Old Fort

Hubs and I took a camping trip to the mountains a few weeks ago so we experienced the little town of Old Fort. Old Fort is known as the "gateway to the mountains" and is about 30 minutes from the Blue Ridge parkway and Asheville. It has beautiful scenery and campgrounds to stay while you are visiting. It is also the home of many hiking and biking trails through the mountains. Before you get into town, do yourself a favor and stock up on your groceries and adult beverages. Not sure if it is a town or county law but there is no alcohol in sight!! We had to drive about 15 miles to stock up on beer and wine. Also, the local grocery store (guess you can call it that) Frisbee's Galaxy, is not helpful for anything. The meats did not look good, they offered little to nothing on our list, and it was dirty and understaffed. That is for another yelp review but you get the jist. Take care of all of your shopping needs before your arrival to Old Fort. Old Fort is definitely your quaint getaway from the hustle bustle of big city life and has an adorable little downtown but appears to have suffered from the bad economy like so many other little towns.

We have a vacation home on Gateway Mountain, just on the outskirts of Old Fort. Old Fort is a quaint little old mountain town with, honestly, not much to offer in the way of vacationing. However, to pass through or to make a quick stop, it's a beautiful old town that still retains its charm from decades ago. It's a dry town, so if you come to eat at one of the very few restaurants, don't expect to have any alcohol. Every Friday night at 7:00pm they have free live bluegrass music at the Old Fort Mountain Music building across from the fire station on Main St. Don't expect anything fancy - all the locals come out to entertain and to be entertained. It's still a fun and interesting experience. There's a wonderful hike up to Catawba Falls, with beautiful up-close views of the waterfall; it's about an hour and a half roundtrip hike. You can also check out Andrew's Geyser, on the other side of town. The shops in town don't have much to offer for anyone other then the locals and there really isn't a downtown with "shopping". If you're looking to shop - even for groceries - I suggest you make a stop into Black Mountain. Old Fort is about 20 minutes from Black Mountain and Marion, 30 minutes from Asheville and Lake Lure/Chimney Rock, and 45 minutes from Hendersonville. All in all, if you're looking for a short stop in an old town that's retained it's quaint, mountain charm, then Old Fort has a few attractions for you. But if you're looking for a vacation spot, this isn't it. Regardless, you'll never meet friendlier or warmer people then the good folks of Old Fort!

great place to have a quite back to nature vacation. you can hike Catawba fall one of the largest waterfalls in NC. or go hiking at look-out point chill by Andrews geyser of fish for trout.