On a whim, my husband and I took our three dogs out to the beautiful mountains of North Carolina! We were craving a weekend getaway in the mountains; including hiking, dog-friendly adventures, and a brewery at every corner. We certainly got what we hoped for, so I’m here to share our trip with you!
– To give you an idea of our timeline –
We arrived at our cabin just outside Pisgah National Forest Saturday night around 7:00pm, and departed our cabin around 11:00am on Monday morning.
This trip is totally feasible on a Friday night – Sunday morning timeframe (if you live within several hours of Brevard). We live in Southern Pines, about 4 hours away!
Lodging at Pilot Cove
We stayed at Pilot Cove’s cabins, located in Brevard, just outside of Pisgah National Forest. I have so many wonderful things to say about our stay in their two-bedroom, dog-friendly cabin, and you can read all about it in my post “Weekend Getaway to Pilot Cove Cabins – Pisgah National Forest“!
One huge benefit to staying at Pilot Cove is the proximity to both Pisgah National Forest, and Asheville; both of which we took full advantage of in our 36 hours!
Looking Glass Rock Trail
A simple Google search showed me that some of Pisgah National Forest’s best hikes were right here in Brevard – in fact, the hike we chose was only a 10 minute drive from our Pilot Cove cabin!
Looking Glass Rock Trail (not to be confused by Looking Glass Falls right down the road), is a 5.5 mile, moderately strenuous hike that is dog-friendly! The entire hike up the mountain was beautiful, but the views at the summit are truly unparalleled across Pisgah!
Though quite muddy at times, our pups had lots of friendly dog interaction all the way up and down the mountain! I read the hike loops, but we just hiked back down the same way we went up (we noticed most people doing this, so felt it best to follow suit).
Got to love a tough hike to start the trip off. For us, it always makes it easier to leave the pups behind in the cabin for the afternoon when we’ve taken them for a good morning outing!
There are countless hikes to choose from in Pisgah National Forest, and with more time, we would have certainly tackled at least one more 5+ mile hike. Have you hiked through Pisgah? What are you favorites?
Afternoon in Asheville
After a fantastic morning hike, the dogs were crushed and ready for a nap. We washed our muddy clothes, showered, and took off for Asheville! It was only a 40 minute drive (at that) and we realized the Sierra Nevada Brewing Company was half way between us and Asheville, so… we stopped there first!
Unfortunately, it was so incredibly packed that it was going to take us a long time to get a beer, and an even longer time to get a seat. Tours are also available, but at the time were on a 2.5 hour wait list.
So – as much as we love beer and thought this castle of a brewing company was spectacular, we jumped back in the car and were off to downtown Asheville.
Next time, Sierra Nevada, next time.
I had over half a dozen friends recommend Curate in Asheville – and since we were arriving at an odd hour (around 4pm) we were lucky enough to get a table without a reservation! Our cocktails were delicious, and our food was even better! I highly recommend if you can plan early enough to make a reservation, that you prioritize this restaurant during your stay in Asheville!
Since we have been to Asheville before, I will throw a couple more recommendations at you:
In a previous trip – entirely centered on visiting the Biltmore Estate, we stayed on Bilmore’s property at The Village Hotel – it was very convenient for a trip with a focus on visiting the Biltmore Estate and drinking wine at their winery, but if you are looking for more of a “mountain getaway” – Pilot Cove is where it’s at!
Our first 24 hours in Pisgah National Forest (and surrounding Brevard and Asheville) wrapped up with wine and charcuterie we had packed ourselves. We watched football with the dogs in our cabin, and relaxed!
Looking Glass Falls
We decided in the morning, before checking out of our cabin, we were going to get breakfast in downtown Brevard, and explore the town center a bit.
I am going to chalk it up to it being a holiday, but the town center was very sleepy, and we had a very mediocre breakfast at the Sunrise Cafe. Our walk downtown was brief, as it was a brisk 16 degrees outside at 9:00am.
After breakfast we had an hour and a half before checkout and decided to drive through Pisgah National Forest, and up to the Blue Ridge Highway. Like I said – it was 16 degrees, so hiking was a no go for this gal.
We drove from Pisgah National Forest up to the Blue Ridge Parkway, and drove until the road closed. As we increased in altitude, tiny glittering ice pieces flew around us like, encasing our car in a picturesque winter wonderland.
We stopped at several waterfalls and overlooks, including Looking Glass Falls. It was beautiful, and in attempt to get a closer look in the bitter cold, we walked down the icy steps toward the falls. In true Carissa fashion, my confidence got the best of me and I fell… all the way down an entire flight of stairs. I was fine, and laughed for several minutes while sitting on ice, until I realized I bruised a few bones and needed some help back up the steps. We had a good laugh, and then got back in the heated car.
We had a long laugh, got back in the heated car, and made our way back to our cabin to pick up the dogs and our belongings!
The Velvet Cup Coffee Truck
I must shout out the coffee truck that kept us warm and energized throughout our stay. For sure the best coffee we’ve had in a long time!
It is located in the parking lot of the HUB and Pisgah Tavern, right at the entryway to our Pilot Cove neighborhood. We refueled with coffee and were on our way back to Southern Pines.
A Blonde Escapes 
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