black mountain, nc: food, hiking, beer recommendations (2023 update)

We looooove Black Mountain, a little town outside of Asheville, North Carolina. Our dream is to have a spot down there eventually – we joke it will be a yurt with a view since we might be able to afford some land, but probably not anything to put on it. In 2020, we realized our longtime dream of owning a piece of Black Mountain. It’s called Wendell’s Ridge, and you should go visit!

We try to go down there 6ish times a year, and we’ve talked it up so much that now we have friends going down there too. I thought I would write up a post on some of our favorites. That way, I can just send this post when people ask me for tips. If it encourages others to visit, all the better!

Lodging

Stay at our place! If that doesn’t work out, we rented for twenty years before buying a place. We typically rented a house from VRBO, Greybeard, or Airbnb. We have had great luck with all of the Greybeard properties we’ve rented. The VRBO and Airbnb properties haven’t been as consistent, but the VRBO options are typically cheaper. Keep in mind that five miles in the mountains is very different than five miles on flat land. We like to alternate staying “up the mountain” with staying closer to town to get the best of both worlds. When we stay farther up in the mountains, it is more secluded with great views, but it takes at least 15-20 minutes of winding roads to get into town. Likewise, when we stay in town, we somewhat sacrifice the views and the seclusion for the sake of being super close to lots of fun stuff in town.

The more times we visited Black Mountain, the more we preferred staying in town and then getting out hiking for the views, which is why we bought a place within walking distance of downtown Black Mountain.

Food

We love cooking at Wendell’s Ridge (more here on our vacation food tips), so we load up on groceries at the local Ingles and Hopey and Company. On the first morning, Grant always loads up on bagels, croissants, and other baked goodies at Four Sisters Bakery that he brings home for us to make some amazing breakfasts and brunches back at Wendell’s Ridge. We always stop by the tailgate market if it is in season, and we’re there on Saturday AM. It’s the best farmers market in the land, if you ask me. We also love Foothill’s market for some meat and the seafood shack for seafood on the weekends. W

Beer

We joke that we used to have to leave the trunk empty on the way down to Black Mountain to fit all the beer that we inevitably brought home. These days, the Indy beer scene is so much better that we don’t feel like we have to hoard so much home, but Asheville is our favorite craft beer scene for a reason.

We love Burial (Grant’s absolute fav) French Broad, Wedge, , Highland, , and Green Man – all of which are worth visiting. We did the Asheville Brews Cruise, which we would highly recommend. We’ve always wanted to do one of these, but we haven’t been down without the kids to be able to swing it.

We used to go to Pisgah Brewing all the time, but their hours are weird post-Covid. We always try to pick up some cans though. Black Mountain Cider Works is worth a visit, and Black Mountain Brewing has some of the best views from their deck. Our favorite brewery in Black Mountain is Lookout, which is a 15 minute walk from our door and has the best bartenders in town. It isn’t a brewery, but one of our favorite spots with a great tap list and possibly even better views is Painted Porch right downtown (tell the owner, Hance, that we sent you!).

Be sure to checkout a brewery’s website or social media the week before your visit because most of them have live music.

We have enjoyed beer from Catawba, HiWire, Oskar Blues (their second location in Brevard is fun and definitely worth a visit), and Wicked Weed. In Black Mountain, Railyard and The Station are fun spots to enjoy a beverage too.

Restaurants

We love to eat and love going to Black Mountain/Asheville because there are SO many great spots. We have lots to try out in Asheville yet, but we have so many favorites around BMtn that it’s hard to venture out. One thing we love about most of the restaurants and breweries we’ve been to down in NC is how family friendly they are. The servers and fellow patrons are super welcoming of kids, often provide kid-specific areas or stuff for them to do, and are just generally happy to have kids around. It’s quite different from how things are around central Indiana, despite the Hoosier hospitality thing.

We like to go to many of the same places from year-to-year, but then try to find a new favorite each visit too. I’ll try to give a little recap on a few of our favorites though:

Black Mountain

Trailhead: yummy burgers (try the vegetarian mushroom one – soo yummy), great draft list, and fun ambiance. Save room for peanut butter pie.

Fresh: I am literally nearly drooling just thinking about this place’s pizza. We like to get the mushroom and ricotta one. Don’t forget to order the (full size) spring salad with their house dressing. If you go to Lookout and order some Fresh, which is across the street, you get ten percent off your pizza order.

