Readers pick the best Blue Ridge towns to live and play
The Blue Ridge is home to some of the planet’s most beautiful mountain ranges, forests, wilderness areas, and waterways—and it’s chock full of culture-packed, outdoors-loving towns and cities.
Each year our editors compile a list of the region’s top 100 hubs across four categories: Tiny, small, medium, and large. Then we invite readers to pick their favorite adventure-ready places to live, visit, and play.
Now thousands of votes have been cast and champions have emerged. The winners offer stunning scenery, beautiful parks and greenways, proximity to stellar outdoor recreation opportunities, as well as thriving local businesses, restaurants, bars, and cultural offerings.
Read on to learn more about this year’s Top Adventure Towns.
Editor’s Note: Voting for our annual Top Adventure Towns contest and most of the reporting on the winners took place before Hurricane Helene brought devastating flooding to the mountains of western North Carolina and areas in surrounding states. Although we’d still like to celebrate these towns, destinations in this article are currently dealing with effects of the storm and are not able to be visited. Contact local officials for travel advisory updates. And to learn how you can help those affected by Helene, visit blueridgeoutdoors.com/helene.
TOP LARGE TOWN
Winner
Asheville, North Carolina
Asheville has long been the beloved adventure epicenter of the Blue Ridge Mountains, so it’s no surprise that our readers named it the region’s Top Large Town. As of press time, the city was in the very early stages of recovery, still reeling from the devastating effects of Hurricane Helene. Many parts of town, including the vibrant River Arts District, experienced unfathomable destruction.
With homes and businesses still without power and water—and many uninhabitable—inspiring scenes emerged of locals coming together in a time of crisis. Neighbors helped each other with rescues and shelter, while many of the city’s well-known breweries and restaurants cooked free meals and passed out bottled water.
It’s going to take a long time for the city to get back to full strength, but Asheville is full of determined adventurers who will diligently rebuild and eventually get back to enjoying surrounding nearby outdoor treasures, including the Blue Ridge Parkway, Pisgah National Forest, and 6,684-foot Mt. Mitchell, the highest peak east of the Mississippi River.
To find out how you can help Asheville, and for updates on travel advisories, visit exploreasheville.com.
Runners Up
Roanoke, Va.
The town and surrounding Roanoke Valley are outdoor recreation hotspots, as locals mountain bike at Carvins Cove, hike the Appalachian Trail, and ride road bikes on the Blue Ridge Parkway.
Charleston, S.C.
This historic Southern port city is surrounded by rivers, creeks, and lakes for kayaking and paddleboarding, so locals who love water-based adventure can typically be found gliding across favorites like Charleston Harbor and Shem Creek.
TOP MIDSIZE TOWN
Winner
Charlottesville, Virginia
Say “Charlottesville” and most people think of the University of Virginia, wine, or the legacy of Thomas Jefferson, but outdoor aficionados know the little city has much to offer in the way of adventure.
For starters, it sits at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains a 45-minute drive from the Blue Ridge Parkway, George Washington National Forest, Appalachian Trail, and Shenandoah National Park. Great family-friendly paddling opportunities are found in town on the Rivanna River, while access to the mighty James River awaits just 20 miles to the southeast. Residents can carve up 129 skiable acres of snowsports at Wintergreen Resort less than an hour away. And there’s also a whopping 96 miles of mountain biking trails in and around town.
“I love that I can step right outside my backdoor and have so many options for outdoors things to do any time of the year,” says longtime resident and Charlottesville Area Mountain Bike Coalition vice president Sam Lindblom, who spearheaded efforts to form the state’s first public school-sanctioned competitive mountain biking team at Albemarle High School in 2015.
The other top thing he loves about Charlottesville “is it’s such a cultural melting pot.”
“We have the kinds of restaurants and cultural opportunities you’d expect to find in major cities like Washington D.C.,” says Lindblom. Major, midsize, and small music venues attract artists that range from pop megastars like Sabrina Carpenter to festival favorites like the Infamous Stringdusters or jazz up-and-comer Julian Lage.
Top it all off with a beautiful outdoor mall downtown, a 40-vineyard vino region that Wine Enthusiast named the world’s best for 2023, and more than two dozen area craft breweries and cideries? Now that’s a winning recipe.
Runners Up
Sevierville, Tenn.
The town where country legend Dolly Parton grew up is the gateway to Great Smoky Mountains National Park and its 800 miles of maintained trails. Anglers come to the area to cast for smallmouth bass in the Little Pigeon River, while paddlers and rafters love to bounce through the class III-IV rapids of the Upper Pigeon.
Boone, N.C.
