Biltmore is the largest privately-owned home in America situated on 8,000 acres. It was built by George Vanderbilt and was completed in 1895. Vanderbilt’s 250-room mansion is modeled after a French château. The Estate encompasses the house, landscaped gardens, walking trails, woodlands, restaurants, shops, inn, and an award-winning winery. Located 22 miles north of Hendersonville.
Reservations required to tour the house.
Outdoor Adventure Center – hiking, biking carriage rides, horse back riding, fly-fishing, river floats, sporting clays and more.
Bold Rock Hard Cider is one of the top regional producers of craft cider.
Visitors to the Mills River location enjoy a variety of options and activities. Folks can head inside the two-level tasting room that features a large bar, ample seating, a company store and area for bands, or opt for the outdoor cider garden with permanent food truck and a stage for live music.
Regular events include movies on a big screen, live bands, yoga, bingo and weekly trivia.
In addition to a large selection of ciders — including seasonal and limited releases — Bold Rock serves its own lines of hard lemonade, hard tea and canned craft cocktails.
Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site is where Carl Sandburg, American poet, historian, author, and lecturer spent the final 22 years of his long and productive life at his estate, Connemara. The home, originally built in 1838, displays the Sandburg’s furnishing as they lived at Connemara from 1945-1968, including Carl Sandburg’s collection of 12,000 books. Tour the home for a small fee, and learn about Sandburg’s life as a writer, journalist, folk singer, social activist and Pulitzer Prize-winning poet and biographer. Visit the barn and descendants of Mrs. Sandburg’s champion dairy goat herd and hike over five miles of trails. Access to trails, grounds, barns and public areas is free.
Open year-round. Closed Thanksgiving, Christmas & New Year’s Day
Carolina Nature Tours offers guided nature walks and day trips with a focus on birds and plants. Based in Hendersonville, outings primarily visit natural areas in Henderson County, including DuPont State Recreational Forest and Green River Game Lands, as well as many local parks. From 2-hour walks to full day tours, private as well as public group outings are offered and are appropriate for all ages and abilities.
The Park is reopened! Reservations recommended at chimneyrockpark.com.
Chimney Rock at Chimney Rock State Park is a still-developing international outdoor destination located just 25 miles southeast of Asheville and nestled in the historic Chimney Rock Village at the foot of the Blue Ridge. It is recognized as one of the Southeast’s most iconic sites and popular travel destinations.
The Park’s 535-million-year-old monolith called Chimney Rock can be accessed via a state-of-the-art elevator or the nearly 500-step Outcroppings Trail. At the top, guests can enjoy 75-mile panoramic views of the Hickory Nut Gorge and Lake Lure. The Park features one of the highest waterfalls of its kind east of the Mississippi River, Hickory Nut Falls. Hickory Nut Gorge, one of the state’s most significant centers of biodiversity, is home to 36 rare plant species and 14 rare animal species.
A family and pet-friendly destination for travel groups, weddings and special events, the Chimney Rock section of the Park also hosts innovative educational programs for field trips, scout groups, and summer camps.
Visit chimneyrockpark.com for hours and ticket information.
Greg Carter is an expert mushroom grower and forager who teaches the public how to cultivate their own mushrooms and leads expeditions to find edible mushrooms in the wild.
Visitors can sign up for half-day classes, farm tours or wild edible mushroom hunts.
Carter has more than 20 years experience and is certified through the State of North Carolina to provide wild edible mushrooms to local restaurants and chefs.
Offers tours of the mushroom farm, classes on how to grow mushrooms on logs, mushroom foraging ID classes and hikes
Ellaberry Llama Farm is run by the Justice Family, Hendersonville natives who love llamas! Visit the farm for tours where you can learn about llamas and llama-keeping, hikes with the llamas, run the llamas through an obstacle course, and more. The farm also offers birthday parties and picnics. You can also learn about showing llamas with their herd of prize-winning llamas.
Learn about Hendersonville’s history and architecture from local historian, Mary Jo Padgett! Throughout the year, four different tour options are offered of Main Street, public artwork along Main Street, Oakdale Cemetery and the 7th Avenue Historic District. Starting points vary by tour.
Henderson County Heritage Museum is housed in the Historic Henderson County Courthouse on Main Street. It offers public displays, artifacts, lectures, collections, archives, libraries, demonstrations, and other exhibitions relating to the history, culture and heritage of Henderson County. The museum celebrates veterans of all wars, and has an Civil War Display.
Open Wednesday-Saturday from 10:00am – 5:00pm & Sunday from 1:00 – 5:00pm
Historic Johnson Farm is a fine example of a late 19th and early 20th-century farm & tourist retreat. The entire structure was handmade from bricks that were fired on-site from French Broad River mud. Over the years many outbuildings were constructed, including a tool shed/blacksmith shop, barn, boarding house, and a cottage. The property offers historic home tours, nature trails, picnic tables, animals, and 10 historic structures on 15 acres filled with trees in a natural setting. The Heritage Weavers and Fiber Artists have transformed the boarding house into a fiber arts center, which includes weaving, rug hooking, bobbin lace, spinning, or knitting.
