?ssl=1 "Asheville, North Carolina, was named the best place for fall trips. This file photo shows people at nearby Navitat Canopy Adventures.")
Asheville, North Carolina, was named the best place for fall trips. This file photo shows people at nearby Navitat Canopy Adventures.
jsimmons@charlotteobserver.com
A North Carolina town is known for its picturesque surroundings — and ranks as the best destination for fall getaways.
The mountain tourist destination of Asheville landed at No. 1 on a list of top places to visit this season, according to U.S. News & World Report.
Also making it near the top of the list was another Western North Carolina hot spot. Great Smoky Mountains National Park, which also lies within Tennessee, was No. 4 in the rankings.
To create the rankings, U.S. News & World Report focused on locations in the United States, Caribbean, Mexico and Canada. Thousands of users voted on whether destinations deserved recognition, and editors scored several factors of each place, including “sights, culture, people, food, family, nightlife, adventure, romance, value and accessibility,” according to results updated Aug. 30.
Also under consideration was whether the season was recommended as the best time to visit the locations, with fall defined as the period from September to November, officials wrote in their report.
Asheville rose to the top of the list for a third year in a row.
“Both travelers and editors think Asheville is a really great option for the fall because it’s near a lot of hiking trails where people can catch fall foliage, there are quite a few fall festivals and the weather is really typically cool but often sunny,” Erin Evans, managing editor of travel for U.S. News & World Report, told McClatchy News in a phone interview.
The city of about 94,000 people also received nods for its breweries, which may not be a surprise for a city that has been ranked among the nation’s best places for beer drinkers.
Also receiving recognition was Great Smoky Mountains National Park, which U.S. News & World Report praised for having scenic views from the ground and from above on the Ober Gatlinburg Aerial Tramway in nearby Gatlinburg, Tennessee.
“This national park is home to multiple hiking trails, cascading waterfalls and all kinds of wildlife,” officials wrote in their report. “As temperatures cool, the park becomes a perfect place for leaf peeping.”
If you want to see the leaves change color for yourself, you still have time to plan a trip to the North Carolina mountains. Earlier this year, predictions showed that nature’s display would likely greet visitors in October through early November.
In addition to Asheville and the Smokies, the other destinations rounding out the top five on U.S. News & World Report’s Best Fall Vacations list:
- Zion National Park in Utah
- Grand Canyon in Arizona
- Kauai, Hawaii
This story was originally published October 7, 2022 8:54 AM.
Simone Jasper is a reporter covering breaking stories for The News & Observer and real-time news in the Carolinas.
