Slightly off the beaten path, nestled in the southern Blue Ridge Mountains of Western North Carolina, the historic town of Hendersonville and the surrounding area offers a wide range of activities that will suit virtually any vacationer.
For history buffs, an excellent document by the Henderson County Historic Preservation Commission provides a detailed history of the region. According to the commission, the county and the surrounding area were originally part of the Cherokee Indian territory until the 1785 Treaty of Hopewell, which forced the Cherokees to relinquish much of their eastern lands. Original white settlers were mostly veterans of the Revolutionary War.
Henderson County’s proximity to the southern edge of the Blue Ridge Mountains has been a common thread to events in its history. In 1827, the Buncombe Turnpike was built connecting lowland South Carolina with mountainous areas of North Carolina and Tennessee. Later, in 1886, the railroad was completed between the Atlantic Coast and the Ohio Valley. In both instances, agricultural products and tourists – two of the region’s economic mainstays – could be more easily transported into or out of the region. Well-heeled Charlestonians flocked to the nearby Village of Flat Rock for a respite from the summer heat, bringing their wealth with them.
Hendersonville’s Main Street has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1988. You’ll find no “big box” stores here. The charm of the central downtown district has been preserved by a height ordinance which was passed many years ago to protect the skyline. It prohibits buildings from being higher than the base of the courthouse dome. Significant efforts have been made to preserve the look and feel of a traditional small-town, pedestrian friendly “Main Street.”
The effort to lure merchants and restaurants to the downtown core has been successful, and today the area is full of specialty shops, restaurants with sidewalk dining and antique stores galore. At the southern end of downtown, just off Main Street, Hot Dog World is a local institution and should be on everyone’s short list for lunch. Don’t be scared off by the line or the crowded parking lot; turnover is fast, and it’s worth it. This is where the locals eat.
Main Street’s anchor store is a large, two-story branch of the Mast General Store. Located at the northern end of the central business district, this quirky retailer offers products that appeal to outdoorsy types, hipsters, country folk, kids and just about everyone in between. While you’re there, check out their vintage candy department for a reminder of your childhood. Not many places carry Zots or Nik L Nip these days.
For nature lovers, nearby Pearson’s Falls is definitely on the road less traveled, rarely crowded and a great place for a picnic. One need not be an avid hiker to reach the falls; the trail from the parking lot to the falls has a slight incline and a few steps and rocks, but is not steep and not even a mile long. The scenery is well worth the short walk. Pisgah National Forest is also close by for those interested in things like fly fishing, hiking, camping or larger-scale waterfalls. In the summer, Sliding Rock is not to be missed, but beware: the water is cold! Nearby DuPont State Forest also offers a wide assortment of hiking opportunities and beautiful waterfalls. And for a close-in natural treat, don’t miss sunset from Jump Off Rock, just west of town (below right).
In Flat Rock, just south of Hendersonville, visitors can tour Connemara Farm, home of “America’s Poet” Carl Sandburg. According to the park’s Web site, Connemara was designated as a National Historic Site in 1968 to “honor Carl Sandburg’s compelling collection of stories about the American people; their plights, struggles, joys and hopes as told through Sandburg’s poetry, prose, journalism and biography.” In addition to Sandburg’s home (below left), there is a working goat dairy and numerous trails on the park property. Kids especially enjoy the petting zoo when the baby goats are around.
Also in Flat Rock, vacationers will find the Flat Rock Playhouse. An acting troupe that started performing in 1936 in New York eventually made its way to Hendersonville in 1940. As local interest grew, a permanent location was established in Flat Rock and the theatre became so renowned that the state of North Carolina declared the Flat Rock Playhouse the State Theatre of North Carolina in 1961. Today, the playhouse hosts more than 90,000 theatergoers annually during its season, which runs eight months, and contributes greatly to the flourishing arts scene in Western North Carolina and the state.
While in Flat Rock, visit The Wrinkled Egg for an eclectic shopping experience. If for nothing else, it’s entirely worth it to have lunch at the Flat Rock Village Bakery, which is located in the back of The Wrinkled Egg. In fact, in my opinion, this alone is worth the cost of your plane ticket. In an incredibly small space, their wood-fired oven feeds a lot of people and produces mouth-watering breads, pastries and artisan pizzas to be eaten on outdoor picnic tables under large trees on the building’s back deck. 
If a wild mushroom fougasse is still in the bakery case when you get there, claim it quickly; they’re gobbled up fast. It’s a type of braided bread stuffed with – in this case – an assortment of wild mushrooms. It has the consistency of pizza crust, sort of like a French calzone. The braiding ensures the entire loaf remains crusty, with no doughy middle. They alternate the type of filling, and if you haven’t guessed, the wild mushroom one is my personal favorite.
Apples are big business in Henderson County, which is the state’s largest producer of the fruit. Every Labor Day, Hendersonville hosts its annual Apple Festival, which draws crowds in excess of 200,000 over the course of the weekend.
If you’re visiting during the late summer and fall, be sure to check out Skytop Orchard. At this family-owned and operated farm, you can pick all of the Mutsu, McIntosh, Gala, Fuji and Jonagold apples you can carry. The Honeycrisp variety is perhaps the best-kept secret. Skytop’s Web site has a schedule for when each variety can be harvested. You can also peruse their selection of ciders, take a hayride, observe a working beehive or just take in the beautiful view. It’s a great activity for children.
Beyond lower-end chain motels, all of which are unattractively situated by the Interstate, there are not a lot of standard commercial options for lodging in Hendersonville, which is perhaps a drawback and perhaps not. There are numerous bed and breakfast properties and countless vacation rental homes in the area, contributing to the small-town relaxed feel of a mountain vacation. Perhaps the most noteworthy inn is the historic Highland Lake Inn, five minutes south of town in Flat Rock. Other lodging information can be found here.
Hendersonville is easy to get to – directly on Interstate 26 and within minutes of Interstates 40 and 85; by car, it’s about 3 hours from Atlanta, and 8 hours from Washington, DC. Most major airlines fly into nearby Asheville, NC – about 20 minutes away, or into Greenville/Spartanburg, SC, which is about 45 minutes to the south.
There are a number of nearby places – too many to list individually – that make ideal day-trips from Hendersonville, including Biltmore Estate, the Brevard Music Festival, Chimney Rock, and Cherokee, NC, with its casino and Native American historical and cultural attractions. Hendersonville even offers a symphony and a chamber music series.
So whether you’re into cultural events, mountain biking, wineries, rock climbing, antiquing, fly fishing, fine dining, outlet shopping or just passing time on the front porch rocker with a good book, Hendersonville offers something for everyone. And it does so right here under our noses, within a day’s drive of most of the East Coast, without the airfare cost of Europe, or the travel hassle of some far-flung locale.