Offers summer day camp for children ages 6-14
Guided tours of the historic house are available Monday-Friday, call for times.
In 2006, founder Pam was in a near-fatal car accident. She struggled to heal and find something to make life meaningful. Honeybee Bliss is the culmination of the quest to help Pam with her chronic pain, coupled with their love of organic gardening and passion for saving the bees. They began beekeeping and were instantly obsessed. They started their quest to collect as much information as possible to manage the honeybees organically. It was their goal to make a positive impact on the environment by helping the honeybees thrive.
Tours available: Learn about the intriguing world of honeybees in a way that few get to experience through the hands-on exploration of an active, living beehive! Your tour, led by a professional beekeeper, will include suiting up in protective gear, lighting a bee smoker, and getting up close with more than 100,000 bees. Each tour is a minimum of 2, and maximum of 6 people, providing you an intimate experience of this fascinating species.
Or, order apiary products online including honey, beeswax products, lip balm, and more!
North River Farms is a locally owned and operated family business. The 1,400-acre farm strives to produce the highest quality products. Groups can enjoy a riverside picnic, a farm shed party, or outdoor games of Laser Tag and GellyBall! U-Pick produce is also available in season, and includes Squash, Cucumbers, Zucchini, Green Beans, Tomatoes, Strawberries, Celery & Bell Peppers.
Offers guided tours of a real working farm
Tours may be customized for groups ranging from families to schools, churches, clubs, Scouts, and social groups
Sideways Brewery offers an ever-changing menu of small-batch artisan ales and handcrafted hard jun kombucha using seasonal specialty ingredients that are grown on the farm. The tasting room pours directly from bottles for guided tastings — you won’t find taps here! Beer is sold by the glass or bottle. Guests may walk the farm to see beer ingredients growing, view farm animals grazing, or pick their own flowers. Sideways Farm & Brewery makes a beautiful setting for marriage proposals, elopements, intimate weddings, or private farm-to-table dinners and events.
Open Friday, Saturday & Sunday
Food trucks on-site
Offers private group tours of the brewery & farm tours
Sells U-pick flowers
“Sunday Market” farmers market open on the first Sunday of every month (seasonally, May-October)
Sierra Nevada Brewing Company has set the standard for artisan brewers worldwide as a winner of numerous awards for a wide variety of beers and ales, including the legendary Pale Ale. Their east coast brewing, bottling and distribution location is in Mills River, set on 200 wooded acres and located just 10 miles from downtown Hendersonville, south of Asheville. The Taproom offers 20+ beers on tap. The restaurant serves farm-to-table dishes that are mainly sourced locally.
5 different guided tours of the brewery and tastings are offered 7 days per week, reservations must be booked online (tours fill up quickly)
Self-guided tours of the brewing facility are available (no reservations required)
Souther Williams features eight acres of grapes (with additional acres planned) and an open-air tasting room. On land that’s been in the same family since 1800, Souther Williams cultivates well-known varietals like Cabernet Franc, Cynthiana, Reisling and Vidal Blanc, along with lesser-known grapes from Austria, Germany and eastern Europe. These cooler climate varietals include Blaufrankisch, Gruner Veltliner, Regent and Saperavi
Open to age 21+
Offers a vineyard “Hike and Sip Tasting and Tour” on Fridays, Saturdays & Sundays at 11am from April – November for a fee (weather permitting, reservations required)
Stepp’s Hillcrest Orchard is a family owned and operated, 100-acre farm that offers over 20 varieties of U-pick and pre-picked apples, U-pick flowers, U-pick pumpkins, U-pick grapes, baked goods, and lots of family friendly activities. Open annually from August through October.
The Trolley Company offers guided tours of Historic Hendersonville, Wine Tours, and special events.
Call for dates & times. Holiday tours are offered from late November through December, and shuttles are offered on weekends to/from the NC Arboretum’s Winter Lights show.
Offers year-round birding tours and hikes, including local day trips, regional weekend trips and week-long international trips, all conducted by local bird experts and ornithologists
Some local day trips are free, all trips require reservations
Set against the backdrop of a gently sloping, natural 70-foot waterfall and enveloped by a lush forest, Willow Falls offers a picturesque and enchanting setting. Walking trails illuminated by warm Edison bulbs, charming gazebos, winding porches, a stone terrace, a fire pit, and vibrant gardens create a magical atmosphere perfect for any celebration.
Wedding Space:
Capacity: Accommodates up to 75 guests.
Available Months: May, June, September, and October
Accommodations:
Two Distinct Homes:
Main House: Designed with the elegance of a French countryside villa, offering a sophisticated and charming environment.
Bungalow: Provides a whimsical, fairytale-like experience.
Total Bedrooms: Five, comfortably accommodating up to 14 overnight guests.
