Fall is officially here!
To celebrate the start of the beautiful fall season, we put together a short list of Asheville's best ways to celebrate the changing seasons with your family.
Fall back in love with fall for the 2016 season!
Apple Picking
One of the best fall traditions is a family trip apple picking. Apple season is here and what better way to spend the start of fall than a day out at the orchard with the family picking some fresh apples? This area ranks 7th in the country's largest producing apple areas.
Just a few miles east of I-26 on US Highway 64 is "Apple Alley" with some of North Carolina's best orchards and farms. Many orchards feature a pick your own apple trail where the kids can go on hayrides around the farm. The family can enjoy a picnic lunch together or some freshly baked treats from the farm bakery. Apple orchards near Asheville or Henderson County are a fun weekend trip for any family this fall.
Doulas of Asheville co-owner, Elizabeth Pauley, had this to say about her family's recent visit:
We just visited Grandad's Apples n' Such this past weekend to say an official hello to fall! We absolutely love this friendly, family owned orchard.
Doulas of Asheville co-owner & doula, Elizabeth Pauley, with her family at Grandad's. (Go Cubs!)
There are plenty of choices for apple varieties, but it is small enough that the picking is an easily walkable activity even for the little ones. Our kids loved seeing the farm animals and being able to feed them. Although we didn’t get a pumpkin this time, they had a beautiful selection with all the sizes you could want.
The best surprise was the FREE playground area for the kids. They were amazed at the giant gorilla and bear you got to sit on, mini hay maze, and spider web to climb on. For $4 more they also have a massive “jump bubble” that the kids can wear themselves out on. For the older children there is a massive corn maze that you can pay to go through.
Be sure to hit up the delicious homemade cider and doughnuts before you leave! Grab a snack and enjoy it sitting in rocking chairs taking in the stunning mountain views.
Corn Maze
The Corn Maze at the Eliada House is a fun afternoon for the whole family. There's 12 acres of corn maze to navigate, perfect kick off for October. Don't worry about getting lost, you head into this maze fully equipped with a map and checkpoints to guide you.
Once you finish the maze there's a hayride and a pumpkin patch for your little guys to pick that perfect pumpkin for the front porch. 100% of the proceeds from tickets go to children in Eliada programs, so this is a fun event for a great cause.
There's so much more than their maze, they are bringing back their massive jumping pillow after it's popular debut last year. The little ones can play on their huge slides and spider web climbers! We know you'll have a blast at the Eliada corn maze, it's a fall tradition you won't want to miss.
Brewery Visit
Sierra Nevada and a bunch of Asheville's local breweries are supporting the "Find Your Pint" fundraiser in honor of the National Park Service's centennial year with events through September to benefit the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation. Sample exclusive beer releases and benefit a great cause. Mom and dad can sample some awesome beer while the kids enjoy some live entertainment and food trucks!
Breweries in the Asheville area host fun events that are a night out for the whole family, with plenty of excitement for the younger guys to enjoy. The "Find Your Pint" event also doubles as a fun date night spot for parents this fall!
It's not too late in the season to spend some time outdoors in the crisp autumn air here in Asheville!
Pack the kids up and surprise them with a day of adventures and activities to get rid of your kids' dreaded back to school antsy pants.