This college town in the North Carolina High Country has long been revered for an abundance of outdoor treasures. Favorites include hiking the Daniel Boone Scout Trail to Calloway Peak, riding at Rocky Knob Mountain Bike Park, and skiing at nearby resorts, including Beech Mountain. Boone is currently in recovery mode after severe damage from Hurricane Helene, so contact local officials and businesses before planning a visit.
TOP SMALL TOWN
Winner
Gatlinburg, Tennessee
Its position on the northern edge of 522,000-acre Great Smoky Mountains National Park has transformed this small town in the rural southeastern Tennessee highlands into a bustling destination for outdoors lovers of all stripes. But don’t let the sparse population fool you: The Smokies attract some 13 million official visitors a year and a high percentage of them stop in Gatlinburg. That means you’ll find a busy downtown area brimming with eateries, music venues, and drink spots.
“We’ve really got the best of both worlds,” says Kaitlyn Kerrigan, a head river guide with Nantahala Outdoor Center Gatlinburg. She loves that you can spend the day doing things like hiking to stunning views from 6,593-foot Mount Le Conte, then follow with craft beers and a topnotch meal in the heart of downtown. “That’s not something you can say about many places,” she continues. “And it makes this town really, really special.”
But while the Smokies boast more than 800 miles of walking trails—including a 72-mile span of the iconic Appalachian Trail—outdoor opportunities don’t stop there. Ober Mountain Adventure Park and Ski Resort offers 35 skiable acres and a lift-served MTB park with a dozen purpose-built trails. And there are tasty kayaking opportunities on the Little Pigeon River and miles of beginner to intermediate friendly whitewater on the lower Pigeon.
Runners Up
Brevard, N.C.
Brevard is a tight-knit mountain community in western North Carolina that is beloved by mountain bikers, hikers, and waterfall seekers. It’s surrounded by a massive stretch of public lands, including Pisgah National Forest and Dupont State Recreational Forest. As of press time, Transylvania County was still under a travel advisory after experiencing widespread damage from Helene.
Clifton Forge, Va.
Tucked away in a scenic valley in the Allegheny Mountains, Clifton Forge is surrounded by some of Virginia’s most unspoiled terrain, with the Jackson River flowing through town and Douthat State Park just minutes away.
TOP TINY TOWN
Winner
Cherokee, North Carolina
The municipal seat of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians’ 56,000-acre Qualla Boundary is one of the most scenic—and under-the-radar—outdoor destinations in the Southeast. Cherokee’s quaint, historic downtown area occupies a narrow valley that sits about a mile from the southern terminus of the Blue Ridge Parkway, sandwiched between Great Smoky Mountains National Park to the north and the Nantahala National Forest to the south. The town is surrounded by densely forested and sparsely populated 3,000-plus-foot peaks that are home to countless trout streams. And it’s bisected by a gorgeous, 1.5-mile public greenway and park system that occupies both sides of the Oconaluftee River.
A quarter-century of fiercely intentional revitalization and hard pivot toward an outdoor recreation economy has spurred an ongoing renaissance. It’s brought Cherokee-centered shops, outfitting operations, an outdoor store, new restaurants, and a native-owned brewery and distillery.
Outdoor recreation is bountiful in Cherokee. Hiking opportunities are plentiful, with dozens of picturesque waterfalls and summits within a few miles of town alone. Anglers can pick from a slew of guided outings along the Oconaluftee and its tributaries, and paddlers can find everything from expert to beginner-friendly whitewater rafting within 30 minutes of town on the Nantahala River. In the cold months, carve powder at the Cataloochee Ski Area, which sits less than 20 miles away.
But in Cherokee, mountain biking really steals the show. The tribal-owned Fire Mountain Bike Park is less than a mile from downtown, features about 14 miles of pro-grade trails, dozens of wooden features—and won’t cost you a dime to ride. Highlights include half-mile-long, feature-packed progression trail Skilly and 2-mile doubletrack rollercoaster, Kessel Run. The latter brings 2,000 feet of vert.
Runners Up
Blowing Rock, N.C.
Located in the North Carolina High Country just off the Blue Ridge Parkway, Blowing Rock is a quaint village with vibrant local businesses located near stunning mountain scenery. Visitors typically flock to the town during the crisp fall months, but at press time many roads—including the Parkway—in surrounding Watauga County were still closed following Helene.
Elkton, Va.
This tiny town sits just minutes from Massanutten Resort and the Swift Run Gap entrance of Shenandoah National Park. Local businesses like Elkton Brewing Company and Small Axe Farms Hostel are hospitable to adventurers.
Cover photo: The skyline of Asheville, N.C.. Photo courtesy of ExploreAsheville.com
