It’s Finally Leaf Season In Asheville North Carolina!

Asheville Leaf Season 2016

Today is the day that we woke up to leaf season in Asheville North Carolina! Yes, the leaves have been changing here and there lately, and a little on the slow side. But this morning you can see the vibrant colors coming on display and the leaves covering sidewalks all around town. Leaf Season has officially begun here is Asheville, so for all of you leaf peepers, this weekend on the Blue Ridge Parkway will be beautiful.

Remember, we do not know how long these beautiful colors will last. Last year a storm came through only a week or so into it and stripped the trees of its leaves and colors. So catch it while you can, take photos, make some memories, and share them with the world; grateful that you live in these gorgeous mountains!

See The Fall 2016 Leaf Season Guide

2016 Guide To Fall Leaf Season In Asheville North Carolina

Leaf Season in Asheville North Carolina during the Fall Season

It’s that time of the year again, Fall 2016 Leaf Season in Asheville North Carolina. This is the time of the year when the local can sit back, take a deep breath, and reflect on the year while surrounded by colorful beauty. Then many visitors from out of town arrive to gaze upon and digest the majesty of the Western North Carolina mountains. Now there are several places across the USA where you can experience Leaf Season, but the Asheville area is a favorite for many due to all of the plentiful amenities that come along with it. Here is a little guide post to get you around town:

Where To See The Leaves

  1. The Blue Ridge Parkway
  2. NC Aboretum
  3. See 10 Waterfalls To Visit Near Asheville NC
  4. See 6 Amazing Outdoor Spots In The Asheville Area
  5. See 25 Best Places To See Fall Foliage In The Blue Ridge Mountains
  6. See Fall Color Forecast 2016 – Long Leaf Season Ahead

Where To Eat

  1. Select Dining – CurateLimonesChiesa, The Admiral, Fig Bistro, Posana
  2. Barbecue – Luella’s, Buxton Hall, 12 Bones
  3. Dessert – The Hop Ice Cream, French Broad Chocolate Lounge, Vortex Doughnuts
  4. Asheville Restaurants on AskAsheville
  5. Asheville Restaurants on AIR
  6. Asheville Restaurants on ExploreAsheville

Where To Drink Beer

  1. Barley’s Taproom
  2. Bhramari Brewhouse
  3. Wicked Weed
  4. Appalachian Vintner
  5. Asheville Breweries on AskAsheville
  6. Asheville Breweries on ExploreAsheville

Where To Drink Wine

  1. Battery Park Book Exchange
  2. Vaso De Vino (they have a secret open loft area)
  3. 5 Walnut (& dance here too!)

What Else To Do

  1. Check out Hendersonville North Carolina
  2. Visit the Waterfalls in Brevard North Carolina & go on a Food Tour too!

Have lots of fun, and tag AskAsheville on Facebook with photos and posts about your adventures!

NC Wineries – Time to Visit

wineries

Fall at Burntshirt vineyards

NC Wineries are the perfect place to visit this fall. Looking for a destination for your fantastic fall foliage drive this year? There are 25 wineries all within 1 ½ hours of Asheville. Imagine exploring the vineyards of WNC, enjoying wine tastings at beautiful wineries or picnicking amid the streams and mountains surrounding the vineyards. Surprised that we have so many wineries here? You can check out the smallest, complete, free standing winery in America at Calaboose Cellars in Cherokee County or visit a winery with vineyards situated on both sides of the Eastern Continental Divide at some of highest elevations on the East Coast at Burntshirt Winery in Hendersonville. Every winery has a story!

wineries

Awards for Lake James Winery

NC Wineries and their wines are creating quite a stir in the wine world. We are one of the fastest growing wine regions in the country and our wines are winning international, regional and state-wide medals for excellence. Whether you prefer the fine dry reds and whites, the delicious semi-sweets or the down-home taste of our native Muscadine wine you will find them all within a short drive of Asheville. Forget Napa and Sonoma and check out NC Wine Country. You’ll find everything you need to plan your trip at WNC Wine Trails.

