• The rugged Blue Ridge Mountains shape western North Carolina.Shining Rock Wilderness, North Carolina image by Pablo M from Fotolia.com
  
  The rugged Blue Ridge Mountains shape western North Carolina. You could admire their majesty while hiking through them or driving along the Blue Ridge Parkway. You could also take in all the region has to offer by vacationing in the city of Asheville with its shopping, art galleries and outdoor festivals. A quieter time alongside Lake Lure's beaches or in the middle of Grandfather Mountain's Mile High Swinging Bridge also await.
  
  

Asheville

• An artists' colony with remarkable Art Deco buildings, including the city hall, Asheville remains the western North Carolina refuge that it became when the railroad connected it to the rest of the country in 1880. With its rich architectural history, its eclectic downtown dotted with local galleries and antique shops, its luxurious spas and resorts, its parks and gardens, as well as its access to local hiking, whitewater rafting and the beaches of Lake Lure, Asheville makes a convenient home base for family vacationers with diverse interests.
  
  Architecture and history buffs should go to the Pack Place Education, Arts, & Science Center to follow the Asheville Urban Trail, visit the Biltmore Estate, or take one of the Asheville Historic Trolley Tours. Asheville can also host a romantic getaway for two with its quaint bed and breakfasts and rustic cabins and cottages that take advantage of the area's wooded terrain. Visit romanticasheville.com to learn about Asheville's many lodging options, spas and restaurants, as well city walks and hikes you and your special someone can take. Visit the exploreasheville.com to learn about the city's many festivals and events throughout the year. Asheville hosts something almost every spring, summer and fall weekend.
  
  Pack Place Education, Arts, & Science Center
  2 South Park Square
  Asheville, NC
  828-257-4500
  packplace.org
  
  

Grandfather Mountain

• Grandfather Mountain reaches 5,946 feet into the air next to the Blue Ridge Parkway near Linville, North Carolina, and boasts 11 trails for novices in the in-park area and for experienced hikers in the back-country area. Grandfather Mountain preserve hosts 73 rare or endangered species and features environmental habitats for visitors to view how black bears, cougars, river otters and other animals live in their natural habitats.
  
  Grandfather Mountain attracts the most visitors, however, for its Mile High Swinging Bridge, a 228-foot suspension bridge first built in 1952 (then rebuilt in 1999) over an 80-foot chasm more than a mile above sea level. Be ready to climb 50 steps to reach the bridge.
  
  Grandfather Mountain Entrance
  2050 Blowing Rock Highway
  Linville, NC 28646
  800-468-7325
  grandfather.com
  
  

Lake Lure Tours

• Among the Blue Ridge Mountains that give western North Carolina its character lays Lake Lure, with its sandy beaches and water park. Hourly boat tours leave from the marina all day until 7 p.m. in the summer, with a special box lunch and a sunset cruise with a cash bar and dinner in the Veranda Restaurant afterward.
  
  You can also rent a motorized boat, canoe or kayak to explore the lake yourself. With a permit, you can launch your own boat. Take in the lake over time by staying either at the Lake Lure Inn and Spa that organizes the Lake Lure boat tours or the other area lodges and resorts that dot this taste of Eastern North Carolina in the West.
  
  Lake Lure Tours
  2930 Memorial Highway
  Lake Lure, NC 28746
  877-386-4255
  lakelure.com/tours