A FREE Daily Visitor Guide for the North Carolina Mountains and 50+ NC Mountain Cities: Livability.com says Asheville is #1 for Fall Color Tours

Saturday, October 22, 2011

Livability.com says Asheville is #1 for Fall Color Tours

The good folks at Livability.com have announced their list for "Top Ten Places Places to Start a Fall Foliage Trip", with Asheville NC in the number one position. Anyone who has visited Asheville this leaf season would agree one hundred percent!

Cities were chosen for the list based on "natural wonderlands, lush forests and scenic mountain sides that burst with color". Additional considerations included quality of life factors such as local culture and attractions, as well as accessibility to scenic drives. Cities who made the list also offered hiking and bike trails and an abundance of opportunities to connect with and experience the beauty of the natural surroundings and fall color.

The Blue Ridge Parkway is the best known scenic drive in western North Carolina, crossing Asheville in 3 places and providing easy access to fall color views from a variety of elevations. There are trails and picnic areas all along the parkway and adjoining routes such as 276 through the Pisgah Forest which are equally scenic.

Livability.com is an online resource of more than 500 of America's best places to live, work, play, explore.

Learn more about Asheville NC and get links to Asheville Lodging, Attractions and visitor information HERE. For last minute cabin availability throughout the mountains, CLICK HERE.

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The Blue Ridge Parkway at 469 miles long is the nation's longest scenic rural parkway. Now 70 years old it is administered by the National Park Service and host to approximately 20 million visits annually. It connects the Shenandoah Valley National Park with the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina and Tennessee. Along the route are opportunities for lodging, dining, camping, hiking and simply enjoying breathtaking views from easily accessible overlooks and picnic areas. For additional information visit :The Blueridge Parkway Association

The River Arts District is open year around with the opportunity to meet artists in their studios. Schedules are available online. This unique area along the French Broad River is home to more than 165 artists with working studios located in 18 turn-of-the-century industrial buildings. The artists of the River Arts District welcome you into their studios to talk with them, see their latest artwork, watch demonstrations, and experience for yourself the magic hidden inside the time-worn factories and warehouses along the French Broad River.

Chimney Rock Park is named for a 500 million-year-old giant granite monolith overlooking Hickory Nut Gorge. Visitors are awed by the breathtaking view that spreads 1200 vertical feet beneath them and 75 miles across the Carolinas. The now state owned park encompasses 1,000 acres offers the best of the mountains in one place with spectacular 75-mile views, hiking trails for all ages, a 404-foot waterfall, a variety of special events and much more. Chimney Rock NC

The National Scenic Byways Program is part of the U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration. The program is a grass-roots collaborative effort established to help recognize, preserve and enhance selected roads throughout the United States. Since 1992, the National Scenic Byways Program has provided funding for almost 1500 state and nationally designated byway projects in 48 states. The U.S. Secretary of Transportation recognizes certain roads as All-American Roads or National Scenic Byways based on one or more archeological, cultural, historic, natural, recreational and scenic qualities.

Tsali Recreation Area is an outdoors lover's paradise. Probably the most popular features of Tsali Recreation Area are the 39 miles of trails suited for mountain bikers and horse-back riders, as well as hikers. The 4-loop system offers a variety of landscapes. You can climb 1-foot wide rugged paths or travel flat, well-beaten roads. The four trails--Right, Left, Mouse Branch, and Thompson Loops--meander through mixed pine and hardwoods on a peninsula stretching into Fontana Lake. Near Bryson City NC and Robbinsville NC.