wineries

Visit the WNC Wine Trails

NC Wineries are growing every month! We are now up to more than 150 wineries state wide. Surprised?! Even more surprising is that prior to prohibition North Carolina was the largest wine producing state in the country! Of course, at that time it was primarily our native Muscadine wine – yes that sweet wine that everyone says their grandmothers used to make for them. The Muscadine wines have matured over the years. Read more about the history of NC Wine and the Muscadine grapes at North Carolina Wine Gifts. Go out and discover NC Wine Country this Fall!




Best Places in Asheville for Late Autumn Portraits

Fallen leaves, colorful streets, and beautiful views: Asheville in the late fall is a beautiful city for portraiture. From brilliantly-colored leafy woodlands to creatively-painted graffiti backgrounds, a photographer only has to step out her front door to find a good backdrop for a photo shoot. This year, as you dust off your camera for for solo photos, family portraits, Christmas cards, or just a fun afternoon with a camera, keep a few of the best locations around Asheville in mind.

UNC Asheville Botanical Gardens

Botanical Gardens

If you’re looking for a nature setting, look no further than UNCA’s campus in North Asheville. The university’s botanical gardens offer a beautiful natural backdrop complete with fall colors and soft lighting filtering through the tree branches. On a warm day (because weather in Asheville can fluctuate from 20 to 60 degree days in the same week) the creek is a wonderful place for reflections.

Botans

The saturated fall colors of the leaves and dying foliage make for a very colorful background. With a wide open space to run around, you can create lively portraits playing in the leaves or skipping through the field.

Botanical Gardens

The garden’s gazebo is one of my personal favorite places for portraits. Hidden in the corner entrance, the gazebo only gets the last soft rays of sunshine, so it is a perfect location for softly-lit close-ups.

Wall Street, Downtown

Wall Street

After a day of window shopping and gorging in any one (or more!) of Asheville’s famously fantastic restaurants, Downtown is a great location for artsy portraits. Architectural ranging from the 1800s to now, statues both fun and iconic, streets lined with lights and leaves, and art at every turn create a perfect atmosphere for city portraiture. Wall Street’s green light poles, yellow leaves, and colorful building fronts pair well with a great leather jacket and a pretty smile.

Wall Street

Chicken Alley, Downtown

Chicken Alley

Chicken Alley is famous for the enormous painted chicken, and this unconventionally decorated backstreet provides a beautiful brick backdrop for photos. Commandeer a nice renter’s back porch and you can make portraits fit for any coffee-drinking city-goer.

Graffiti by the Hatchery Studios, River Arts District

River Arts District

The River Arts District is a great place for more than just buying artists’ work. The giant graffiti-ed wall and silo create an edgier setting. Looking for a place for band photos or artist portraits? Posing in front of Asheville’s underground muralists’ work is the perfect location.

River Arts District

Looking for a professional photographer to take your portraits? Check out ASE Photography by Adrian Etheridge: ASEphotography.pixpasites.com OR ASEartistry10@gmail.com

Looking for a model to try out these locations? Contact Erin Dalton: inspiringdalton@gmail.com

 




Photographing Asheville

Lake Panorama final

Hello from a local photographer! I’m a photojournalism student from UNC Asheville and I couldn’t have picked a better place to study photography. Every so often I will post one of my photos from my work around Asheville. This particular piece – a set of 50 shots from Beaver Lake yesterday evening – is one of my current favorite nature shots. One of the great things about photographing scenic Asheville is the city’s beauty no matter the season. Although we haven’t had the most colorful fall, the beautiful sunsets and gorgeous days (and rainbow this morning, for those who were up early enough to see it) more than make up for it.

Beaver Lake Fall 2013 copy

Beaver Lake, October 2013

-Adrian Etheridge (of ASE Photography)