Asheville Is Open for Business

We just spent nine days in Asheville, and we had a blast. You should visit, too!

Western North Carolina was devastated by Hurricane Helene in fall of 2024. Recovery was difficult, and it took months to restore power and water and to repair damaged highways. The buildings and streets in Historic Downtown Asheville escaped major damage from Helene, but still suffered huge losses in revenue from tourism.

The people of Asheville (and all of WNC) are resilient. They have banded together and rebuilt and reopened. The recovery has been remarkable - they are now open and ready for tourists to return.

Our stay in Asheville was our way to “be part of the comeback.”

• We stayed in a locally owned Airbnb in the heart of Historic Downtown.

• We took a walking tour with a local guide and learned some cool things about Asheville through the years.

• We visited the magnificent Biltmore Estate (they contributed millions of dollars to WNC relief and recovery efforts).

• We dined at several fantastic locally-owned restaurants - so yummy!

• We went to a baseball game and ate hot dogs - so fun!

• We shopped at the local grocery co-op, we hired local Lyft drivers, and we took a flight from Asheville Regional Airport.

Asheville today is just as picturesque, vibrant, artsy, tasty, and fun as it was before Helene. Sure, there was some construction going on, and some storefronts were still closed, but this did not hamper our fun in any way. We had such a great time in Asheville that we have already booked another (longer) visit.

If you want more details or a second opinion, there’s a nice piece HERE written by a more experienced travel writer. I invite you to be part of the comeback, too. Asheville is open and ready to welcome you!