Blue Ridge Parkway Too many great trails to list! The Mountains-to-Sea Trail parallels much of the Parkway; just pick a spot with place to park and head off into the woods for a respite from civilization.
• 2. Pisgah National Forest
• 3. Graveyard Fields

Place to paddle/kayak

• 1. French Broad River Just last year, the ol' Broad registered her lowest-ever river levels (since the first records were noted in 1895, at least). Then in late September, she passed the flood stage. She's temperamental, but you love her anyway.
• 2. Green River
• 3. Nantahala River

Place to picnic

• 1. Blue Ridge Parkway Favorite picnic spots on the Parkway include Crabtree Meadows, north of Craggy Gardens. Or plopping a blanket down at the parking lot at the Devil's Courthouse and letting that be the backdrop for your dining pleasure.
• 2. Craggy Gardens
• 3. Biltmore Estate

Place to walk/run

• 1. Carrier Park Carrier Park is one of Asheville's hidden gems, where the whole family can relax and have fun. The park features easy walking/biking trails, the "mellow" drome (the old racetrack), picnic shelters, a cool playground and even shuffleboard.
• 2. Beaver Lake
• 3. Bent Creek