Wildflowers::
Wildflowers grow in great abundance and variety on the 41 acres of Brookside at Ivy Knob and throughout the region. Our favorite is the Turks Cap Lily, which blooms June through September and is fairly common on our land. Other favorites include Showy Orchis, Rhododendron, Trillium (Wake Robin and Tall Grand), Flame Azalea, Bloodroot, Pink Turtlehead, Black-eyed Susan, Phlox, several types of Aster, Coneflower, and Bee Balm. Rich Stevenson's web site (see link on our web page 'Waterfalls') has page after page of beautiful color photographs of these and many more of Western Carolina's wildflowers. The wildflowers attract many species of butterflies.
Waterfalls::
Walker and Douglas Falls are located not far away in the Craggy Gardens area of the Pisgah National Forest. They don't flow heavily all the time, so it's best to see them after a period of pretty good rainfall. From Brookside, go back into Barnardsville and turn left across from the post office onto Dillingham Road (SR 2173). In 5 miles you cross a one lane bridge and the road becomes gravel. You are now in the Pisgah National Forest and the road is called F.S. 74. Follow it about 4.8 miles to Walker Falls, which is on the left and visible from the road. In another 4.7 miles the road ends at a parking area. The trail to Douglas Falls starts at the far end of the parking area and descends gently for about a mile to the falls. [Directions from 'Waterfall Walks and Drives in the Western Carolinas,' by Mark Morrison. Rich Stevenson maintains a terrific site entitled North Carolina Waterfalls, where he has photos of most North Carolina waterfalls, including Walker and Douglas Falls.
Weaverville and Mars Hill::
Weaverville is a nice little town about 15 miles toward Asheville from Brookside. There are several interesting arts and crafts and gift shops and three good places to eat all clustered within two or three blocks along the main street. Mars Hill is a charming college town at exit 10 on U.S. 19/23. It is the home of Mars Hill College, a small liberal arts college ranked number 38-Comprehensive Colleges–Bachelor's (South) in U.S. News & World Report's America's Best Colleges 2007.
Ski:
Wolf Laurel Ski Resort is about 25 minutes away. Our web page has a link to their web page and also a link to a web cam at the foot of the ski lift that shows current conditions there and updates every 30 seconds.
Golf:
The Reems Creek Golf Club in nearby Weaverville rates four stars from Golf Digest and the green fees are quite reasonable. Our web page has a link to the Asheville Golf Course Directory, which has information about all of the courses in the Asheville area and links to those that have web pages.
Learn more about this vacation rental at the owner's website:
marks the location of the property in Asheville Area