Pure and Proper. An all day eatery, but we love it best for a date night dinner. A rotating seasonal menu that never disappoints, but whatever you do, get the Brussels.

Blue Ridge Biscuit Company: we like to get some of these to go and eat at Montreat’s park (best. park. ever). Everything we’ve ever tried there has been amazing!

Louise’s Kitchen: our favorite breakfast spot in town. Great atmosphere, delicious food, fun people. Get the Big Boy burrito.

La Guinguette. A great little spot with a fun menu. We love the empanadas and the sweet crepes.

Taco Billy. An Asheville original that recently opened in Black Mountain. Some of our Asheville friends warned us that it is addicting, and they were not wrong. Get the yard bird.

Veranda Cafe: the soups are to-die-for. Seriously.

Berliner Kindl: This place has been here as long as we’ve been going to BMtn, and it never disappoints for hearty German homecooking. G and the kids like to go for their desserts.

The Grange. Best smash burgers ever. Try to go on a Monday, which is burger day. Great outdoor area for kids.

Que Sera, Black Mountain Bistro, and Red Rocker Inn are all delicious, but we haven’t been to any of them in many years because they seem a little fancy when we have the kids along and are just rolling off the mountain from a hike.

Asheville

The kids’ favorite is Red Ginger. We love The Walk and like walking around the neighborhood before grabbing dinner. We love taking the kids to either of the Asheville Pizza and Brewing locations – the Merrimon has a cheap movie theater, and the downtown one has a great biergarten with tons of games. Their pizza is delicious, and the beer is even better.

We have so much work to do exploring Asheville’s restaurants – it’s regularly named one of the top foodie towns in the country! Check out Southern Living’s recs, Travel & Leisure’s list, and Food & Wine’s go-tos.

Coffee

Because any vacation revolves around the coffee shops, right? Dynamite is our favorite, but we love The Drip too. 

Hiking

We have two little kiddos that we’re dragging on these hikes, so we typically like to keep them around five miles or under.  If you don’t have small children, there are tons of better, longer hikes in the area. Stop by Take-a-Hike, Montreat’s visitor center, or ask a local (always super friendly) for suggestions. We have big kids and get to go on bigger hikes these days! I like checking out AllTrails, and I like this website and plan to work through their favorites as the kids get older. We always love just driving on the Blue Ridge and stopping frequently for the amazing views too.

But on with the hikes:

Catawba Falls. An easy hike for a pretty day. We always bring our ‘mocks, books, and pack a lunch and stay for several hours (check website – closed for maintenance until spring 2024).

Black Balsalm and Tennent Mountain loop. This is our favorite hike, and we always pick our prettiest, clearest day to do it. 360 degree views throughout nearly the entire hike.

John Rock is a more rugged trail, but the views at the top are worth it. To me, it is as good of views as Looking Glass without the crazy crowds (and it is a little shorter too).

Shortoff Mountain. Lake James’ views on the first half, and then beautiful views of the Linville Gorge for the back half of this out-and-back hike. One of my favorites, but don’t do it on a hot day because you’re exposed pretty much the entire hike.

Crabtree Falls and Mount Mitchell (easy and close enough to do both in same day)

Linville Gorge and Falls

Lover’s Leap/AT in Hot Springs (stop and eat lunch in Hot Springs)

Lookout and Big Piney in Montreat are always must-dos for us. Here is a listing of the rest of the Montreat trails.

Shopping

We aren’t big shoppers, but there are lots of cute spots downtown. We do always make a stop in at Take-A-Hike – they always have great sales on hiking gear, so we inevitably pick up something (they have great Black Mountain apparel too). I love stopping into Sassafras on Sutton if I have time to browse. I keep telling Grant that we need to commission something for Funky Farms from Black Mountain Iron Works, and one day I want a mountain dulcimer (and to learn how to play it!) from Song of the Wood. If shopping is your thing, there are plenty of great shops worth stopping for.

Mountain biking

The boys have recently gotten very into mountain biking, so if that’s your thing, hit them up for some tailored recommendations just for you by leaving a comment below. WNC is some of the best mountain biking in the country, so there is something for everyone!

If you have some BMtn/western NC recommendations, send them our way!